Art Sunday

For today's Art Sunday I thought I'd highlight 4 of Norman Rockwell's prints - The Freedom Series. All were originally story illustrations in The Saturday Evening Post in 1943. The first is Freedom from Fear which was from the March 13, 1943 Edition.

All of these can be seen at The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Freedom of Speech originally an illustration from The Saturday Evening Post February 20, 1943. In 2004 this series was part of an exhibition called Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms: Paintings That Inspired a Nation and was displayed at The Corcoran Museum in Washington DC.

This painting is titled Freedom from Want and was originally a story illustration from The Saturday Evening Post March 16, 1943.

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from http://www.corcoran.org/

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During the height of World War II, Norman Rockwell painted four of the most powerful and enduring images in American history. Like many artists and writers, he supported the war effort by creating work inspired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s January 1941 State of the Union address outlining his four basic human liberties: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Unlike his peers, however, Rockwell did not receive a government commission to interpret Roosevelt’s words. Instead, the Saturday Evening Post paid the Vermont artist to create the paintings for reproduction in that enormously popular weekly magazine. The four commanding images achieved the instant and widespread recognition government officials could only hope for: in four weeks during the spring of 1943 they reached millions of American living rooms through the pages of the Post.

Freedom to Worship originally a story illustration from The Saturday Evening Post February 27, 1943.

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For today's Art Sunday I say we honor our freedoms and the persons who lost their lives so that we may have them.

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"Freedom is a possession of inestimable value. " ~~ Cicero

Art Sunday

Mercatale Still Life (1981) by William Bailey which can be seen at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

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In looking around my home and wondering what art prints we'd like next (we currently have a small Monet and a larger Van Gogh as well as some other smaller prints), I started thinking about the Contemporary Realism artists. This is a wonderful example of something that I would own. I love the clean lines and the simplicity of the composition. It just speaks to me. It's also nice that his is an artist from my era. Sometimes we overlook the greatness from our era in favor of the masters of times gone.

I thought I'd include a little music from 1980 - this is Rise by Herb Alpert. 1980 was a fun year. I was a sophmore in high school, the music was all over the charts from rock to jazz to remnants of disco to country. Art was definitely the last thing on my mind though. I am fairly certain had I seen this piece I would have wanted it however.

Art Sunday seems odd without 360 - I know it's on multiply and I might go back there later. For now I remain the blogging agorophobic preferring to stay within my partially closed walls and embracing the known vs the unknown.

Have a beautiful Sunday !

The Revival of Art Sunday

A side note - I seem to have more the fondness for blogger so I believe this will probably become my primary blog.

The above landscape (painted in 1598) is by Flemish Baroque painter Paul Bril and it's titled Fantastic Landscape. It's currently on display at The National Galleries of Scotland (in I believe Edinburg). I enjoyed the pastoral scene coupled with the magickal colors and scene in the background. A transition between mystical and pastoral a good example of the bridge between Renaissance and Baroque.



I thought with the return of (at least my participation in) Art Sunday, I'd try to offer music of the era as well as a more detailed explanation of the work and the artist.

from www.nationalgalleries.org

This small painting on copper is a fine example of Bril’s imaginary landscapes. He used the established convention of dividing a distant vista into coloured bands to suggest the idea of receding space, from the warm brownish foreground, through to the lighter greenish middle ground and the cooler blue background. Bril also combined elements from his native Netherlandish landscape tradition, such as the twisted tree trunks, rocky outcrops and steep sided river valley, with his interest in classical fragments and architectural ruins. The lively figures provide colourful accents and some human interest.

This was a unique era in art and music as it's the bridge between late Renaissance and early Baroque. Bach had yet to be born in 1598. The music was still of the rebirth from the dark ages. The musical artist I chose to feature is Josquin des Prés (or Josquin Desprez). I searched for his more famous work and just could not find it in MP3 form which isn't surprising though I do find it sad. Regarded as one of the more influential composers of the late middle ages, his masterpiece is Missa Pange Lingua and is considered an important work of the era and a fine example of Flemish-French Polyphony.

So for today's Art Sunday I bring you the 1500s in a Flemish artist and composer. See if you can see the parallels in richness of tone and style.