Large Piece of Turf
7:00 AM |
| Large Piece of Turf (The Great Turf), Albrecht Durer, 1503 |
When we first viewed Large Piece of Turf in class, I thought that the piece of art was not very interesting and didn't have much to it. When I first saw it, all I saw was grass. Then we discussed the painting more. I realized that the talent that Durer possessed in order to paint the single blades of grass was extraordinary. The realistic aspect of the painting is also quite impressive. Durer's attention to detail and color shows his dedication to the piece and how hard he worked to accomplish this in the painting.
I also remembered Mr. Luce asking the students who were in the drawing and painting classes, which included myself, if we could paint with that concentration to detail. While I would love to say that I could, my skills cannot compare to Durer's. However, now when I paint or draw I think of this painting, and strive to get as close as my talents will let me to this incredible painting. By trying to practice these techniques that the experts use, my skills as an artist, I feel, have improved. Without this painting and the lessons I have learned from it in class, I might have not felt this inspiration to try and paint better than what I could already paint.
The last aspect about this painting I realized was that it had a deeper message. Again, I had thought - that's just grass on an overcast day. But that just wasn't right. When we examined it further in class, we talked about the religious aspect of it. How the blades reach up towards the sky as if they are reaching towards heaven. This view was eye-opening to me. Since I had not seen a message behind the painting, I felt like I cheated the artist by not trying to understand what they were painting. I know when people go and see my artwork in the art show, I would want them to feel some kind of emotion from my painting and not just stare at it and decide whether it is good or bad. So I say, thank you Albrecht Durer.
Editor's Note: The students were assigned to write about the artwork that has impacted them the most. These pieces will run for about two weeks.
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