My Kid Could Paint That

Fine Tuning

By NATALIE BEYER

Similar to René Magritte, Rafal Olbiński paints in the style of Surrealism - producing incongruous imagery or effects in art through unnatural or irrational juxtapositions and combinations. When asked to describe his artwork, he describes is as "poetic surrealism" and says his influences are "everybody." He takes everyday objects and turns them into different worlds, allowing the viewer to only imagine what goes through Olbiński's head when he paints.

Do these boys want to be together, practicing their instruments? Do they look as though they are having a good time? I would say "no" for the sole fact that the boredom washing over their faces looks like they've been sitting through a two-hour ACT prep class late on a Monday night. 

However, many of Caravaggio's subjects show true emotion instead of the bliss that other artists placed on their subjects' faces. His style allowed for a darker setting, with little to no light source and in many of his paintings, he would leave space pitch black. He brought a new level of emotion and intensity to the table for artists at the time, and many criticized him for painting in such a way. He would paint grotesque images such as decapitations and violent struggles. Caravaggio would paint from life instead of drawing and planning what he was going to paint first, and artists at the time saw this as bizarre and against the grain. He, like many struggling artists in Italy, faced problems with patrons, and even had a bad temper.

Unable to control himself, he was known for brawling and even was accused of killing multiple people while in Italy. He gambled and got in trouble with the authorities, eventually getting himself exiled multiple times, each time returning to the thing he loved the most - painting. Caravaggio never married and had no known children. Art Historians today are not completely sure the sexuality of Caravaggio, but many argue that because of the homoeroticism in his paintings could hint to his homosexuality.

Getting to this painting in particular, The Musicians feature a lute and a tiny violin. (Definition of a Lute: a stringed instrument having a large pear-shaped body, a vaulted back, a fretted fingerboard, and a head with tuning pegs which is often angled backward from the neck). By pressing your fingers on the strings at different parts of the finger board, the player shortens or lengthens the length of the desired string the is vibrating, like a guitar, producing higher and lower pitches or notes. The boy in the middle of this painting seems to be tuning his lute while his friend looks at the sheet music. The boredom on their faces shows just how interested they are in playing instruments.

Anselm Feuerbach realized his artistic talents just at the age of fifteen when he left his family to go to the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts in Germany. He wanted to be a painter, like the "old masters." But to be like the "old masters" he traveled to Munich, Antwerp, and then Paris. All of these places however, did not satisfy him. With a scholarship from Baden's Grand Duchy, he makes his way over to Italy where he will pursue his talents for seventeen years. In Italy, he finds other German artists just like him who want to be lie the "old masters" and even a model that fits his exact beauty standards for a woman. 

However, just like the the great artists that he looks up to and admires, he has trouble with clients and money. With too many commissions coming in all at once, disputes over what his art his supposed to look like with his clients, and even the separation with his lover - Anna Risi - happens. 

In the year of 1860, at the age of thirty-one, Anselm Feuerbach met Anna Risi. Nicknamed "Nanna," she will act as a muse and mistress to Feuerbach for four years. But before Anna first encounters Feuerbach however, she had stood as a model for numerous nineteenth century artists. Her most painted pose is her sitting and gazing softly over her right shoulder. Her long dark hair and sculpted nose are her most notable features. The softness of her hands and facial expression give reason for why Feuerbach called her "Nanna" and over the next four years, he will paint her twenty-eight different times out of sheer fascination for her. 

In this painting in particular, "Nanna"poses in her most painted position holding a mandolin. (Definition of a Mandolin: a musical instrument of the lute family that has a usually pear-shaped body and fretted neck and four to six pairs of strings). Just like a guitar, the player can lengthen or shorten the desired string to produced different pitches or notes. The most common clef of the mandolin is the Treble clef just like the violin or piano. This painting of Nanna is one of the last portraits he painted of her, around the time he was having difficulties with clients and financial issues. Because of these tensions happening in his life, the viewer can feel the tension of both Feuerbach and Nanna, both of them knowing that their lives together was coming to an end soon.

Fine Tuning

By NATALIE BEYER

Fernando Botero, before becoming an artist known for his oversized depiction of people, nature, and animals, went to a matador school. He was born in Columbia, Spain in 1932 and in 1948, when he was just sixteen years old, he had his first painting exhibition. Just two years later, he would have his first one man show in Bogota. In his early years of art, he was inspired by the pre-Columbian and political murals of Diego Rivera and he would copy famous paintings from artists and sell them to tourists on the streets. He was married three different times and is currently married to Sophia Vari, a Greek artist.

By the 1950s, he had mastered his style of painting oversized people and often his paintings suggest an element of political satire. He uses bright color and flat dimensions most similar to Latin-American folk art. In most of his paintings, he paints people in situational portraiture or centering his models in the center of his easel. Just as the man with his guitar is sitting in this painting, many or all of his paintings are similar.

Man with a Guitar was painted for the same first exhibition of Fernando Botero in 1948. The inflated man in this painting holds a balloon-esqe guitar that rests on his right leg. (Definition of a Guitar: a flat-bodied stringed instrument with a long fretted neck and usually six strings played with a pick or with the fingers). Although the man seems to not have any strings on his guitar and he stares into space as though he has no idea why he is holding a guitar, Botero was able to capture the image of a musician. A red ribbon also sits on the headstock of the guitar. Could it be that he just received this particular guitar as a gift? Or could he be showing the viewer how to play so that they can have the guitar?

This child doesn’t have a beard so much as mutton chops, but I could not resist including it. The image is jarring to see such a hairy person in royal garments. The child’s round cheeks combined with facial hair also creates confusion over her gender. 

The painting of the hair itself is good, it looks thin and soft like a baby’s should. Fontana was known for doing portraits of royal family members. She is considered the first female painter to work within the male sphere. Paintings of babies were often used like pictures are today; to show other family members how cute it is and that it is healthy. Think of the family of a distant cousin huddling around a canvas and cooing over the new family member. Fontana puts great detail into the clothing which shows status. The paper and writing also signifies status and education. There is a hint of a crown on top of the child’s head, signifying royal blood. Fontana is not my favorite painter, but she does not shy away from weird subject matter.

There is an actual condition where some children are born with hair all over their bodies, but usually it falls off and they look normal within a couple years. It is very interesting to see a child painted like this. I would have thought that the parents would have told Fontana to not paint the excess hair. The hair and beard make her look much older than she probably is.

Magnificent Beards

By HARPER TRUOG

It is only fitting that God have an awesome beard. The beard looks like thunder clouds; he must have created clouds in his beard’s image. God’s face even has a stormy expression. The beard invokes power and majesty; it is full and poofy. A great beard is an aspect of the divine. Michelangelo wanted God to look like the all-powerful deity he is, so God had to have a beard. The image of God as a muscular, bearded, man is the default setting in Renaissance art and in western culture.

The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel features nine scenes from the book of Genesis, The Creation of Adam being one. The ceiling shows just how talented Michelangelo is at creating a mass of figures. The Creation of Adam is one of the most famous scenes from the Sistine Chapel and has been turned into a Renaissance icon. Replicas and parodies have been produced for years. The image of God and Adam’s hands almost touching has become the image of God reaching down and impacting human lives. 

Caravaggio’s use of light never fails to impress. The skull on the desk is highlighted and bright against the dark, almost black, background. Skulls in paintings usually mean the ever presence of death. Saint Jerome translated the Bible into Latin, a dead language. He also died of old age and since that is the age being depicted in the this painting, he is close to death. The red cloak indicates his rank as cardinal even though there were no cardinals during his lifetime. It is added in for artistic interpretation because he was secretary to the pope and those people were depicted as cardinals.

Caravaggio rarely puts halos on holy figures, but he chose to in this painting. It is thin and small, but stands out against the dark background. Saint Jerome is associated with encyclopedias literature, so he is usually depicted writing a book. Saint Jerome’s beard adds to his experience living as a hermit. It’s long and shaggy signifying his religious status and living conditions.