Sunset, Boris Kustodiev
Kustodiev, self-portrait
MY WRITERS SITE: Isn't this a wonderful painting...it tell the stor...
MY WRITERS SITE: Isn't this a wonderful painting...it tell the stor...: The first coat, 1892, Vladimir Makovsky
The Sopranos
Federico
Castelluccio, the actor who played Furio Giunta, on The Sopranos
once discovered a painting in a museum had been mislabeled. He bought it for
$70k and it ended up being worth $10 million.
Almost is good enough
In this century, beauty stopped being
important. Art increasingly aimed to disturb and break moral taboos. It was not
beauty, but originality, however, achieved and at whatever moral cost, which won
the prizes. Roger Scruton, Why Beauty Matters
I choose art and beauty
I choose art and beauty, vague as
those terms are, against ugliness and horrors in which we live today. For somebody to look at a flower or listen to
music does something to one, has a positive effect, and being surrounded by
ugliness and horror does something negative.
So I feel my duty not to betray those poets, scientists, saints, singers,
troubadours of the past centuries who did everything that humanity would become
more beautiful. - Jonas Mekas, via Happiness is a Choice You Make
Pablo Picasso’s real name
Pablo
Picasso’s real name is Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno
María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso
10 Most Expensive Works Of Art You Can Buy Today
10 Most Expensive Works Of Art
You Can Buy Today
• BY
MARIANA FERNANDES
The artistic world is a complex
one, much like the artists itself. Many people have trouble coming to terms
with all the money that is involved with this particular field, but that
doesn't stop true lovers of spending millions on exclusive pieces. Of course,
the biggest chunk of a given piece's worth stems from the artist who painted
it. When we take into consideration that a painting was created by a master
like Leonardo Da Vinci, it becomes easier to understand why so much money is
involved.
And when we talk about large sums
of money, we truly mean fortunes. It's not as uncommon as one would think to
find a work of art sold by more than a regular Joe would make in a lifetime.
And today, we're taking a look at the 10 most expensive works of art out there,
that have the potential to break your bank.
10 MASTERPIECE BY ROY
LICHTENSTEIN: $165 MILLION
Pop art was a very interesting time for art in
general. It's always interesting to see how much it can change based on what
artists are inspired by. And in the case of pop art, it was an avalanche of
colour, comics, and an overall challenging tone to what people were used to see
in this world. It was an important movement that came to prove anything can be
considered art!
This movement inspired a great
many artists, including Roy Lichtenstein. Created in 1962, the piece is an
amalgamation of the artist's signature. And it became so popular, it was sold
in auction for $165 million. So if you're thinking about making an offer to
Steven A. Cohen, be prepared to spend some serious money!
9 NU COUCHÉ BY AMEDEO MODIGLIANI:
$170.4 MILLION
Amadeo Modigliani is well known
amongst art lovers for painting nudes in a compelling and unique style. Nu
Couché became his most famous piece of art when it sold in 2015 for over $170
Million to businessman and billionaire Liu Yiqian.
Curiously enough, the artist only
had the chance to put up a ingle exhibition during his lifetime. One that ended
up being shut down by the police! It will always remain somewhat of a tragedy
that artists that lived in poverty and anonymity during their lifetime now have
their pieces being acquired for millions of dollars.
8 LES FEMMES D'ALGER (VERSION O)
BY PABLO PICASSO: $179.4 MILLION
On the topic of artists that
didn't exactly reach billionaire status while they were alive, and became huge
once they were deceased is acclaimed Spanish painter Pablo Picasso. One of the
founders of the Cubist movement, to this day it remains virtually impossible to
look upon one of his works without immediately recognising it was his doing.
Les Femmes D'Alger (Version O) is
part of a series of paintings created by Picasso between 1954 and 1955, in
tribute to the work of French artist Eugène Delacroix. Version O is the last
version of the paintings, and is valued at $179.4 Million as of 2015.
7 PENDANT PORTRAITS OF MAERTEN
SOOLMANS AND OOPJEN COPPIT BY REMBRANDT: $180 MILLION
Dutch artist Rembrandt
Harmenszoon van Rijn remains, to this day, one of the most influential people
in the artistic world, not just in his homeland, but the entire world as well.
Rembrandt took his art to the next level during the 17th century, by choosing
to focus on several themes rather than just a single topic.
The Pendant Portraits of Maerten
Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit were commissioned on the occasion of Maerten and
Oopjen's marriage, that took place in
1634. Initially belonging to the affluent Rothschild family, they were
bought for $180 Million by the Louvre and Rijksmuseum in 2015.
6 NO. 6 (VIOLET, GREEN AND RED)
BY MARK ROTHKO: $186 MILLION
Those who are familiar with the happenings
inside of the art world have surely heard of the Bouvier Affair. Long story
short, Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier conned a series of very important
customers, over charging them for the art pieces they bought. Well, the
painting in question was one of the ones involved in the whole ordeal.
RELATED: 10 RIDICULOUSLY
EXPENSIVE THINGS MILEY CYRUS HAS BOUGHT
Originally painted in 1951 by
Russian-American artist Mark Rothko, the piece perfectly represents the
abstract expressionist movement that make all of his works so easily
recognisable. After being sold to Russian businessman Dmitry Rybolovlev, it is
now valued at $186 Million. Good luck trying to outbid that!
5 NUMBER 17A BY POLLOCK: $200
MILLION
"I am nature" are perhaps some of
the most famous words to have ever come out of famous American painter Jackson
Pollock. Indeed, it was later proven that the patterns one could find in his
works were present in nature itself. 17A is one of Pollock's most exquisite
paintings, staying true to the artist's love for abstract expressionism.
Painted in 1948, this work of art
remains, to this day, the most valuable one to ever come out of Pollock's
several collections. In 2015, it was sold for $200 Million to Kenneth C.
Griffin, an American investor and hedge fund manager. It's a wonderful art
work, and it also costs quite the fortune.
4 NAFEA FAA IPOIPO (WHEN WILL YOU
MARRY?) BY PAUL GAUGUIN: $210 MILLION
French post-impressionist painter Paul Gauguin
found himself somewhat tired of the sources of inspiration artists in the 19th
century had in France. In order to find what he called primitive inspiration,
he travelled to Tahiti. And although it wasn't exactly what he expected, he
still had something to show for it.
One of the pieces to come out of
this trip was the painting When Will You Marry?, one of several depictions of
native women dressed in native clothing. At the time, it didn't inspire much
interest, but centuries later, it was sold for $210 Million. Perhaps the next
buyer will be willing to extend the numbers even further.
3 THE CARD PLAYERS BY PAUL
CÉZANNE: $250 MILLION
Yet another post-impressionist
painter featured on this list is Paul Cézanne. He's one of the artists we have
to thank for the radical changes in the way art was both created and perceived
between the 19th and 20th century. The Card Players are a series of paintings
that were to precede Cézanne's most acclaimed art pieces.
All the paintings in the series
depict male subjects around a table playing cards and smoking pipes. One of the
pieces was sold to the royal family of Qatar for the incredible amount of $250
Million. For a while, this particular painting was actually the most expensive
in the world, surpassed only by the works that follow on this list.
2 INTERCHANGE BY WILLEM DE
KOONING: $300 MILLION
Dutch-American abstract expressionist Willem
de Kooning produced a series of extremely interesting and colourful work pieces
over the several years in which he was active. And in 1955, he completed
Interchange, which would mark a departure from his usual style due to the influence of one of his friends and
mentors.
Interchange, also known as
Interchanged, is an oil painting that Kooning sold for $4000 dollars at the
time, very soon after it was completed. Several decades later, the piece was sold
for a whooping $300 Million to Kenneth C. Griffin, the same American
businessman that bought Pollock's Number 17A.
1 SALVATOR MUNDI BY LEONARDO DA
VINCI: $450.3 MILLION
Leonardo Da Vinci will always remain one of
the most iconic figures in the world of art. This comes, of course, in addition
to all the other ventures he immersed himself in during his lifetime. Even
those who know absolutely nothing about art know exactly who Da Vinci is, and
the extent of his genius.
Salvator Mundi was, for many
years, thought to be a copy of the original piece that was lost long ago, most
likely done by one of Leonardo's apprentice. However, it became general
consensus that the painting was actually the original, and in 2017 it surpassed
Interchange by becoming the most expensive painting in the world - $450.3
Million expensive, to be more precise.
The Porter Brothers
Fairfield Porter was a realist painter and art critic. His parents were James Porter, an architect, and Ruth Furness Porter, a poet. Fairfield’s brother was photographer Eliot Porter.
A Harvard grad, his subjects were primarily landscapes, domestic interiors and portraits of family, friends and fellow artists, many of them affiliated with the New York School of writers, including Poets John Ashbery and James Schuyler and novelist Frank O'Hara.
Many of his paintings were set in or around the family summer house on Great Spruce Head Island, Maine (Which they owned) and the family home at 49 South Main Street, Southampton, New York. Porter said once, "When I paint, I think that what would satisfy me is to express what Bonnard said Renoir told him: 'make everything more beautiful."
Eliot Furness Porter was best known for his intimate color photographs of nature. Fairfield Porter introduced his older brother to photographer and gallerist Alfred Stieglitz in about 1930. Stieglitz, after seeing Porter's work, encouraged Porter to work harder.
Porter became interested in color photography after a publisher rejected a proposal for a book on birds because black and white images wouldn't clearly differentiate the species. Porter began working with a new color film, Kodachrome, introduced in 1935, but it presented considerable technical challenges, especially for capturing fast-moving birds. Drawing on his chemical engineering and research background Porter experimented extensively until he was able to produce satisfactory images.
Hunter the painting dog
The News Leader
YJILL SUMMERVILLE
Staunton, Virginia
27 Oct 1988,
Five-year-old Hunter lives in
Alberta, Canada, with his human companions, Kenny Au, a computer engineer, and
Denise Lo, an ESL teacher. He is a Shiba Inu. Shiba Inus were named one of the
top ten smartest dog breeds in a 2018 article by CelebrityDogWatcher.com.
[Currently, humans only have methods for measuring working intelligence in
dogs, the ability to learn a new command in less than five repetitions and obey
it ninety-five percent of the time. Adaptive intelligence and instinctive
intelligence aren’t accounted for.] Since Hunter is the most intelligent dog Au
and Lo have ever owned, they regularly provide him with opportunities to learn
new skills. Hunter picks up his own toys, fetches his owners’ slippers, and
stacks toy rings. Most impressively, though, he paints.
Hunter’s first painting was a gift
to his family. In March of 2017, Au and Lo wanted to paint a design on one of
their walls. When neither Au nor Lo found a suitable design, they decided to
consult another family member. First, they taught Hunter to hold a paintbrush
in his mouth, then they taught him to put the paintbrush to a paper that was
taped to the wall and move the brush along the paper. Finally, they added paint
to Hunter’s paintbrush. Pleased with the result, they let Hunter paint the
design for their wall. “Since Hunter is such a huge part of our lives, ” said
Au and Lo “we thought it would be appropriate if he made some artwork for us.”
Now Hunter paints daily. “He seems to love having a job,” say Au and Lo, “and
it seems to make him calmer throughout the day.”
Hunter isn’t the only pooch who
has gained attention for his paintings. Arbor, a Las Vegas, Nevada rescue dog,
Dagger II, known professionally as Dog Vinci, a black lab and golden retriever
mix who became a painter after being told he was too anxious to become a
service dog, and blind, long-haired rescue dachshund, Hallie have all found
aficionados. While all of these dogs found loving homes, Hunter is the only dog
who has been with his current human companions since his puppyhood. There is
another way he differs from his canine competitors. While any proceeds Dog
Vinci and Hallie make from their paintings go to nonprofits that help canines,
Hunter competes on the open market. He has his own accounts on Instagram and
Etsy. Though his paintings were originally priced at thirty-eight U.S. dollars
each, his Etsy shop currently lists his asking price as roughly fifty U.S.
dollars per painting. As of 2019, Hunter has sold over one hundred fifty
paintings. His profits total roughly four thousand nine hundred three dollars
and fourteen cents in U.S. dollars. Au and Lo say they are considering donating
some of the future proceeds from Hunter’s work to their local animal shelters.
Hunter isn’t doing this for the
money. Instead, he’s motivated by the treats his humans give him when he uses
his paintbrush in a constructive way. He is learning the physical movements a
painter performs, and he is associating those movements with obtaining a
desired reward. Neither he nor any of his canine competitors are actually
learning the many abstract concepts associated with painting, such as
perspective, medium, and color palette. Much of a dog’s brain activity is
focused in the stratium, a dopamine rich area that focuses on reward, pleasure,
and expectation. In other words, it’s probably the expectation of a reward—a
reward that, as an intelligent dog, he likely quickly learned to expect—that is
a pleasure to Hunter, not the act of painting itself. The ability to take
pleasure in an abstract, emotionalized concept is a distinctly human ability. A
brain’s ability to perform complex functions is partially determined by its
size relative to a creature’s body. The average dog brain is roughly the size
of a tangerine. Gregory Berns, a neuroscientist who studies the canine brain
for Emory University in Atlanta, says, “Dogs’ brains just don’t have the real
estate to do the things ours do.”
Hunter is a motivated artist. He
simply doesn’t have human motivations. In the end, though, does that really
matter? Dogs can recognize partner bonds. In Berns’ research, dogs would
willingly feed other dogs they knew, even if they didn’t receive any food
themselves. Unlike most animals, apart from humans, dogs recognize pointing as
a meaningful gesture that indicates attention should be turned to something
other than themselves. They know how to use head and facial movements to
redirect their humans’ attention. Most impressively, dogs understand object
permanence. Object permanence is the psychological understanding that an object
moved out of sight has not disappeared, and it may appear elsewhere.
Dogs
understand this concept, and they can use object tracking to determine where
they should search for an object that has moved out of sight. For comparison,
four-year-old humans struggle with understanding object permanence. Hunter uses
his skill at object tracking when he paints. Not only does hr know performing
certain actions with a paintbrush will lead to his getting a treat. He uses his
object tracking ability to make sure he performs the same physical movements
with the brush each time he paints, both while he is dipping the brush and
while he is actually painting.
Perhaps that’s not how a human
artist approaches painting, but Hunter is still forming a genuine connection
with someone every time he pleases a human who loves him with one of his
paintings.
Livia Marin, Chilean born artist
Livia Marin, Chilean born artist
imagines a whole new world for cups and teapots in her series of ceramic Nomad
Patterns. The artist deflected by making ceramic bathing, a very surreal way,
in flasks covered and sagging patterns. A fabulous clash between tradition and
modernity.
Livia Marin has reshaped service
porcelain teapots and cups by giving them a molten appearance … all without
damaging or changing the patterns inscribed on objects.
"Abstract art is not the creation of another reality but the true vision of reality." Piet Mondrian
From Wikipedia
Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan was a
Dutch painter and theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists
of the 20th century. He is known for being one of the pioneers of 20th century
abstract art, as he changed his artistic direction from figurative painting to
an increasingly abstract style, until he reached a point where his artistic
vocabulary was reduced to simple geometric elements.
Mondrian's art was highly utopian
and was concerned with a search for universal values and aesthetics. He
proclaimed in 1914: “Art is higher than reality and has no direct relation to
reality. To approach the spiritual in art, one will make as little use as
possible of reality, because reality is opposed to the spiritual. We find
ourselves in the presence of an abstract art. Art should be above reality,
otherwise it would have no value for man.” His art, however, always remained
rooted in nature.
He was a contributor to the De
Stijl art movement and group, which he co-founded with Theo van Doesburg. He
evolved a non-representational form which he termed Neoplasticism. This was the
new 'pure plastic art' which he believed was necessary in order to create
'universal beauty'. To express this, Mondrian eventually decided to limit his
formal vocabulary to the three primary colors (red, blue and yellow), the three
primary values (black, white and gray) and the two primary directions (horizontal
and vertical). Mondrian's arrival in Paris from the Netherlands in 1911 marked
the beginning of a period of profound change. He encountered experiments in
Cubism and with the intent of integrating himself within the Parisian
avant-garde removed an 'a' from the Dutch spelling of his name (Mondriaan).
Mondrian's work had an enormous
influence on 20th century art, influencing not only the course of abstract
painting and numerous major styles and art movements (e.g. Color Field
painting, Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism), but also fields outside the
domain of painting, such as design, architecture and fashion.
Design historian Stephen Bayley
said: 'Mondrian has come to mean Modernism. His name and his work sum up the
High Modernist ideal. I don’t like the word ‘iconic’, so let’s say that he’s
become totemic – a totem for everything Modernism set out to be.'
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