Blossoming Almond Branch in a Glass (1888)

Blossoming Almond Branch in a Glass (1888)
One of my favorite still life subjects of Van Gogh, the cut branch in a glass, I ran across this one with the book behind creating a complicated compositional element. Note also the use of complementary colors, red and green, creating a vibration in the painting.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Francisco Goya

Happy Birthday Francisco Goya!! This painter and lithographer was born in 1746 in Saragossa, Spain. He was a portrait painter as well as the official painter to the king. In 1792 he was quite ill and went deaf, perhaps leading to his extreme introspective paintings to follow. In his work he attacked positions of the church, political uprisings, etc. Although his commentary was often controversial, he did, however, continue to work for the King until his self-inflicted exile to Bordeaux in 1824. In 1817 he experimented with the new printing process: lithography, creating portraits and bullfighting scenes. In an attempt to encourage his countrymen to take a hard look at themselves, Goya produced a series of prints titled Los Caprichos, of which the one I am including today is one: The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters.


I must mention that today is also Vincent van Gogh's birthday...please go to http://www.famousartistsbirthdays.blogspot.com/ to read my post from last year about him!!

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