Art in Melancholia

Has anyone else seen the new Lars von Trier film Melancholia? The film itself is an amazing (albeit, depressing) work of art, but there are many scenes where we catch glimpses of art we've studied in class, or artists we've studied. In the movie, Kirsten Dunst's character secludes herself in a room which isa sort of art book library.

In one of these scenes she rearranges some openly displayed books. Some of the art we get to see includes:

Pieter Breugal's The Land of Cockaigne

Klimt's The Kiss

In addition to placing art in the film, von Trier also draws inspiration from art. A prime example of this is the image of Justine (Kirsten Dunst's character) floating down a stream with a bouquet of flowers. Somebody else caught this reference as well and wrote a blog about. Click here to check it out!

I think it's really interesting that there seem to be a lot of references to centuries old art in recent films. Someone else posted about art being referenced in the new Twilight movie and in The Skin I Live In, and now Melancholia, and these are all films that were released this year.

-Alexandra Martinez

"The Massacre of the Innocents"

It was a wonderful journey to go over Metropolitan Art of Museum, I found many genius and fantastic artworks, especially the one called oil painting by Francois-Joseph Navez which was made during 1787-1869. It was a master piece, which touching me when i saw it. Francois-Joseph Navez was a Belgain student of Jacques-Louis David who has created "The Oath of the Horatii" painting. In painting of "The Massacre of the Innocents," I seem can tell the style of Navez is fusing David's naturalism and idealization of figures forms. The painting is telling the story of a family preventing for Massacre. And each characters have been shown in different ways: the lady in the middle putting her hands over her head, and gaze at the ground with helpless and sadness. She makes me feel like she is tired to escape, and has no choice for her life and her family life. She is holding over the little girl, who is lying over her hand and look upward with half-closed eyes, and her mouth is half-opened, which seems she is breathing, and there is blood comes out from her breast. The another ladies which from left side, she is trying to take care of the little girl, and her face is showing worries. The last lady from right side, she is covering the baby mouth in order to stop sounds. And she is looking outside with her scary face. The baby which she holding is showing the struggles faces, which give me a feeing of pity and sadness. The artist used the light on central figures to take viewer's attention, and then leading viewers to the right hand side (woman and baby) and back to the scene of Massacre (a man is killing people) by following the lady's eyes. I really like the way the artist portrayed with baby's expression, the baby gives me more feeling of "innocent", even though his scale is kinda wried to compare with other figures, because he has a bigger head than other figures, which doesn't look real. But overall piece of work is pretty nice and emotional. In Navez's painting, he has adopted the techniques of his teacher used in "The Oath of the horatii": highlights and shadows, they like to covered by shadows which highlights the foreground of the family situations, and apply dark color on the background. And the composition for both painting are divided into two areas, either opposite sides or front-back. The both painting are seem to talk about sacrifice and innocents: in David's painting, the father and his sons are sacrifice for the city's sake, and in Navez's painting, the family are sacrifice as well. Both of painting are neoclassical style, which are doing with dramatic lighting, perfection forms, and gestural clarity which are emphasized.

Also, there is another two artworks I prefer to talk about are "Jerusalem from the Environs" by Charles-Theodore Frere in 1814-1888 and "Prayer in the Mosque" by Jean-Leon Gerome in 1871. The "Jerusalem from the Environs" is a scene of French Countryside, and it represents the style of Meticulous. The Meticulous style requires great care and grace. I like this piece work because the space which artist represented is very well, the distance from men to the countryside is very unique and real. When I look at this work, I feel like I am involved in it, and I am part of their group, surveying the countryside which is very far and far away, and waiting to get home. The "Prayer in the Mosque" is very surprise me. The painting looks very fantastic because the depth distance he created, and there is no end of distance, and it seems go further and further. Both of artworks are very static look, but they have pure feeling for nature, and excelled in atmospheric perspective technique.


By JingQianLiu

Here is a piece of video art made by Marco Brambilla for The Standard Hotel, New York, “Civilization”. The concept was to create a video mural that depicted the journey from hell to heaven. It will playback on a high-definition monitor which will be seen through a viewing port in each of the elevators at the hotel and move according to the direction of the elevator. This piece shares similar themes and visual aids to Giotto’s The Last Judgment from the “Arena Chapel” 1305 and Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment from the Sistine Chapel 1505.





Civilization was one of my personal inspirations for my own piece of video art. Heres a music video I did for Brooklyn based tropical Band The Dinosaur Feathers. Half way through the video theres a sequence where I play with the similar notion of visual rhythm and mathematics, that I find comparable to Piet Mondrian works and inspirations as well.

Dinosaur Feathers Music Video
Directed by The Moonmen

- David Sainte

Saint Francis By Federico Barocci


The painting of Saint Francis by Federico Barocci was painted circa 1600- 1604. The medium used in this painting is oil on canvas. Its dimensions are 35 3/8 by 30 7/8 in. This painting can be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The painting shows Saint Francis standing a grotto on Mount Laverna, where he receives the stigmata. We can see the nails protruding from his left hand. In front of Saint Francis we see an open book, which contains a Latin prayer and the Pater Noster (Our Father), which is the Lord's Prayer. In the background we see Jesus up on the cross. There is a landscape background and water can be seen past the mountains with a setting sun. The primary light source in this painting comes in from the right side, which illuminates Saint Francis robe as well as the open book.

This painting was done at the beginning of the Baroque period. The Baroque style favored exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, happiness and grandeur. By looking at the picture we can see that it is defiantly a product of the Baroque era in that Barocci paid very close attention to the details that he painted. Lets take for example Saint Francis' face. His eyes look incredibly life like and they even look as if he might be tearing up a little but the glossy look of his eye. We are able to see a glisten of his teeth through his mustache. Even the hair on his head appears soft and touchable.

Barocci worked through the Mannerist period into the Baroque. He stays true to the Mannerist tradition in the way that he paints the fabric of Saint Francis robe. Barrocci is known for his draperies as well as his delicate use of color. We can see this in the way the light is reflected on Saint Francis robe as well as his face. Jesus is also beautiful painted. His body is illuminated by the light source of the painting. Yet his face is partially hidden in the shadow.

Over all I think this is a powerful and moving painting. The expression on Saint Francis face and his gaze gives an almost pained and shocked feeling to the painting. There is plenty of emotion behind the gaze. He looks as though he could be in mid prayer.

Ornella Sookhlal

Close Up:

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa Secret or Joke? by Gisela Perez

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa

Secret or Joke?

The Mona Lisa is 16th century oil painting created by the renowned Leonardo da Vinci. The work of art depicts an enigmatic woman gazing at the viewer. There are lots of theories about this painting, some very fantastic, everybody wants to come up with something new.

As far as Art history goes, Based on the mid-sixteenth century biography of Leonardo da Vinci by Giorgio Vasari, many historians believe the painting is a portrait of Madam Lisa Giocondo, wife of a wealthy Florentine. It is from Vasari that the painting received the name Mona Lisa, also known as La Gioconda in Italian or La Joconde in French. There have been many theories as to who the model was. The most believable recognition is, again, Vasari’s, and it goes back almost to Leonardo’s lifetime.

No theory satisfactorily answers these questions. Some speculate that the Mona Lisa is not a portrait of one woman, but an artful composite of many, Leonardo's idealization of all womanhood. Others suggest it may have been one of da Vinci's young male models in drag, or Leonardo himself in drag. Some even believe that the Mona Lisa is not a portrait at all, but instead an invention of Leonardo's extraordinary imagination.

As the years pass by each successive generation have been fascinated by the painting each seeing something different, each discovering something of its own. Now days, by means of countless reproductions, it has become better known than any picture ever painted. As I was searching for the Mona Lisa I came across a website with an article named; The Many Incarnations of the Mona Lisa – From Dali to Bansky. Very funny, here are some of the incarnations:

I wonder if Leonardo da Vinci from wherever he is now is saying, “ keep looking there is a secret” or “ Can you people just let it go, it is just a painting. “ There can be many funny incarnations of the Mona Lisa, or countless reproductions, but I will stick to Giorgio Vasari version until further notice.

Gisela Perez

-The Mona Lisa

James J. Rorimer and Theodore Rousseau

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin , New Series, Vol. 21, No. 6 (Feb., 1963), pp. 223-224

- Laurie Schneider Adams, Art across Time, volume II. McGraw-Hill College.

- The Many Incarnations of the Mona Lisa. http://lunaticadesnuda.blogspot.com/2008/08/many-incarnations-of-mona-lisa.html

Spiral Jetty by Katherine Shannon

The Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson really intrigues me because it was designed and built by land-moving trucks, and is a visible and quite large piece of artwork. The Spiral Jetty also reminds me of a movie called The Last Mimzy which is a children's movie that follows two children who develop special powers after opening a mysterious box of toys. In the box of toys is a rabbit which telepathically speaks with one child, stones and a weird object. The children become extremely intelligent, to the level of genius, from being exposed to these toys and one child assembles all the objects creating a blackout in the state. I think this is very interesting because the movie largely uses a design much like the Spiral Jetty and it shows how this shape has a somewhat magical and other-worldly association. Also, its really cool because the children become intelligent beyond theirs years which portrays how mystical and intellectual such a design like the Spiral jetty is because Smithson had intended to remind viewers of the remains of ancient civilizations which had an incredible genius to make things that in current civilization are still trying to understand. Its interesting to note the connection of this insignia with intelligence because learning civilizations of the past is important for the future, which we see happens to the children in the movie.

I was also intrigued by the reasoning Smithson used the spiral shape which was because it suggests endless growth and decay. That type of ideology is similar to that of Celtic art and designs which are usually constant looping and intertwining oval, or circular shapes that are supposed to represent connections in the world between life and death. Any circular pattern that curls and uncurls provoke a curiosity because they suggest that things are never ending. Also, it is implied that death and life are two things that are hand and hand. Much like the Spiral Jetty, Celtic art and design portrays that everything is connected.

Hannah Wilke

Here are some images from the S.O.S Series that we will talk about next week, but you can start familiarizing yourself with the images and make sure you are researching the right piece!