Favorite art, architecture, etc.

[ab_grp]

I was thinking recently about a couple favorite art pieces and one particular building that just amaze me, and I wondered what particularly strikes other forumites.  I hope this doesn't replicate any other threads, and I will apologize in advance for not being an "art person" and really not have the words to describe my thoughts on the following very well.

For art pieces, at some point I came across some paintings from Jacques-Louis David and was drawn to them.  Favorites are "The Death of Marat" and "Death of Socrates" (a theme for me? who knows).  My top, top favorite, though, is "The Moorish Chief" (Eduard Charlemont).  It's the only one of the three I've seen in person, and the first time I saw it (had never heard of it) it took my breath away, and I found myself walking toward it, unable to look away.  The contrasts and shadings are amazing.  It's such a striking portrait.  The subject of the portrait is known in my family now as "my guy" because I love the painting so much (e.g., my brother will let me know when he's visited my guy).  Although I appreciate many styles of painting, I do seem to prefer realistic portraits.  I guess the David paintings are a bit more familiar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Marat#/media/File:Jacques-Louis_David_-_La_Mort_de_Marat.jpg, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques-Louis_David#/media/File:David_-_The_Death_of_Socrates.jpg, respectively), but here is my guy: https://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/102792.html  Seeing it on screen doesn't do it justice.

The building I was thinking of is St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, which I had the good fortune to be able to visit a number of years ago.  There is plenty to see and be in awe of in Rome and other parts of Italy.  I had seen the Sistine Chapel, which is an incredible thing to behold.  However, the interior of St. Peter's just bowled me over.  It is so majestic and magnificent.  It didn't seem as if humans could have created this.  This 360-degree tour is pretty cool but again doesn't do it justice: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/150720-Vatican-360-Degree-Tour-Saint-Peters-Basilica/

Anyone want to share experiences or creations that completely amaze you? It doesn't have to be art or architecture, but my guy and St. Peter's are always what come to mind for me.

[mamselle]

When I was 8 years old I saw Feininger's "Bird Cloud," at our local gallery in Col's, OH, and was transported.

They'd held a children's craft fair, or somesuch, and it worked: they got us into the galleries and tricked us into "looking at art" by having the coat check room near one of the modern galleries...

Now I have the language to say it's constructed by light, shimmering light converging into shapes.

Then, I just stood and looked at it.

M.

[nebo113]

Winged Victory at the Louvre.  Michelangelo's David.  The Calder Mobile at the East Wing of the National Gallery.

[Hegemony]

John Singer Sargent.  I think that means I'm middlebrow.  Oh well.

[ciao_yall]

One piece that captured me in the moment was this one in the Luxembourg Gardens. The faces are so expressive - rare in statues! I just stood and watched it for a while, as though I were watching a family playing.

https://www.eutouring.com/images_paris_statues_309.html

[mamselle]

Lovely!

Reminds me of Michaelangelo's Doni Tondo (Tondo of the Holy Family) at the Uffizi...the circularity and intense focus within the trio:

   
   https://www.visituffizi.org/artworks/doni-tondo-by-michelangelo/

The figures have been moved with the child at the lower point of the triangle in the 19th c. piece, but many of the interrelated lines remain.

M.
     

[onehappyunicorn]

John Singer Sargent is an incredible painter, one of the best of his generation. I think part of the reason he was casually dismissed for half a century or so is not just because his contemporaries considered him an anachronism but because Sargent was such a prodigious talent that his painting seems effortless.

I really enjoy Dorothea Tanning, I think her work was some of the strongest among the surrealists. Her angels work is particularly interesting to me. https://66.media.tumblr.com/30d08596adb4225d312bd3ffcd199f7e/tumblr_n2oppnNxxE1sd8q4zo1_1280.jpg

I also admit an attachment to really good horror themed work, Zdzisław Beksiński's work is tremendously interesting.

[ab_grp]

Wow.  Thanks for the replies, and please keep them coming.  Some of the artists are names I've recognized though I was not familiar with their work (Sargent), and others I had no idea about (pretty much everyone other than Calder and Michelangelo).  It's so neat to see the breadth of interests as well, with different artistic periods and media.  I am really enjoying this thread and am also learning a lot.

[Anselm]

Gustave Dore, Augustus St. Gaudens, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Muchas, N.C. Wyeth, Piranesi, Maxfield Parrish....

(off the top of my head)

[onehappyunicorn]

So I'm a huge art dork (which is appropriate considering my profession) and I have way too many favorite artists but I figured I can list a few artists and works that maybe aren't as well known. These are all contemporary artists.
If you are drawn to traditional representational art, especially figurative work and still life work, I think you will probably dig Martha Mayer Erlebacher: http://www.artnet.com/artists/martha-mayer-erlebacher/

When I was up visiting Maine a few years ago I got to see some paintings by Diana Schmertz, some of these in particular: http://www.dianaschmertz.com/piles Some of her recent work is employing super interesting processes involving laser cutters.

Fábio Magalhães makes hyperrealistic paintings of meat so some of his work could be seen as kinda gruesome (just a little warning in case you don't care that sort of thing) https://www.artsy.net/artist/fabio-magalhaes I am generally not a fan of pure hyperrealism but I dig his work.

[Vkw10]

Renoir's Child with Bird https://www.clarkart.edu/Collection/3323

Winslow Homer's Northeaster https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/10.64.5/

Dale Chihuly's glass https://www.okcmoa.com/visit/events/chihulymagicandlight/

African sculpture, like this head: https://www.kimbellart.org/collection/ap-199404

Why these? The Renoir for the airy feel of the costume on that solid child's body. Homer for the striking light in a dark seascape. Chihuly for light and color and shape and reflections; everyone should have the chance to walk on and under a Chihuly installation although I've never found a good photo of one. African sculpture for the frequent balance between simple modeling and elaborate detail in a single piece.

[mamselle]

Good possibilities for Chilluly pix may be on the Victoria and Albert site, or the Columbus, OH CGFA website.

I agree on the masks, too. There was (might still be up) a great combination of photos, masks,fetishes, and related objects at the Met a couple years--I think it was a permanent one, to the left of the main entry.

They are not the only class of objects to be receiving more attention in issues of ethical curation/interpretation/repatriation, but they are among those for which a ritual context and religious intent suggest more nuanced concern for how/when/if they are displayed and commented upon.

Those concerns may affect visibility and availability to westerners in particular; it's a complex issue just beginning to be considered in depth.

M.

[nebo113]

Now at the National Gallery, after closure of Corcoran.  Carved from one piece of marble...

https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.176446.html

[mamselle]

Indeed haunting.

I'm guessing a shrouded individual, rather than a cloistered one.

M.

[mythbuster]

I may be a scientist by day, but I'm a total art dork (love the term) in my spare time. I would have been an Art History double major if not for the language requirements. 
    Favorite architecture: The Pantheon on Rome. It's on my bucket list to be there someday when it rains. The symmetry just speaks to you.
    Favorite painter: Johannes Vermeer. Really most any of the old Dutch masters other than Rembrandt (overrated). I own the catalog from the 1995 Vermeer exhibition in DC. It's a tome and I love it. You can get so lost in a Vermeer.
    Favorite modern art: Calder mobiles. Got to see the Whitney exhibition a few years ago where they would "activate" them. Wonderful play of space. color, and light.
   I just got back from a trip tot Pacific Northwest. LOVED the Chihully glass and the work of Emily Carr.

    Favorite industrial art application: Travel and Public Health posters in the WPA style. Both a travel and a public health one hang in my office. I've pondered developing a project for my Public health students to create new posters for modern issues. I worry that they will be intimidated (I'm not artistic etc.)

All this and I can't draw a thing beyond a decent stick figure. I could go on all day on this topic.

Question- are we still in the Contemporary period of art? Or have we now moved onto something else?