The Art Appreciation Thread

[Thought]

The compendium has threads for video games, classical music, other music, movies, random bits of information, books, and even artwork that compendiumians have made, but no thread just for sharing beautiful works of art (painted, sculpted, or in short verse).

As such, this thread is intended for that very purpose. Post your favorite paintings, artistic photographs, poems, etc here. I would ask that anime, video games, etc all be excluded, as there are already threads for those. Basically, if you might be tought to appreciate it in a college course, please post it here (the image itself as well as a link to it, if you can manage, or a section of text if it is written with the reference information so we can find it).

Index of Art

Paintings (as well as Frescoes, Mosaics, etc)

• The Aggressive Grace of Battle
  
• Amadea
  
• The Annunciation
  
• Aviator
  
• Ayla
  
• A Bar at the Folies-Bergère
  
• The Death of Marat
  
• Random Portrait
  
• Saint George and the Dragon
  
• The Starry Night
  
• Unknown (by Natalie Shau)
  
• Untitled (Eagle)
  
• Vendée
  
• The Wanderer
  
• Water Spirit
  
• Young Woman Writing
  

Sculptures

• Bust of Janus
  
• Clio, muse of History
  
• The Jefferson Memorial
  
• The Lincoln Memorial
  
• Statues in the FDR Memorial
  
• Statue in the U.S. Capitol Building
  

Monuments, Buildings, and feats of Engineering

• East Los Angeles Interchange
  
• Pantheon
  
• Stave Churches
  
• Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
  

Poetry and other Written Things

• The Constition of the United State
  
• Eve of St. Agnes
  
• The Lay of Leithian
  
• The Wanderer
  

Landscape

• The Getty
  
• The Getty Villa
  

[Thought]

]The Wanderer Above a Sea of Clouds (Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer), by Caspar David Friedrich



The Wanderer, an Old English poemt recorded in the Exeter Book

Who liveth alone longeth for mercy,
Maker's mercy. Though he must traverse
Tracts of sea, sick at heart,
– Trouble with oars ice-cold waters,
The ways of exile – Wierd is set fast.

So the earth-stepper spoke, mindful of hardships,
of fierce slaughter, the fall of kin:
Oft must I, alone, the hour before dawn
lament my care. Among the living
none now remains to whom I dare
my inmost thought clearly reveal.
I know it for truth: it is in a warrior
noble strength to bind fast his spirit,
guard his wealth-chamber, think what he will.
Weary mind never withstands fate,
nor does troubled thought bring help.

The Battle Between Fingolfin and Morgoth, as recorded in the The Lay of Leithian, by J.R.R. Tolkien

In that vast shadow once of yore
Fingolfin stood: his shield he bore
with field of heaven's blue and star
of crystal shining pale afar.
In overmastering wrath and hate
desperate he smote upon that gate,
the Gnomish king, there standing lone,
while endless fortresses of stone
engulfed the thin clear ringing keen
of silver horn on baldric green.
His hopeless challenge dauntless cried
...


Then Morgoth came. For the last time
in those great wars he dared to climb
from subterranean throne profound,
the rumour of his feet a sound
of rumbling earthquake underground.
Black-armoured, towering, iron-crowned
he issued forth; his mighty shield
a vast unblazoned sable field
with shadow like a thundercloud;
...

Fingolfin like a shooting light
beneath a cloud, a stab of white,
sprang then aside, and Ringil drew
like ice that gleameth cold and blue,
his sword devised of elvish skill
to pierce the flesh with deadly chill.
With seven wounds it rent his foe,
and seven mighty cries of woe
rang in the mountains, and the earth quook,
and Angband's trembling armies shook.

...
Thrice was Fingolfin with great blows
to his knees beaten, thrice he rose
still leaping up beneath the cloud
aloft to hold star-shining, proud,
his stricken shield, his sundered helm,
that dark nor might could overwhelm
till all the earth was burst and rent
in pits about him. He was spent.
His feet stumbled. He fell to wreck
upon the ground, and on his neck
a foot like rooted hills was set,
and he was crushed - not conquered yet;
one last despairing stroke he gave:
the mighty foot pale Ringil clave
about the heel, and black the blood
gushed as from smoking fount in flood.

Halt goes for ever from that stroke
great Morgoth; but the king he broke,
...

[Lord J Esq]

Obviously its exterior doesn't win my vote, but the interior of the Pantheon is possibly my favorite work of architecture. It's certainly high up on the list. And it's been my pet favorite for a very long time, since I was a kid. In addition to its beauty, I am amazed at the mathematical intricacy and engineering mastery which its construction required, and amazed that this technology was lost for an entire millennium. When Rome was decisively sacked, even the invaders could not bring themselves to destroy this place.

If that's too stuffy for some of you, another marvel that I happen to favor is the East Los Angeles Interchange, and in particular the Westbound 10 route, which features some extraordinary transitions. Civil engineering is probably the branch of engineering that I find the most conceptually impressive, and this interchange--aided by the natural geography--is really something.

[FaustWolf]

Yeah, I think Caspar David Friedrich has been proclaimed the official classic artist of SOY. Every dreamer is a Wanderer Above a Sea of Clouds.


A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, by Manet.


First, it's just flowing in bubbly, which can't be a bad thing. But more importantly, I love how the whole thing is completely open to the viewer's interpretation: the viewer is implicitly invited to take part in the construction of this painting's meaning. Is that a mirror behind the bar keeper, and are we in fact in the shoes of the dude in the top hat placing his order, or is this in fact a circular bar and there's no mirror at all?

[Sajainta]

I have many favourite works of art.

Firstly, I'll re-post the painting that was in the "Stuff you love" thread::



Young Woman Writing, in Pompeii ca. 75 AD.



The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David (1793).  If you do not know the significance of this painting please pick up a history book! 



The Starry Night, by Vincent Van Gough (1889).  I don't really care if everyone loves it and it's become "cliché" to enjoy--I think it is breathtakingly beautiful.  I have a poster of it in my room.



The Annunciation by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1898).  My father has a book of all the different paintings depicting the Annunciation--dating all the way from the 5th century to the 90s--including artists such as Michelangelo and Salvador Dalí.  Out of all of them, this one is my favourite.  Why?  Because it is the only one that seems the most realistic.  Departing from the "Mid 20s, Caucasian, sitting in an ornate room" Mary, it shows a young, perplexed Jewish girl in a realistic 1st century Palestinian abode.  I also appreciate that the angel Gabriel is shown as nothing more than a bright light--how could we possibly depict a messenger from God, sent from Heaven?



Untitled (Eagle) by Scott Mutter.  This is one of his "Surrational Images".  I shall let the artist speak for himself::  "This picture is my most baroque, in the way it fills the frame with imagery and in its nonlinear thrust. I see its pull as a desire for the spirit to wrench itself free from matter..."  More information on Mutter can be found here, if anyone is interested.  I find him a highly fascinating and wonderful artist.  I have a poster of this in my room also.



Vendée by Tony Scherman.  I won't go into a lengthy historical narrative, suffice to say that if you want to be disturbed, read about what happened in the Vendée region during the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution.  Scherman's painting is perfectly symbolic--the hat with the tricoloure (symbol of the Revolution and of liberty) resting on a skull.  I do not know why this painting is so small on here! 



I cannot remember the name of this piece (grr), but it is by Natalie Shau, an excruciatingly talented young artist.  I found this on deviantART in 2006.  I've fallen in love with her artwork, but this one is by far my favourite.

I have many, many more favourites, but I shall stop for now.  Great topic!

[Thought]

Firstly, I'll re-post the painting that was in the "Stuff you love" thread::

That is actually what sparked the idea for this thread.


Stave Churches




These are amazing works of our Nordic heritage. They are like European pagoda s in some respects, but the examples of knotwork decorations in the wood is breathtaking. I didn't want to post the following image since it is so big, but it is definitely worth a look: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Hedal_stavkirke_portal.jpg


A portion of the Constitution of the United States



A statue in the U.S. Capitol building.



Part of the FDR Memorial, noting the breadlines of the Great Depression.



The Jefferson Memorial



The Lincoln Memorial



The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier


Watching the Changing of the Guards is a must for anyone in D.C.


Saint George and the Dragon, unfortunately I didn't get who the artist was but it is part of the permanent exhibit at the Getty



Part of the landscape at the Getty



Landscape at the Getty Villa



The Muse, Clio, also at the Getty Villa



A bust of Janus, Roman god of doorways (and other things). This particular version has the faces of Herodotus and Thucydides, and in this form is sometimes considered the god or patron of History.

[Kara Kazeneko]

Does it have to be classical art that we post in here?

Because I'm a major fan (and friend, btw) of a modern artist who's work is epic...

[Sajainta]

Does it have to be classical art that we post in here?

No.

Art is art, regardless of when it was created.  Almost all of the pictures other people have posted aren't of classical art.

[ZeaLitY]

    And still she slept an azure-lidded sleep,
    In blanched linen, smooth, and lavender'd,
    While he from forth the closet brought a heap
    Of candied apple, quince, and plum, and gourd
    With jellies soother than the creamy curd,
    And lucent syrops, tinct with cinnamon;
    Manna and dates, in argosy transferr'd
    From Fez; and spiced dainties, every one,
    From silken Samarcand to cedar'd Lebanon.

    These delicates he heap'd with glowing hand
    On golden dishes and in baskets bright
    Of wreathed silver: sumptuous they stand
    In the retired quiet of the night,
    Filling the chilly room with perfume light.---
    "And now, my love, my seraph fair, awake!
    Thou art my heaven, and I thine eremite:
    Open thine eyes, for meek St Agnes' sake,
    Or I shall drowse beside thee, so my soul doth ache."

My goodness...

I just want to lay down my head, close my eyes, and disappear when reading imagery like that...

[Kara Kazeneko]

Well, then... let me have some fun...and post some epic works by my bud Rogie Custodio, largely known by his DeviantArt username of "pokefreak". Though his intensely amazing fan art has earned him uber fame, his original art has been getting major honor by being featured in a few magazine articles.

The Aggressive Grace of Battle

Amadea (character from the first pic)

Water Spirit

Aviator

Random Portrait

And here's one of his epic works of fan art (IMO), to give you an idea of what he's known for...

[FaustWolf]

Aahhh, so maybe that's where King Zeal gets his poetic side from!


Kara, is your friend a professional artist engaged in, like, movie/manga/videogame/other industry work, or is this purely a pastime for him? I'm always confused by this: DeviantArt has some major, seriously major talent lying within, but I'm not sure what these artists' situations are -- are they being rewarded monetarily for their uber talent in any way? It would seem like a shame to me if DeviantArt's finest talent were slaving away in Wal-Mart stores or otherwise unable to find professional opportunity in what they obviously have a supreme knack for.

[Zephira]

I appreciate this art: http://flangeloni.deviantart.com/art/Ayla-141282321 She just has such an intense look to here eye...

I'm also really fond of the art in Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics. They rotated artists, but they were all really good, and every style seemed like it was hand picked to fit the current storyline.

[TriforceofEternity]

Tis quite sensless thou can not put Chrono artwork on here nor show off Chrono art work thou think is cool

We really need a thread to do such a thing if you find artwork somewhere that you want to show off...........................................................................................-_-

[Mr Bekkler]

Tis quite sensless thou can not put Chrono artwork on here nor show off Chrono art work thou think is cool

We really need a thread to do such a thing if you find artwork somewhere that you want to show off...........................................................................................-_-

You mean every thread in the Submissions subforum? 

[Kara Kazeneko]

@ FaustWolf = Rogie attends a pretty awesome college, and is even currently working on an animated movie for credit ("Kung-Fu Romance").

Aside from getting praise in digital art magazines, when it comes to his hard work paying off, that's courtesy of folks paying for him to do commissions for them or buying prints of his art (through DeviantArt). He's also thinking of maybe selling some of his best stuff as posters (and possibly T-shirts, though that idea hasn't been in high demand enough).