Week 7: Video Review

This week I had to watch 4 videos.  I hate to admit, but I chose what I was going to watch based on how long the video was.  I am getting pretty burned out on watching videos and I’m out of town for work so my time is limited.  The two shortest videos were Albrecht Durer: Image of a Master and Velazquez.  Both of these video focused on the artist themselves. 

Durer was a German painter most noted for his  self-portraits.  Below are Durer at age 22 and age 28.  I love both these paintings especially the detail of his  hair.  Durer was greatly influenced by his father .  He also paints landscapes.  What I found most intriguing was the way he signed his name.  Almost looked like a symbol vs. his initials.

Durer at age 22

Durer at 28

Diego Velazquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist. In addition to numerous renditions of scenes of historical and cultural significance, he painted scores of portraits of the Spanish royal family, other notable European figures, and commoners, culminating in the production of his masterpiece Las Meninas.

I then watched La Primavera (Botticelli).  This painting is also known as  Allegory of Spring.  It  is a tempera panel painting.  I didn’t know what “tempera” meant until watching the video.  They egg yolk is used as the binder for the paint.  This painting has been greatly debated.  While most critics agree that the painting, depicting a group of mythological figures in a garden, is allegorical for the lush growth of spring, other meanings have also been explored. In the textbook, Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus is shown.  This is also what prompted me to watch this particular video.  I really like that painting so I wanted to know more able him.

The last video I watched was The Night Watch (Rembrandt).  I really liked this video and learning about the painting.  Rembrandt is a famous painter so I didn’t really want to watch something about him.  The painting is famous for three elements: its colossal size ( 11ft  x 14ft), the effective use of light and shadow (also known as chiaroscuro), and the perception of motion in what would have been, traditionally, a static military portrait.  I was surprised to learn that the painting was coated with a dark varnish which gave the incorrect impression that it depicted a night scene.  That’s how the name The Night Watch came to be.  I was also amazed to hear what the painting has been through.   This picture shows the original size of the painting.  The white lines represent the portion that has been cut away.