Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is a prime example of Pablo Picasso’s mastery of cubism. The artwork caused an uproar when it was exhibited, as it depicted nude females in a nontraditional manner. These females are angular, unfeminine, and unflinching in their nudity. With this piece, Picasso aimed to establish himself as one of the great painters of his time, and the…
-
-
It’s one of the quintessential images of pop art: a girl surrounded by swirling water, thinking “I don’t care! I’d rather sink – than call Brad for help!” Drowning Girl is one of pop artist Roy Lichtenstein’s defining images, his masterpiece of melodrama, displaying his skill for reproducing comic book images and giving them a deeper, more complex meaning. Singulart…
-
Frida Kahlo’s name has become synonymous with her striking, bold self-portraits. A celebrated Mexican artist, Kahlo used her life as inspiration for her art, resulting in deeply personal pieces like The Wounded Deer. In this article, Singulart explores the colorful life of Frida Kahlo, as well as the interpretations surrounding The Wounded Deer. Who was Frida Kahlo? Frida Kahlo was…
-
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio led a turbulent life, consisting of murder charges, ambushes by knights, and a death that is shrouded in mystery to this day. He poured his passion into his artwork, producing realistic high renaissance pieces that had an incredible amount of detail. His use of light and dark contrast, or chiaroscuro, was incredibly influential to fellow artists…
-
Guernica is not only a masterpiece of Pablo Picasso’s cubism, but it is also an important political statement, perhaps the most iconic anti-war image of the twentieth century. After he was commissioned to paint a mural for the Paris World Fair, Picasso eschewed the prompt of ‘technology’ and instead chose to shine a spotlight on the aftermath of the Guernica…
-
Vincent Van Gogh painted a number of portraits throughout his artistic career, but this 1889 version, painted only months before his death, is one of the greatest. The undulating background, contrasted with the fixed, rigid expression on Van Gogh’s face, provides a fascinating contradiction. In this article, Singulart examines the life of Van Gogh, his passion for painting self-portraits, and…
-
The Triumph of Galatea is a fresco by renaissance artist Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, also known as Raphael. It depicts the character of Galatea, who appears in Greek mythology as a sea-nymph in love with a mortal. Raphael has immortalized the moment of Galatea’s apotheosis, when she becomes a being of the most divine level. The fresco is a testament…
-
Sleeping Venus is a sensual, sumptuous artwork that is attributed both to Venetian artist Titian and his teacher, Giorgione. One of the first full-length female nudes ever painted in Venice, this portrayal of Venus has been called one of the most beautiful reclining nudes in existence. In this article, Singulart explores the art trope of the reclining nude, explains why…
-
The Starry Night is considered to be Vincent van Gogh’s masterpiece, painted while he was a patient in a mental asylum at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The swirling composition of the sky and the melancholic blue color palette, coupled with Van Gogh’s tragic history, have caused the artwork to become one of the most recognizable paintings of all time. There is so much…
-
Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein’s Brushstrokes series was a subversive, sly nod at the abstract expressionism movement, as well as a tribute to artists such as Jackson Pollock. The first piece of the series, Brushstrokes, took its inspiration from a panel in a comic book, like many of Lichtenstein’s artworks. Lichtenstein explained, “You think it’s a picture of a brush stroke.…
