Viewer Essays Samples That Help You Write Better, Faster & with Gusto

Visual stimuli are everywhere. One cannot open their eyes without being bombarded with television commercials, magazine ads, billboards, and a myriad of other visuals. Every visual is created with a specific goal and audience in mind. For the purposes of this paper, both of the visuals to be analyzed are advertisements. Each has a specific people segment the visual is trying to target. In order to evaluate these visuals, several key components will be used. The key components being used are composition, people/other figures, scene, words and tone. The context for both visuals differ from each other. While the Continue reading...

The Act of Creation

There are a plethora of different reasons why artists choose to create art in certain manners. Every artistic pursuit in human history has had a goal; from the earliest human productions to the most modern, artists create with a purpose in mind. It seems to be one of the most important, driving forces in human existence: the need to create meaning through artistic expression. If this were not the case, it would be unlikely that art would be such a common theme throughout different cultures, times, and spaces. In the same way that music ties human cultures together and Continue reading...

The anti-drunk driving advertisements of today can often be harsh and shocking. Most are used to persuade individuals into not drinking, or remaining where they are when they have drank too much because something horrific could happen to himself, herself, or somebody else. We are all familiar with ads featuring car accidents, brain damaged scholars at the pinnacle of their high school careers, and amputees who have all suffered at the hands of drunk driving. These advertisements appeal to our sensibilities about staying safe and not causing harm to others; few individuals legitimately want to get behind the wheel Continue reading...

The boldest idea, most brilliant script, and the greatest cast would all be nothing without masterful cinematography, which Blain describes in Cinematography: Theory and Practice: Imagemaking For Cinematographers and Directors as “the process of taking ideas, words, actions, emotional subtext, tone, and all other forms of nonverbal communication and rendering them in visual terms” (Blain 2). In his journal, Lee reiterates the importance of exquisite filmmaking: “Not just anyone can make a good film. Film is not to be played with. It may be our most powerful medium and should be treated as such” (Lee 19). In Do the Continue reading...

Emphasis and focal point are two of the most important devices used by artists through the centuries. They help the viewer locate the principal areas of a work of art, the exact areas that the artist wants to highlight. DeWitte, Larmann and Shields (138) say that emphasis refers to a specific area or areas in an artwork where the artist tries to focus the attention of the viewer. Focal point has a similar function, being a specific point in the area of emphasis that the artist wants particularly emphasized. This usually contains an important message and/or the main idea Continue reading...

Chris Marker’s “Sans Soleil” as an Essay Film

In the recent past, essay films have come to be widely recognized as one category in the world of film practice, with their own history, as well as canons. Essay films have gained a description as being the most elastic of all film types. Indeed, there has been a proliferation of films of this type since the term was first identified. Whereas many scholars agree that it is almost impossibly difficult to give a definition for essay films, they do agree that these films have certain characteristics in common (Rascaroli 24-47). Scholars are divided on whether essay films are Continue reading...

Chapter Twelve

This chapter—chapter twelve—was about production in broadcast media. The first part of the chapter I found only a little interesting, because I feel that radio is a form of media that is largely falling out of use. Although there are still online radio stations, these stations have very different marketing platforms than traditional radio stations do. It was, however, interesting to consider that the absurd is really what sells in radio, because the listener cannot see the actors; it is up to the writer to make the commercials and the programming on the radio worthwhile and interesting Continue reading...

FILM STUDIES

The Dark Knight Rises
Prior to this movie hitting the theaters there was a lot of anticipation and speculation from the anxious public. The random shooting at the Colorado midnight viewing just added to the media buzz surrounding the film. I now intend to take a critical view of the movie, see how well it told the story it set out to tell and consider the elements that work together to capture the audience for nearly three hours.
The third movie in the Batman trilogy, the viewer is already familiar with the city of Gotham as a metaphor for Continue reading...

Visuals are one of the most powerful forms of representation. Visuals have the potential to immortalize a particular moment- the emotion and representation of the moment in time that cannot be recreated ever with all the similar attributes. From the very inception of photography, human kind has engaged in capturing moments in photographic frames that have stood the ravages of time preserving the moment of capture. The subjects of visuals have transcended the scythe of the temporal world as they live on in the visuals with all the expressions and articulation that can only be termed as something closest Continue reading...

Descriptive Statistics

Introduction
Graphs are a potent medium to visually compact large amount of data and present it to the viewer for ease of comprehension. However, the viewer must be aware of faulty graphs that may prove to create misperception in the mind of the viewer.

Faulty Graphs

Figure 1: Sales Data (Trulia, n.d.).
The sales data from Trulia relates to the Sacramento real estate market. On the face of it, the graph shows that there was a major dip in sales in 2008. The naked eye would see the peak in sales corresponding to the year 2005-6, and the trough in 2008. Continue reading...

Visuals are one of the most powerful forms of representation. Visuals have the potential to immortalize a particular moment- the emotion and representation of the moment in time that cannot be recreated ever with all the similar attributes. From the very inception of photography, human kind has engaged in capturing moments in photographic frames that have stood the ravages of time preserving the moment of capture. The subjects of visuals have transcended the scythe of the temporal world as they live on in the visuals with all the expressions and articulation that can only be termed as something closest Continue reading...

The documentary “Made in Bangladesh” presents an examination of the factory collapse that led to the death of over 112 people. The documentary examines the relation of the Bangladesh production practices via retail companies such as GAP and Walmart. In the film, there is a presentation of the human rights abuses that take place in order to maintain low prices of products. In this essay, the author examines the strengths and weaknesses of the presentation in the documentary and its impact on the contemporary world.

NOTES

The documentary employs an approach of film-making that surpasses that is observed in American Continue reading...

It is explained that individuals express their grief in many ways. As for Charlie Wilson Peale decided to express his grief in the thing, he loves the most, which is painting. In 1772, his daughter Margaret Bordley died of small pox and he decided to paint the corpse. According to him, the idea of painting the last moment of an individual was the last form of respect he could perform. The idea was like a privilege for the artists who are sometimes the fathers. Charlie was not the only person who had painted the corpse of the loved one Continue reading...

The rhetoric being anti-drunk driving ads is often transparent. Alcohol companies create and ad showing an individual who does not drive, but instead spends all night partying, appealing to the sensibility that no you do not have to die on the road, but instead can die from cirrhosis of the liver. Few ads, however, appeal to the legitimate idea that drunk driving is wrong, or that the value of a human life is more important than drinking. It always appears easier to make it seem that partying all night is important than being responsible . There has been a shift Continue reading...

Basing on “Theory of Film: The Redemption of Physical Reality” by Siegfried Kracauer published in 1960, it is obvious that though the film grows out of photography, the realism is not the most important function of cinema. In his investigation of the qualities of the cinematic medium, Kracauer pays the reader’s attention to the importance of the “magic” factor in the motion picture.
Kracauer mentions that the properties of the film are divided into two types: basic and technical. While basic properties stand for revealing physical reality, the technical ones are represented by the editing. He compares the Continue reading...

Why The Photograph “The Tetons and The Snake River” Is a Successful Artwork

When faced with a task of choosing a truly successful artwork, what art medium does one resort to most frequently? Likely, that would be painting, sculpture, film or architecture. One would consider Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, “Gone with The Wind”, Taj Mahal and the like. The photography would not be an immediate or obvious choice. And yet, the iconic photograph “The Tetons and The Snake River” by the renowned American photographer Ansel Adams is undoubtedly a striking example of an art work, which is forever ingrained in the history of photography as one of its milestones and a Continue reading...

1. This advertisement visually underscores the sexism that was salient during the 1960s.Popular culture indeed diffused ideas about gender and sexuality. A woman’s head is attached to a rug made out of tiger skin. A man donning Mr. Leggs dress pants triumphantly steps on the woman’s head. Clearly, the focus of this advertisement is selling the slacks that the man is wearing. The advertisers visually articulate the argument that men who purchase and wear this particular brand of pants will help them control the women in their lives. The woman retains a merely decorative function in a Continue reading...

The film under analysis called “Manito” was created by the producer Eric Eason in 2002. The title of the film corresponds to the name of one of the major characters in the movie. “Manito” is about the life of Mexican people, their surroundings, circumstances and activities which are appropriate for them. The main character of the movie whose name is Junior is an ex-prisoner who is trying to avoid the criminal and illegal life, and Manny is his younger brother who creates problems to his brother; Manito is a diminutive form of the name Manny.
The movie focuses on Continue reading...

When cinemas gather thousands of visitors at the next comic book adaptation of another brutal heroes, when people on the streets are concerned about the global financial crisis or some terrible news from another part of the world, when from every closest radio and TV-set political dirt is “pouring”, when you are in a bad mood, and terrible insomnia bothers you, when a disgusting weather sets in, only the Little Tramp can take you out of this vicious circle and for an hour give you a true extract of positive feelings.
It is hard to believe – year 1925. It Continue reading...

The art of glassblowing has obtained outstanding recognition in various places across the world. Glassblowing is defined as the process of shaping glasses. One of the most renowned glassblowers is Dale Chihuly.

About Dale Chihuly

Dale Chihuly was born in 1941. On that same year, different crafts emerged post-World War II. Chihuly is widely known for his remarkable glass works and their symbolism. Chihuly incorporates colors and natural context in all his works. For Chihuly, his fascination for glass blowing started in 1965. That time was also the first step Chihuly had ever taken to becoming a renowned glass artist across the Continue reading...

Complete Name of the Professor

Clarke, in his article ‘Just Like Us’: Cultural Constructions of Sexuality and Race in Roman Art, suggests that the Roman empire was perceived to be just as ordinary civilization as those existed after its worldwide dominion because there was no different in the way they founded their art. Clarke suggests that the perception of Romans as a leading civilization was actually legitimized by their authority and power (Clarke 599); however, classical scholars argue that the only reason the Romans were dominating every aspect of society at that time was because there was no other empire that could topple Continue reading...

Introduction

Marc Foster directed the movie World War Z, a horror film, in 2013 (Movies.com); it is an adaptation of Max Brook’s novel “World War Z: An oral history of the zombie war” (Brooks). The title is an allusion to two other 20th century global struggles, World War I and World War II. The name pulls the viewer into the mindset that the battle is being fought worldwide, but this time it is with, well, zombies. The idea of zombies is ages old and started with the concept of necromancy (Strohecker). Even the bible has references to cannibalism: "And Continue reading...

Answer 1

The documentary “Waiting for Superman” attempts at investigating several ways of failure of American education system. It has presented an in depth analysis of charter schools, educational reforms and consequent results. Five children Bianca, Emily, Francisco, Daisy and Anthony experience everyday pressures of regular public education. They suggest certain options which could possibly help in improving the US public education system.
The documentary starts with the repercussions of “No Child Left Behind” act, then giving in-depth details of the children who are good at math and general reading in every American state and how the test scores affect the Continue reading...

The 2015 film, American Sniper, directed by Clint Eastwood is meant to be an account of Chris Kyle’s multiple tours of duty overseas. Serving as a Navy Seal, Kyle served the United States military, retiring in 2009, with what he described as severe post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as other psychological issues. He went on to co-author an autobiography, also titled “American Sniper” in which he gives firsthand accounts of his tours, as well as the issues he suffered because of them before being murdered by civilian while helping fellow veterans. While the film’s initial release was Continue reading...

Scene Screening of Diamonds of the Night

The movie Diamonds of the Night when evaluated from the perspective of film theory provides definite previews of the balanced junction of film and space to justify the observations in reference to the contemporary film critic model. Hence, from the lense of evaluation Manny Farber’s space theory the same can be explored over the series of scenes of the movie. Under the consideration of the same theory the first scene is a succinct and impressive depiction to build the interest of the audience.
The movie starts with two young men running. They are running to save their lives Continue reading...

Movie Review

The film “Catch Me If You Can” was released in 2002 and is an example of the true story (faction). Frank W. Abagnale has managed to work as a Georgia doctor, Louisiana perish prosecutor and Pan American World Airways pilot – all of this before he gets even 21. Being a master of fraud and cheating, he also has succeeded in document falsification that at the end has brought him millions of dollars which he obtained using false checks. The FBI agent Carl Hanratty is ready to do whatever it takes to catch Frank and put him into jail for Continue reading...

One would imagine that most students of Literature ponder the merits of studying Shakespeare. They might ask themselves the questions: Why do we still study him in 2015? Are his works still relevant today? If one can get past the ancient language, one discovers that reading Shakespeare can be very much like watching a favorite television show. This drama review examines the themes such as jealousy and revenge and evaluates the relevance of William Shakespeare’s “Othello, The Moor of Venice” for the modern viewer.
Back in the 1600’s when this play was written, people did not have Continue reading...

The subjects under discussion are art illustration that emanate from the famous fairy tale of Cinderella. The reason for the choice of a set from this story is the fact that it has one of the most artistic illustrations. The set of images is selected based on the common ground of the theme and style they represent. One of the images was done by K.Y craft and immediately catches a viewer’s eye through its thoughtful placement of color. The image showcases version of Cinderella as a queen at the ball. The image appears to be majestic because of Continue reading...

Urban Crime and Morality in “Gone, Baby, Gone” by Ben Affleck

The movie “Gone, Baby, Gone” explores the reasons and circumstances for the phenomenon of urban crimes and puts both the main character and the spectator in the sticky situation, namely presents with a dilemma. It is difficult to define where the right ends and the wrong begins because the particular nature of crimes in the suburbs makes no laws and rules appropriate. The urban neighborhood with its traditions and secrets does not completely fit in the federal law enforcement. The end of the movie argues upon whether the corruption can sometimes do good with no harm to anyone and Continue reading...

The film Prisoners starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman was shot in 2013 and set in Pennsylvania. The film received a number of awards and nominations, including a nomination for Best Cinematography at the 2014 Academy Awards and winning the People’s Choice Award at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. It also proved to be a minor hit at the box office, bringing in $122m.
The movie begins with the daughters of two separate families going missing and focuses upon the parents’ reaction to this event and the ongoing investigation of their disappearance. Gyllenhaal’s character, Detective Loki, Continue reading...

Psychology

The Silence of the Lambs is a psychological thriller that depicts a renowned psychologist, Hannibal Lector, who is suffering from Antisocial Personality Disorder. The movie successfully reveals a series of character traits and attitudes in Dr. Lector instead of labelling him as an evil person. The other character having a psychological disorder is that of Buffalo Bill, a serial killer.
Although the central plot surrounds on the manner in which FBI agent, Clarice Starling, played by Jodie Foster nabs the serial killer, Buffalo Bill, there exists a commanding presence by Dr. Hannibal Lector. Before introducing Dr. Lector in person Continue reading...

Prisoners (2013) is a film that explores issues surrounding abduction and how people react in situations where they feel helpless without anyone to blame. It tells the story of Detective David Loki (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) who is investigating the disappearance of two young girls, from two separate families. A man with mental disabilities, Alex Jones (played by Paul Dano) appears to fit the bill for the abductor perfectly – but Loki cannot find any hard evidence. Both Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) and Franklin (Terrence Howard), the father of the respective girls, are convinced that the man is responsible and Continue reading...

Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense, shot “Vertigo” and “North by Northwest” within a year of each other – in 1958 and 1959. Both films were very successful and are still watched by the contemporary audience. Alfred Hitchcock is a director with a prominent style and his pattern can be traced in each of his movies. Still, there are two with particular similarities worth of discussing and analyzing – “Vertigo” and “North by Northwest”.
Both films are thrillers with a music score by Bernard Herrmann. The main character (Scottie/ Roger) goes through some psychological and physical difficulties for the reason that Continue reading...

Mixed Media on Canvas

Renowned for his visceral aesthetics, black humor, and provocation, Llyn Foulkes has remained at the periphery of the art establishment because he overtly rebels against commercialism by deploying novel painting techniques and creating diverse corpus of artwork. He opines about the dehumanization of the individual vis-à-vis a bureaucratic process in The Suspension, whereby humans merely become case numbers due to the advent of new and innovative technologies. A headless female figure is placed at the center of the canvas, layered on top of a cross and a realistic looking back of a human body that has several rashes Continue reading...

The Metropolitan Museum and its exhibition and interpretation of fine art is arguably among the best in the world (Karp & Lavine 7). The Metropolitan Museum has combined most of the non-Western materials in a single wing named the arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas. The exhibit is stunning with a wide variety of beautiful and quite large objects. Monumental wooden objects from Africa and New Guinea fill the display space. The museum balances the use of both traditional and modern exhibit forms to present the cultures of societies. Examples include reenactment, period setting, dioramas, photography, audio and video Continue reading...

The documentary film, called “Made in Bangladesh”, concentrated on the Rana Plaza disaster, is a great example of an impressive and persuasive documentary. The length of this documentary is 25 minutes. Along with it, all facts are essential with no extraneous information. This is one of the strong sides of this documentary and of its creators from the Fault Line – a great ability to pick important information to pass onto the viewer. Another strong point of the “Made in Bangladesh” is a perfect combination of the professional filmed scenes and scenes from hidden cameras. This particular combination has shown Continue reading...

Introduction

The issue of orientalism is a relevant theme in scientific circles. Orientalism is present in world politics and culture since the Renaissance, since a period of Western domination over the rest of the world. The understanding of this phenomenon was defined only in 1978 by Edward Said, in his book ‘Orientalism.’ This man is deservedly considered as the founder of this theory. Orientalism still is present in many spheres of our life – politics, culture, media and even in education. Orientalism, according to art, culture and the Orientalists, is a very special certain style, thanks to which the features of Continue reading...

Nighttime dramas have become popular television shows with media consumers, particularly women, because of the heterogeneous nature of their content. It is these dramas that contain themes of romance, abuse, family, and corruption. Primetime shows like Law and Order, Scandal, and Grey’s Anatomy may combine elements like law and politics or medicine and business, for example. These often appeal to women who get emotionally involved with the characters, thus being able to construct their own meanings from such media texts. When episodes of these normal one-hour dramas end, they often leave the viewer on a cliffhanger, wanting more. Continue reading...

Introduction

In an effort to minimize the effect of the Great Depression in the rural areas in America, the Farm Security Administration was created to improve the life condition of tenants and poor farmers. The main goal of the FSA was to fight the social and economic inequality that resulted from the economic depression. A Colombia University economist, Roy Stryker, was appointed to lead the historical section of FSA; his job was to present to people in urban areas the way of life of people living in the farm (Ganzel). Knowing the power of photographs in conveying meaning and emotions, Continue reading...

The art or the science of taking moving pictures by electromagnetic through materials such as film stock. It is the act of capturing objects in space by the use of controllable elements including the quality of fill stock, manipulating the camera lens, the framing scale and the movement. Duration may also be included in cinematography; the length of time taken to make a shot. Cinematography therefore is the functioning of the camera lens and the light source, length of the lens, the positioning of the camera and its capacity in relation.
Simon van Stamfer in 1830 contributed in cinematography Continue reading...

Only rarely does it come to pass that a movie is both informative and heart-touching at the same time. Such are the feelings after watching the movie ‘Haze’. Not only does it bring home the need to control the dangerous aspect of college drinking and hazing by using statistics but it also uses a true story of a student named Gordie Bailey to invoke strong emotions inside the viewer. The viewer starts to question the existence of such ‘traditions’ or fraternities and their customs that sometimes lead to extremely untoward incidents.
The movie, in order to lend credibility to Continue reading...

The civilizations of Ancient Egypt and Rome are among the most celebrated of antiquity, having produced numerous works of art that still survive today. Portraiture was developed in both civilizations and in this short essay, a comparison between one Egyptian and one Roman portrait will attempt to show the similarities and differences between them. The two works are: the Statue of Menkaure and his wife, which dates from ca 2490-2472 B.C.E and the Bust of Emperor Septimius Severus, which was created in around 201-210 C.E. These are both portraits of rulers, as Menkaure was one of the pharaohs of Continue reading...

The rhetoric in many advertisements today is often too subtle for the average audience member to notice. When done correctly, the advertisement will make an impact without the viewer quite understanding how or why. Typically, however, when advertisements are working, many elements come into play. Pathos, logos, and ethos are the rhetoric that appeals to our argumentative sensibilities, and even our emotions. Meanwhile, advertisements also use master narratives and subtexts to influence audiences. Each of these devices is essential when delivery rhetoric to the audience. A specific example can be found in the included Heineken advertisement, aimed to prevent Continue reading...

The paintings are a demonstration of how geometry can be incorporated into the world of artistic painting to deliver a work of art that is a true masterpiece. The elaborate use of geometry in the paintings is very clear. There are sharp geometrical divisions between the various colors used in the painting. The divisions at times appear to possess some level of symmetry to each other, a fact that demonstrates a high level of expertise and mastery by the artist (s) behind the paintings. Strong and accurate levels of geometry have had the following effects on the paintings:

Beauty and attractiveness

The Continue reading...

It is often said that a painting speaks thousand words and they are different to every viewer. The given painting is a wonderful example of agony and reality combined together. The painter has used specific colors which complement the theme and elaborate the meaning. Every stroke, tint, tone, shade and hue complements each other for conveying the appropriate meaning .
In the painting; one can see five lawyers in uniform. Their lips are not stretched in to a smile which speaks of self-satisfaction and inner peace. The facial expressions depict the bitter challenges a lawyer has to encounter in his Continue reading...

The Vanderbilt News website features and article about a documentary that will be shown about Sam Philips. The page is well organized and uses to columns. The space on the page is well organized and clean. There is not erroneous or distracting information on the page. The heading clearly shows that it is a Vanderbilt University webpage and offers links to other areas of the Vanderbilt website which is convenient for students. The user could also easily identify where to find other articles and resources through the news site.
The title is bold and easy to read. It features Continue reading...

English

In the life of modern society, arts plays an constant and indispensable role in the process of the reproduction of spiritual culture. The unique features of this type of spiritual practice consist in the fact that there the artist and the viewer (reader, listener) acquire not only the knowledge about the world, but also master the emotional and value attitude to the environment and to themselves, concerning a self-human, dialogical relationship with the world, i.e. they are discovering the reality of the world as a man, as a world filled with personal meaning. An individual makes these discoveries of Continue reading...

Introduction

A visual rhetoric is a framework that theoretical and is mainly concerned with the description on the communication of visual images. Visual rhetoric is also encompassed in visual literacy. Visual literacy is the ability of a person to read an image. This is to mean; it is the capability of a person to interpret and understand what the image is trying to communicate. To understand the communication of the image a person should be in a position to analyze the object placement, coloring and shading. Just as writers always organize their ideas and make a chose on the words Continue reading...

Violence in Movies

Violence in Movies
The topic of studying violence in movies has been increasingly popular in the world of cinematography, as the special effects that are now used are becoming more and more vivid. In this paper there will be analyzed the movie Lone Survivor that was presented to the audience in 2013. It has many vivid violence scenes that will be analyzed and presented below.
First, I have to describe the movie in general. There are solutions that change lives, and there are people who change their lives for the sake of others. Moreover, there are people who are Continue reading...

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine and review two programs of repute that are aired on American televisions. These are shows that focus on dealing with major political and national issues with the hope of providing more information to a national audience base.

Meet the Press (MTP) is the NBC’s weekly news and interview program that is aired on Sundays. The first episode was run on November 6, 1947. Although it was presented according to the same format of MTP, the name of the show and some of its features were different from the current Continue reading...

The American silent short film “The Great Train Robbery” was shot in 1903 by Edwin S. Porter and is significant for the usage of the techniques unknown before. Though the movie lasts only 12 minutes, the viewer has a great possibility to notice its numerous peculiarities. Several shots demonstrate the partial hand coloring, and some are cross cut – the technique of depicting two scenes on different locations simultaneously. The film is obviously silent and black and white. The spectator is impressed by the dynamics of this Western telling the adventure story ordinary for the cinema of that time.
What Continue reading...

The film Sicko completely carries out the function of influence on the audience. Michael Moore, the director, succeeded in making his film appealing in many ways. The secret of it is the way Moore presents the information. The thing is that you manage to find the clichés that influence the audience.
One of the clichés in this film is based on a simple thing. Moore tells an appealing story about an old and never-ending struggle between humanity and cruelty. This is what Linda Seger calls “a myth beneath the modern story” (394). Having read the fairytales where Continue reading...

Close Encounter 1

Postmodernism is the result of negation. At the time, modernism rejected the classical, academic art and turned to new art forms. However, after a number of years he has become a classic, which has led to the denial of the traditions of modernism and the emergence of a new stage of artistic development in the form of postmodernism, which proclaimed a return to before modernistic forms and styles to a new level. The rise of the postmodern held in 60-70 years of the twentieth century is connected and flows logically from the processes of the modern era as a Continue reading...

Picture 1. Self-portrait. Albrecht Durer, 1500
In the year 1500, I completed a self-portrait (picture 1) using oil on canvas. I was 28 years old, still in my prime, both physically and artistically. It is this prime that I wanted to convey in this work, the image of a man of his time, and also the image of an artist as part of the higher classes of society. I wanted this image of myself to remain a testament of my likeness and my statues and have for this reason included the following inscription in the painting: ‘I, Albrecht Durer Continue reading...

Biography and Analysis – Arthur B. Davies

Biography
Arthur Bowen Davies, born in Utica, New York in 1863, was one of the most fascinating modernist painters of 19th century American, evincing a decidedly ahead of his time approach to painting. He showed himself to be incredibly interested in drawing at a young age; when he was fifteen, he was inspired to become an artist at an exhibition of George Inness and other landscape painters. After that, he chose to pursue art and design, which he did after moving with his family to Chicago, Illinois; in 1879, Davies studied at the Chicago Academy of Design and, later, Continue reading...