Installing the blue nudes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ek9gt18X-s
Metmuseum.org. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/492813> [Accessed 26 March 2020].
Moma.org. 2020. Henri Matisse. Blue Nude II. 1952 | Moma. [online] Available at: <https://www.moma.org/audio/playlist/6/316> [Accessed 26 March 2020].
Evening Standard. 2020. Henri Matisse's Iconic Blue Nudes Cut-Outs Back Together In Tate. [online] Available at: <https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/exhibitions/henri-matisses-iconic-blue-nudes-cut-outs-back-together-in-tate-modern-exhibition-9258955.html> [Accessed 26 March 2020].
Gauguin.org. 2020. Nevermore, 1897 By Paul Gauguin. [online] Available at: <https://www.gauguin.org/nevermore.jsp> [Accessed 2 June 2020].
Tate. 2020. Fauvism – Art Term | Tate. [online] Available at: <https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/f/fauvism> [Accessed 2 June 2020].
Tate. 2020. German Expressionism – Art Term | Tate. [online] Available at: <https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/g/german-expressionism> [Accessed 2 June 2020].
Four blue nudes were created by Matisse in 1952, two years before his death aged 84 years. In 2004, Tate modern reunited the four works for the first time in Britain along with other works from Matisse's cut outs series.
Matisse continued to use Fauvism in his later works, but the other artists of that style drifted away into other styles.
Matisse had a focused interested in the female nude and used the subject in many of his works through different mediums, such as sculpture, painting and collage. He would explore the female figure in his sketchbooks. His daughter and wife were often models for Matisse.
His work took a simpler approach after he had surgery and was confined to a wheelchair in 1941. He called it 'Painting with scissors', focusing on bold colours and simplifying his expression of the female figure using gouache on paper, cutting out the shapes to form a bold and expressive form.
Reflection:
The first thing that strikes me, watching the video of the installation of these works is their size. I don't think we appreciate how large an artwork is until you see it framed and hung on the gallery walls. The pose that each nude expresses is what makes them powerful for me. Simply the way the body is shaped expresses something different in each. For example this one to me expresses vulnerability and sadness. The way her legs are curled up close and her arm is around her head like she is protecting herself. Her other arm holding onto her feet to steady herself. When you look closely at these images and really start to think about what they are saying I find them more interesting that my first impressions.
Henrimatisse.org. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.henrimatisse.org/images/cutouts/blue-nude.jpg> [Accessed 9 June 2020].
Pablo Picasso:
Picasso’s lino prints are not familiar to me so it was interesting to see how he approached this style of work. Quite abstract in nature, Picassos lino prints are bold, surreal and quite patterned.
This piece in particular I find quite disturbing and frantic. Was Picasso trying to express the anguish he felt as an artist?
Masterworksfineart.com. 2020. Pablo Picasso, Pablo Picasso Le Peintre À La Palette (Painter With Palette), 1963, Linocut (S). [online] Available at: <https://www.masterworksfineart.com/artists/pablo-picasso/linocut/pablo-picasso-le-peintre-a-la-palette-painter-with-palette-1963/id/w-5415> [Accessed 9 June 2020].
This lino print is really colourful and more like Picasso’ paintings, depicting a woman in her fine clothes. The use of line, texture and colour is nicely balanced and feels a calmer piece than the one above.
Masterworksfineart.com. 2020. Pablo Picasso, Portrait Of A Woman, After Lucas Cranach, 1958, Bloch 859, Linocut (S). [online] Available at: <https://www.masterworksfineart.com/artists/pablo-picasso/linocut/portrait-of-a-woman-after-lucas-cranach-1958-bloch-859/id/w-6928> [Accessed 9 June 2020].
Looking at several of Picasso’s lino prints it is clear he explored a range of ways of achieving this process using different types of lines, colour and monotone. Even though they are all very different, you can still see Picasso in each of them. His surrealist style is evident throughout and it is interesting to see how he managed to accomplish this using the different techniques.
Masterworksfineart.com. 2020. Pablo Picasso Linocuts. [online] Available at: <https://www.masterworksfineart.com/artists/pablo-picasso/linocuts?page=2> [Accessed 9 June 2020].
Angela Harding:
Angela Harding’s lino prints are beautiful expressions of nature and the countryside. Harding’s work includes cottages, birds, animals and country landscapes, using a range of marks and colours. Vibrant and bold, her style is able to capture the beauty of her subject with realism and a touch of whimsy.
Harding has a long history of fine art, having studied at Leicester and Nottingham gaining training in Fine art and Printmaking and using a variety of line making techniques over the years, which she has mastered and developed this intricate style.
Harding’s lino prints and etchings are very versatile and have been used in a number of commercial projects including designs for jigsaw puzzles, book covers, mugs and chinaware.
Being an enthusiast of nature and landscapes myself I will definitely be studying Harding’s work further to learn skills for me own lino prints.
Angela Harding. 2020. Angela Harding | Linocut Prints, Giftware And Paintings. [online] Available at: <https://angelaharding.co.uk/> [Accessed 9 June 2020].
Instagram.com. 2020. Login • Instagram. [online] Available at: <https://www.instagram.com/angelaharding11/> [Accessed 9 June 2020].
Anne Desmet:
Anne Desmet has studied Fine art and Printmaking extensively and has perfected her techniques in printmaking using various techniques to create very detailed architectural inspired works of art. Very linear and precise, her scenes depict every detail on buildings, structures and stone carvings. Desmet has unique techniques that she uses to complete her pieces, for example this cite scape has been printed and then collaged onto an oyster shell.
Anne Desmet. 2020. Around Britain. [online] Available at: <https://annedesmet.com/gallery/capricci/around-britain/#gallery-1-24> [Accessed 9 June 2020].
Whilst buildings, cities and architecture seem to be Desmet’s main focus, she has also explore the human figure in various expressions.
Anne Desmet. 2020. Lifetimes. [online] Available at: <https://annedesmet.com/gallery/lifetimes/> [Accessed 9 June 2020].
Seemingly expressing emotions, facial expressions and body language, Desmet has managed to communicate these through her line work effectively mainly using a single colour.
The detail Desmet is able to achieve is inspiring and has definitely opened my eyes to what can be achieved in these printmaking techniques.
Scarlette Homeshaw:
Scarlette Homeshaw is a reduction lino print maker from Huddersfield. Working with bold colours, her theme is focused around buildings and places of meaning to her and Homeshaw expresses her influence of them in the colours she uses and the style she approaches them in.
Homeshaw’s style ranges from more realistic expressions of the buildings to a more abstract version of them. Her use of bold colours highlight the areas of light such as in her piece ‘’Midnight Ruin. The sunlight on the side of the window and the reflection of the sunsetting sky is beautifully portrayed in pinks and oranges.
Scarlette-homeshaw.com. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.scarlette-homeshaw.com/midlands-collection?lightbox=dataItem-jrqv6zu3> [Accessed 9 June 2020].
In comparison this piece entitled ‘’Little Boxes’ appears to show the bright background representing the woods behind alight with fire. The striking orange against the dark tones of the buildings provides a good contrast to tell the story.
Scarlette-homeshaw.com. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.scarlette-homeshaw.com/midlands-collection?lightbox=dataItem-iq14mww7> [Accessed 9 June 2020].
Homeshaw’s work is very vibrant and expressive and this style of lino printing is definitely inspiring me for my future work. It’s interesting to see how you can show light and use colour to tell your story in a strong, clear way and choose certain colours within a specific area to draw the viewer in and communicate in a visual way. These are definitely techniques I’d like to explore myself.
Adrian Wiszniewski:
Whilst researching the artist Adrian Wiszniewski, I discovered he had produced a collection of lino prints for a project in the near-by towns of Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds. The project involved producing a collection of prints depicting ‘The Passion of the Christ’, along with other select artists for a collection entitled ‘Stations: the New Sacred Art ‘ in the year 2000 to mark the millennium and two thousand years of Christianity.
Sacredartpilgrim.com. 2020. Adrian Wiszniewski | Sacred Art Pilgrim Collection: Artists | Sacred Art Pilgrim. [online] Available at: <http://sacredartpilgrim.com/collection/view/99> [Accessed 9 June 2020].
Wiszniewski’s approach to this project was to produce a set of lino prints using only a single colour in each one. Using Japanese paper, Wiszniewski’s depiction looks to feature one continuous line and no further marks or details and chose bold colors which each relate to the scene that Jesus was in during the time. For example ‘’Station IX’, appears to depict Jesus face down praying in the garden of Gethsemane and is printed using green ink. ‘Station XIII’ appears to depict when Jesus had died and was taken for three days before being resurrected. This has been printed in red. Each colour print seems to be symbolic of it’s meaning in the history of events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion and his later resurrection.
This is a clever use of colour and line work and shows that you can effectively describe something just by using specific colours to communicate the meaning and that a print does not need to have lot’s of line work in order to be effective.
This has been an interesting research point and something to consider for my own prints and use of colour in the future.
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