Frida Kahlo, Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird

Frida Kahlo (Spanish) 1907-1954

Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, 1940

Oil on canvas 24 1/2 x 18 3/4 in

Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, Austin

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/K/kahlo/kahlo_self40.jpg.html

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter who was very into her culture. She always wore her hair and dressed in a traditional way. Animals were also very important to her. She painted surrealism, sybolism, and realism. She also painted a lot of self portraits that represented her culture. She was married to a Mexican muralist named Diego Rivera. When he died she was given the "Blue" House. That is a popular museam in Coyoacan, Mexico City with only her work. In this self portrait, Kahlo is wearing a thorn necklace with a hummingbird which is traditional in Mexico. She also relates the objects in the picture to her life at that perticular time. This painting shows a very good use of color. The variety of color is what makes the painting as good as it is. I think it is cool how Frida Kahlo makes herself look closer to you than the animals. She also uses line to seperate the leaves in the backround. Alaso, she uses texture on her hair and necklace.

Arthur Dove, Gale

Arthur Dove (American) 1880-1946

Gale, 1932

oil on canvas 25 3/4 x 35 3/4 in.

Weisman Art Museum

http://www.artsconnected.org/artsnetmn/inner/dove.html

Arthur Dove was one of the earliest artists painting in the purely non-objective or abstract form. His early influences came from the post-impressionists in France, but he wanted to find his own way to represent nature. He was painting at the same time as other artists who were interested in interested in showing form instead of the story of the painting such as Georgia O'Keeffe. Gale was painted in 1932 during the depression when Dove didn't have a lot of money. He had once lived on a house boat and he had a lot of memories of the sea. He wrote about a certain storm to his friend, Alfred Steiglitz and he said he was trying to remember the way the storm looked. That was how he painted this painting. This painting shows good use of shape in the sky and water. Also, the only colors he uses are in shades of green and blue.

Pierre August Renoir, The Swing

Pierre August Renoir (French) 1841-1919
The Swing, 1876

Oil on Canvas 36 1/4 x 28 3/4 inches

Musee d'Orsay, Paris

http://www.kyrene.k12.az.us/schools/brisas/sunda/art/renoir.htm

Renoir knew he loved to paint as a child and his first job was painting plates. He left to study painting under the early famous impressionists and became one of the best known impressionist artists. It took a while for him to become famous because he began painting during the Franco-Prussian war. In 1882 Renoir traveled to Africa where he met many other famous painters. During that year he got pneumonia which left him with permanent lung damage. At the end of his life he got crippling arthritis and needed canes to walk and could barely paint. He kept working though even when he needed other artists to help him. Renoir painted
The Swing in his later years. The painting is very typical for Renoir and was one of his most famous paintings. It shows his brilliant use of line and color and his way of showing everyday people doing everyday things. This painting has good use of color.

Pablo Picasso, Two Doves with Wings Spread

Pablo Picasso (Spanish) 1881-1973

Two Doves with Wings Spread, 1960

Oil on linen 23 9/16 x 28 3/4 inches

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_work_md_126_26.html

Picasso had many names, each one named after a spirit or relative. His first word was "piz" which is short for lapiz, the spanish word for pencil. His father was also a painter but he mostly focused on birds. In fact, Picasso and his family moved to La Courna so his father could become a professor at the School of Fine Arts. Pablo started art at age seven. He went to Royal Acadamy of San Fernando. Picasso really liked an artist named El Greco. Picasso painted two versions of the painting Two Doves with Wings Spred. Pablo has painted many pieces of art that include doves like his father. He also uses cubism a lot. In this painting, the color is very noticable and important.

Aviva Beigel, Star of David

Aviva Beigel (Israeli) 1952-

Star of David, 2007

Acrilic on Wood 40x40 cm

http://star-of-david.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html

Aviva Beigel is a member of many organazations such as the ICU, the BAMM, and the CAAI. She went to Tel-Aviv University and got a degree in the history of art. The piece of art has six people on the end of the Jewish Star to represent the six million Jews that died in the Holocaust. Texture is very important in this piece of art.

Faith Ringgold, The Sunflower Quilting Bee at Arles

Faith Ringgold (American) b. 1930

The Sunflower Quilting Bee at Arles, 1991

Acrylic on canvas, tie dyed, pieced fabric border, 74 x 80 inches,

Private Collection

Ringgold started her artwork 35 years ago painting, but is now famous for her painted story quilts. Her artwork has appeared in museums in the US, Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. She has written eleven childrens books, with her first winning a Caldecott Honor. She now is an art teacher at the University of California, located in San Diego.

The painting was made to honor Vincent Van Gogh. To honor him, there is writing about him around the edge, and he is in the painting. A whole bunch of impotant women are holding a quilting bee when they meet Van Gogh. This painting is an example of formalism.

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