Art-e-Facts: 5 Random Art Facts IX
1. Nocturne painting depicts scenes evocative of night or subjects as they appear in a veil of light, in twilight, or in the absence of direct light. Nocturnes usually include landscapes and the technique has been employed by artists from the Baroque period of the early 17th century to the present. Artists use various methods to depict nocturnes: washes of color, impasto, and linear treatments. The first artist to paint scenes on a regular basis in the nocturne mode was Rembrandt van Rijn
2. Exquisite corpse (also known as “exquisite cadaver” or “rotating corpse”) is a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled, the result being known as the exquisite corpse or cadavre exquis in French. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence by following a rule. For example, the artist being allowed to see only a small portion of what the previous person contributed.
3. There are two schools of thought about how Vincent van Gogh lost part of his left ear on December 23, 1888. Some believe that Paul Gauguin cut off van Gogh’s ear in self-defense during a quarrel. Others think that he slashed his own left ear lobe after learning that his brother, Theo, was getting married. Whether the wound was self-inflicted or not, there is no doubt that Van Gogh, bleeding from his wound, staggered into a bordello and gave a prostitute friend named Rachel his severed ear, telling her to ‘keep this object carefully’.
4. William Blake is ranked among the greatest English poets but less known is that Blake is considered to be one of the most original visual artists of the Romantic era. Blake studied art as a boy at the drawing academy of Henry Pars, apprenticed with the commercial engraver James Basire, and entered the Royal Academy Schools as an engraver. Blake also developed a method of etching in relief that enabled him to combine illustrations and text on the same page and to print them himself.
5. A collage (From the French: coller, to glue) is a work of art made from an assemblage of different forms that create a whole. Collage materials may include newspaper clippings, ribbons, bits of paper, portions of other artwork, photographs, and other found objects that are attached to a variety of surfaces. The origins of collage can be traced back hundreds of years, but this technique made a reappearance in the early 20th century as an art form of novelty. The term was coined by both Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso at the start of the 20th century when collage re-emerged.
Related Books:
The Art Lover’s Almanac : Serious Trivia for the Novice and the Connoisseur
Facts On File Encyclopedia Of Art ( 5 vol. set)
