VIDEO BLOGS

The Night Watch

I chose this movie because I have always enjoyed Rembrandt's paintings.  I like the Night Watch particularly because of all the action going on in the painting. From the video, I learned Rembrandt was a Dutch painter and was generally considered one of the greatest painters in European art history.  He is mostly known for his portraits, and each person in "the Night Watch" is an actual person. Some of the key concepts talked about in the movie was: the real meaning of "The Night Watch" , people of the painting, the history of Rembrandt and his personal life,  public reception of the painting. The movie talked about how the painting wasn't very well received, especially by the family of the men painted.  The movie had a segment about new artist reworking famous masterpieces which I found extremely interesting. I also found it pretty funny what the artist did with all the famous masterpieces. When he said he wanted people to re-look at things, he definitely accomplished his goal!  I liked how this film focused on one artists so that I could learn more about how the different movements were applied individually to art.

Albrecht Durer: Image of A Master

I chose this video because  I wanted to learn more about the artists of the Northern Renaissance. The movie talks about Durer's early life and how he was intrigued by the  process of aging. He too was known for his portraits. His self portraits is one of my favorite. He truly looks like he is staring right at you! The movie also concentrated on Durer's trip to Italy that made him a excellent landscape artist. Durer's landscape features many Italian features. What interesting about this is this is the main idea of the Renaissance: accepting and thinking about new concepts. This movie helped me make a connection to the Renaissance and its impact on art.

Velazquez

I chose this movie because it was a name I had never heard before. Diego Valazquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was a famous artists from the Baroque period, and also a portrait artist.  The movie talks about Dona Juana Pacheco, his wife who stayed with him throughout their entire life. They were very scholarly and enjoyed collecting worldly goods.  Valazquez is known for his idealist paintings. The movie said he tried to "conform reality" . I liked this movie because it taught me about Valazquez, and also informed me more about the Baroque period and it's realist ideas.

The Power of Art: Caravaggio

From this movie I learned that  Caravaggio used realism and dramatic use of lighting to create Baroque period paintings. In one of my post I talked about "The Calling of Saint Matthew" which is famous for its dramatic lighting technique. This movie went into depth about his technique. This work was commissioned for a chapel so that Catholic could see the masterpiece. Caravaggio was known for his religious work that fought back to the Protestant Reformation. What I thought was very interesting was the story about Caravaggio being a murderer. I like the personal stories about the artists because it creates a connection with the artists, and helps you understand his work better.  I thought the portrait "David and Goliath" that shows Caravaggio's duel personalities was really fascinating. talk about tortured artists!