Farms and Barns by Famous Artists

American Gothic (1930), Grant Wood

Once again, I’m on a quest for paintings of a certain subject – farms and barns. My first thoughts went to the classic farm couple in Grant Wood’s American Gothic. Although it is one of the most recognizable American paintings, I wanted to search for something less kitschy, like his Haying landscape (below).

Haying (1939), Wood

The buildings in the distance and the long expanse of hillside immediately reminded me of another artist’s most famous painting – Christina’s World by Andrew Wyeth. 

Christina's World (1948), Wyeth

Wyeth’s like an actor being typecast for a specific role, who struggles to be recognized for his other works, and is forever remembered for a single character. You may also recall his obsession with Helga, who was his most often painted model.

Snap the Whip (1872), Winslow Homer

Continuing with another American artist, Winslow Homer, one of his most recognizable works is Snap the Whip. I like everything about this painting from the movement of the running figures, to the beautifully rendered background, framed by the textured clouds and wildflowers. Though probably more famous for his dramatic Maine seascapes, this one is my favorite.

A Temperance Meeting (1874), Winslow Homer

Homer’s A Temperance Meeting (or Noon Time) captures a young farm couple on a sunny day. You can feel the warmth of the sunshine. The shadowing on the woman reminds me of figures in Edward Hopper paintings, whereas the background is more like that of an Impressionist like Van Gogh or Pissarro. Hopper was heavily influenced by the Impressionists but made only one trip to France.

Here are three very different Edward Hopper paintings: 

Farm Building with Haywagon (1927), Hopper

Farm Building with Haywagon (1927) is recognizably Hopper with its simple shapes and contrasting areas of color. His early work was as an illustrator and he chose watercolor as his medium, later turning to oils for his most famous works.

Barn and Silo, Vermont (1927), Hopper

Also a watercolor, Barn and Silo, Vermont (1927) mimics the detail found in the buildings painted by Andrew Wyeth, making the focus on the structure rather than the surrounding landscape.

Cobb's Barn and Distant Houses (1931), Hopper

Cobb's Barn and Distant Houses (1931), an oil painting, seems a bit of a departure from Hopper’s clean and efficient moody scenes. I love how he has captured the depth of the scene with the shadows cast by the sunshine and clouds overhead. It is meant to reflect the abandoned farms of the 1930s depression era. Apparently, Hopper was renting one of the houses while painting this scene.

Author Heidi Vance describes Hopper’s interest in architecture in her article,
Edward Hopper: Get to Know The King Of American Realism In 15 Facts. 

“His works of buildings tell a similar tale to his paintings where humans are present. These structures become a kind of portraiture with an unseen human presence. The dialogue between the atmosphere and the architecture mirror Hopper’s dialogues between humans and the environments they occupy. The underlying theme of Hopper’s work is the interconnectivity between each element within his paintings. His focus on architecture allowed him to improve upon manipulating environments to their fullest potential in terms of establishing an ambiance.”

Hopper was heavily influenced by European (French) artists -- Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Vincent Van Gogh – which helped him to “expand his color palette and effectively depict light”.

Here are two fine examples of farm buildings painted by Van Gogh and Pissarro:

Farmhouse in Provence (1888), Van Gogh

In 1888, Van Gogh painted Farmhouse in Provence (a.k.a. Entrance Gate to a Farm with Haystacks) while in Arles, Provence. In typical Van Gogh style, the landscape is dominated by yellows. I particularly enjoy the colors in the playful sky. The dark, rectangular gate is highlighted by the super bright road. And those haystacks loom larger than the buildings.

Farm at Montfoucault (1874), Pissarro

Camille Pissarro is my favorite Post-Impressionist. I like his use of contrasting oranges and greens and the juxtaposition of the colors (nearing Pointillism). I also appreciate how he has framed his work, leading your eye beyond and into the background.

Notice how all of these artists, with the exception of Hopper, include a figure in their farm landscapes.

Nellie's Barn, Warren Kimble

In response to a reader's comment, I'd like to add two more artists. They are Grandma Moses and Warren Kimble. I blogged about Anna Mary Robertson "Grandma" Moses (1860-1961) in my post, Master Artists -- Inspired Late Bloomers and Resilient, Active Seniors. Warren Kimble, also known for his folk art of animals, rural landscapes and buildings of Brandon, Vermont, has illustrated children's books and created contemporary art with raised texture.

You may want to read the Rutland Herald's article, A new journey: Warren Kimble goes contemporary, to see what the artist has been up to in this century.

Weddings in Famous Paintings

Peasant Wedding (1567), Pieter Bruegel the Elder

June has traditionally been one of the most popular months for weddings, along with September and October. However, the subject is not so commonly captured on canvas. Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder famously painted his Renaissance peasant scenes in red and gold, celebrating wedding feasts and dances. I once owned a print of Bruegel's Peasant Wedding.

I also enjoy his painting, The Wedding Dance (1566).

The Bridal Pair with The Eiffel Tower
(1939), Marc Chagall

Although Russian-French artist, Marc Chagall, is clearly one of my favorites, some of his wedding paintings are a little too dark for my tastes. I prefer this dreamlike painting where the bride and groom are floating in the air. Though many of Chagall's paintings typically employ religious symbolism, here he uses nursery rhymes, including farm animals like the oversized rooster.

The Wedding (1948), Jacob Lawrence

American painter, Jacob Lawrence uses African-American themes from historic events and contemporary life, though I was only able to find one painting of a wedding scene, courtesy of The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle. It definitely reflects his style that has been dubbed, "dynamic cubism". I appreciate his use of color and patterning but wish his figures were more distinct. For example, I can clearly see cufflinks and the thin red binding of a bible (?) but not the minister's face. It's like he is bowing his head or maybe even facing the altar.

The Wedding of the Bohemian (1925-26), Munch

Edvard Munch also painted his version of a wedding feast. This painting was at the Munch Museum in Oslo where we visited in June 2019, though I honestly don't remember seeing it. He has painted himself into the scene, apparently seated at the far left or possibly in the background. While the feast looks happy enough, the people do not.

The Wedding Party (1905), Rousseau

Henri Rousseau's The Wedding Party is a rather unusual photographic wedding portrait of a white bride surrounded by people dressed in black. The black dog in the foreground seems to upstage the bride, although apparently it is meant to be a trick to draw your eye deep into the composition (a repoussoir). The overlapping of the figures is also strange and makes the bride appear to be floating at the dead center.

For more wedding paintings, please visit Janet Howard-Fatta's blog article, Artists and Wedding Paintings Throughout History. The Art Gorgeous has also published The Best Weddings In Art History. The second link displays Kahlo's portrait of her and husband Diego Rivera, which I referenced in my post entitled, Things That Go Together in Art – Subjects, Portraits, Landscapes/Seascapes, Still Lifes, and Couples.

My Art Studio Workspace & Artists' Ateliers

Office Space

Now several years into my retirement, I am finally able to carve out a space to paint. Almost two years ago we moved into a new home with an extra bedroom that I use as an office. In our previous home, the spare room had a twin bed (for guests) and an ironing board and became the place for storing nick-nacks and other miscellaneous junk. My intention for my office was to use it for writing art lesson plans on the computer and for doing art projects. Unfortunately, my wife doesn't want me to paint inside the house! My art colleague recommended getting a portable easel so that I could paint outside en plein air. For Christmas 2020 I got my easel and took it with me to paint on our late Winter trip to Palm Springs. 

Shed/Studio Space

My new goal is to establish an outdoor, sheltered place to paint by this Summer. I purchased an 8'X11' resin shed and assembled it under our deck in the backyard. My daughter helped me and found an old used drafting table for my new workspace. I even bought another smaller shed to offload the lawnmower and gasoline. My next challenge is to provide the necessary lighting. There's a small window and a large doorway that will allow some light to stream into my space. There are steel rafters that would be perfect for hanging overhead lighting. The problem is how/where to hang the solar power source since the shed is situated under my deck.

Portable Bluetooth Radio

A neighbor of mine has built his own personal outdoor man cave, a pretty impressive place to hang out. Although he doesn't have a window or electrical wiring, he does have a rather expensive portable power source -- the Massimo MPS 500. He also has a heavy-duty ION Tailgater AM-FM lithium battery-operated radio with Bluetooth capability. And a battery-operated LED light switch for entry into the unlit space. A radio would be useful for listening to music while painting or to hear a baseball game while doing yardwork.

Artists' Studios

If you're a fan of the Wyeths like I am, then you have to check out the Gurney Journey blog post, N. C. Wyeth's Studio, from May 2010. Apparently, Wyeth didn't electrify his studio until 1923, so he was only able to paint during daylight hours. I may experience a similar restriction. James Gurney may have just inspired me to take a trip to Wyeth's home and studio in Chadd's Ford, Pennsylvania. 

The Artist in his Studio
(c. 1626-28), Rembrandt

Rembrandt's studio reminds me of my own small, dimly lit shed though even with his meager digs, he still couldn't afford to pay a model to sit for him so he painted over 75 self-portraits. I probably won't be making any self-portraits any time soon.

Claude Monet in Argenteuil (1874), Manet

Claude Monet had the luxury of painting on a small boat. Édouard Manet captured Monet while painting in his floating studio. I'm thinking about how difficult it would be to paint with the movement of the water. Perhaps a better vantage point would be the river bank.

Musée Atelier de Paul Cézanne,
Aix-en-Provence, France

In May 2011, we were fortunate enough to tour France and Italy. We visited Normandy and Monet's house and gardens in Giverny, France. You may also visit the homes and art studios of famous painters. One such studio is the atelier de Paul Cézanne. Notice the skulls and the bowl of fruit.

Still Life with Skull (1896-98), Cézanne

At first, I thought it could be that of New Mexico artist, Georgia O'Keeffe, because of the skulls, but then I remembered Cézanne's Still Life with Skull. Both artists also used walking sticks (canes). O'Keeffe used hers to fight off desert rattlesnakes.

Window in the Studio (1889), Van Gogh

When Vincent Van Gogh painted indoors, it was often with his friend, Paul Gauguin, in the yellow house where he wanted to establish a studio in which other artists could paint. During the final year of his life, he turned a small hospital room at a mental health facility in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence into an atelier. I am struggling to figure out the four paintings or sketches he has hung on his wall.

Dedication

George Pappas
(1919-2016)

I'm dedicating this post to my high school art teacher, Mr. George Pappas, who spoiled us by playing music while we created our art in his classroom. Each year, we looked forward to hearing the soundtrack of 1939's The Wizard of Oz, which probably contributed somewhat to my love of the movie. Although it was beaten out by Gone With the Wind for the Academy Award, it grew in popularity over years of being televised. Both films were produced and released by Metro-Goldwin-Mayer Studios, Oz in August, and GWTW in December. The book, written by L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) and first published in 1900, was originally illustrated by William Wallace Denslow (1856-1915). See The Lost Art of Oz for the complete list of illustrators of these wonderful stories.

Fathers of Art Movements

Recently, while researching this topic, I found The "Fathers" of Art article on the website of the Park West Gallery of Southfield, Michigan. It asks, "Do you agree or disagree with this list?  Can you think of any others?" So, I thought, this sounds like a challenge!

Here are some of the challenges I experienced in researching this topic:

• Defining the specific period in history when the movement actually began and its popularity ended or morphed into something else
• Defining the Father of the movement (e.g. Cubism – Braque or Picasso or both)
• Finding a list of supporting members or practitioners of the movement
• Finding good examples of each movement
• Deciding whether to list them alphabetically or chronologically
• Deciding which movement to include/exclude from my list

I've decided to list them in chronological order.

1. Renaissance (from the 14th century to the 17th century) -- Giotto

Arean Chapel (1305), Giotto

The Father of the Italian Renaissance and European painting is Giotto di Bondone. Giotto is most famous for his decoration of the Arena (or Scrovegni) Chapel, in Padua, Italy around 1305. One site I visited claimed that he had ~40 artisans working on the paintings, working from sketches by the artist, as he directed them where to place the colors. If this is true, then I liken Giotto to glass artist, Dale Chihuly, who also sketched and directed the creation of his glass pieces and their installations all over the world.

2. Baroque (late 16th and early 17th century until the 1740s) -- Caravaggio

The Adolescent Bacchus (1595-97), Caravaggio

The Father of the Baroque movement is Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. While visiting Florence, Italy in 2011 we saw one of his most famous paintings at the Uffizi Gallery. The Baroque style applies to many of the arts and may be characterized by drama, dynamism, emotional exuberance, grandeur, movement, richness, sensuosity, and tension. The chiaroscuro technique first used by Caravaggio and Leonardo da Vinci was later employed by Rembrandt in many of his most recognizable works, including The Man in the Golden Helmet. The light and shadow added contrast and dramatic effects.

3. Realism (1830 thru the end of the 19th century) -- Courbet

The Stone Breakers (1849), Gustave Courbet

Gustave Courbet is known as the Father of Realism. His paintings of ordinary people doing ordinary tasks were unwelcomed by the rich of society who had been used to seeing paintings of wealthy people displaying their opulence.

I also enjoy the paintings of Jean-François Millet, whose paintings of peasant life influenced Van Gogh and inspired other impressionists.

4. Impressionism (The early 1860s to 1880s) -- Monet

Poppy Fields Near Argenteuil (1875), Claude Monet

Perhaps the most well-known and acclaimed painter of his time, Claude Monet is often considered to be the Father of Impressionism. Some may argue that its paternity belongs to Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, or Frédéric Bazille. Impressionism was a precursor to Neo-Impressionism (Seurat or Pissarro), Post-Impressionism (Cezanne), Fauvism (Matisse), and Cubism (Braque or Picasso).

Crinolines on the Beach (1863), Boudin

Maybe the credit should be given to French landscape painter Eugène Boudin, who met Monet in 1858 and taught him to paint landscapes en plein-air and observe the effects of light and tonal value. Therefore, Boudin may have been the Grandfather of Impressionism. Check out that colorful sky!

5. Pointillism/Divisionism/Neo-Impressionism (the late 1880s to the first decade of the 20th century) -- Seurat

Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte (1886), Seurat

Picking Peas (1887), Pissarro

Georges Seurat is credited as being the Father of Pointillism. However, my favorite Neo-Impressionist will always be Camille Pissarro. His compositions and color schemes are much more pleasing to me than Seurat's array of colored juxtaposed dots. While he still captures the lighting effects of Impressionism, his brushstrokes add texture without the obvious dots.

6. Modern Art/Post-Impressionism (1886-1905) -- Cézanne

Mont Sainte-Victoire (1895), Cézanne

Post-Impressionism evolved from the saturated colors of Impressionism and sought to reduce objects to their basic forms. The Father of Post-Impressionism is Paul Cézanne. Notice the shaded areas of color forming a patchwork of shapes that resembles later Cubist compositions. The 20th-century compositions will become much more angular and geometric, often using contrasting bold colors as opposed to the more analogous colors of this landscape.

7. Fauvism (1904-1908)

The Dessert: Harmony in Red (1908), Matisse

One of my all-time favorite artists, Henri Matisse, is also the founding Father of Fauvism. Inspired by the works of Impressionists like Van Gogh, Matisse also infused emotion into his paintings but instead of using the pastel colors of Monet, he used vibrant right-out-of-the-tube colors creating tension and contrast between warm and cool colors. In May 2011, on our trip to France and Italy, we stopped in Nice to visit the Matisse museum. Last Fall, in my post entitled, Top 15 Paintings that Use Primary Colors -- Red, Yellow, and Blue, I selected this Matisse work as #2 of my favorite Red paintings. Using unnatural colors was a way for the Fauvists to express emotion.

8. Expressionism (1905-1920)

The Scream (1893), Munch

The Chapman University blog about Expressionism describes the movement as "A group of artists that became associated with the Expressionism movement, tried to express or capture these feelings of uncertainty through swirling, exaggerated brushstrokes or jarring and violent lines and combinations of colors." Norwegian artist Edvard Munch is known as the Father of Expressionism. While on our June 2019 Baltic Crusie, we visited the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway. Munch has also been considered to be part of the Post-Impressionist movement.

From Thuringewald (1905), Munch

In 1905, German architecture students Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Fritz Bleyl, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and Erich Heckel became artists and formed the group The Bridge (Die Brücke) in the city of Dresden. Like Munch, their work was an emotional and psychological response to the world around them. While Munch's colors in his earlier works were more somber, German Expressionists' colors were more akin to its French Fauvist counterparts like Matisse. Matisse's paintings were happier and less anxious or angst-filled.

9. Cubism (1908-14)

(left) Ma Jolie, Picasso (1911-12) &
(right) The Portuguese, Braque (1911-12)

Cubism is yet another style that evolved almost to abstraction from the Fauvist and Expressionist movements. While they share some elements in common, Cubists went even further away from representational figures and forms to angular and geometric shapes and areas of color. Many will argue whether Georges Braque or Pablo Picasso is the true Father of Cubism. Even their works are quite similar. Supporting members of the movement included: Robert Delaunay, Henri Le Fauconnier, Albert Gleizes, Juan Gris, Fernand Léger, and  Jean Metzinger.

Nude Descending a Staircase,
No. 2 (1912), Duchamp

Dadaist Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2) is a work that was rejected by member artists as being too futuristic. The Dadaism and Futurism movements (1909-13) were overlapped by the Cubist movement. While in high school, my older brother did some futuristic paintings. The one I remember most is of the Frasier/Ali fight.

10. Surrealism (1924-1966)

The Persistence of Memory (1931), Salvador Dali

Although many consider Spanish artist Salvador Dali to be the Father of Surrealism in art, French writer, poet, and artist André Breton began the movement as a response to Dadaism (the 1860s-1970s) during World War I. Other notable Surrealist artists include Antonin Artaud, Francis Bacon, Marc Chagall, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Lucian Freud, Freda Kahlo, Paul Klee, René Magritte, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, and Yves Tanguy. The irrationality of the images is said to unlock the creativity of the unconscious mind.

11. Abstraction/Abstract Expressionism/Action Painting (1943 thru the mid-1950s)

While the first real departure from Realism and toward Abstraction is said to have been fathered by Russian artist, Wassily Kandinsky, and other Expressionists in the early 1900s, the first generation of Abstract Expressionism didn't begin until 30 years later.

Still Life Interior (1941), Hofmann

German-American artist, Hans Hofmann, is also thought to be the Father of Abstract Expressionism, although he was apparently influenced by the work of Kandinsky. His early paintings were more Fauvist, such as his stylized still lifes and interior paintings. It turns out that Lee Krasner, future wife of Jackson Pollock, and an Abstract Expressionist herself, enrolled in Hofmann's art school in 1937. Later, in 1940, Hofmann experimented with drip paintings. Jackson Pollock followed in Hofmann's footsteps by dedicating his later career to Action Painting.

Fish Market (Seattle Market
Scene Sketch) (1943), Tobey

Water of the Flowery Mill (1944),
Arshile Gorky

Some say that Armenian-American artist, Arshile Gorky (left) or even Mark Tobey (right) is the true Father of Abstract Expressionism.

12. Pop Art (the mid-1950s and the '60s)

The Marilyns, Andy Warhol

Yet another controversy exists for Pop Art. Like Cubism, there are two artists -- Andy Warhol (1928-1987) and British collage artist Richard Hamilton (1922-2011) -- who get credited with starting the movement. We saw Warhol's exhibit at the Palm Springs Art Museum in the Spring of 2018. Let's not forget Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) and Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) both of whom are famous Pop Artists.

13. Op Art (the 1960s when JFK became President)

Cheyt Rond (1974), Victor Vasarely

Finally, the Founder of the Op Art movement is Hungarian-French artist Victor Vasarely (1906-1997), whom I've blogged about in several posts. Optical Art uses precise lines and contrasting colors often in geometric patterns to create optical illusions and even movement.