Historic Works

This is a completely arbitrary selection of influential works and favored artists. It is by no means complete, but a crosssection of who I look at. Hope you enjoy.

Mona Lisa What better way to start? This is one of the greatest minds in the history of mankind. Leonardo Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" is one of the premeire paintings of all time. Everyone knows this one. Yes, her eyes follow you. Yes there is some evidence it began as a self portrait. No, I don't think he was gay. He was just a genius. 'Nuff, said.

La Grande Jatte
This guy is just brilliant. Georges Suerat. "A sunday afternoon on the island of La Grande Jatte" 1884-1886. 6'9"x10'1". You owe the fact that you can see this image to Seurat. His pointilist style paved the way for the color mixing that your monitor does to produce an image. And he's just a hell of a painter to boot.
The Gate One of the paintings to have the greatest infuence on my own art is Hans Hoffman's "The Gate". Seeing this painting for the first time shocked me. Hoffman's boldness of color and quailty of depth challenged me.

NudeThis painting, entitled "Nude", by Jean Fautrier, has recently become an influential piece to me. The rich texture caught me imediately, even in this med. quality image you can see the thick texture. The simplified statement of the female form shows a keen eye for the
essential.
The Kiss The Thinker

"The Kiss" and "The Thinker"These two stunning works are by the renowned sculptor Rodin. Rodin is often compared to his contemporaries, the Impressionists. I don't believe the comparison is really fair. Rodin's powerful scuptures rely more heavily on form than the Impressionists did. While not the "fool the eye" sculpture we see in the classical, Hellenistic, and Neo classical eras. Rodin's forms are living, breathing beings, full of passion.

The Houses of Parliament Claude Monet: The Houses of Parliament. 1903. My most begrudged influence. at certain points in my career, was fond of saying, "I hate the Impressionists". However all I really hate is that you can get Monet on everything from postcards to tablecloths. The most abused style in all of art, no doubt. But, despite the rapeings of capitalism, Monet is just amazing. I wish I could have been there. I may have been an Impressionist too. It's a little known fact that the term Impressionism is derived from a NEGATIVE reveiw of a showing of their work. Go figure.
Composition in Red, Yellow, and Blue "Composition in Red, Yellow, and Blue" Pieter Mondrian. Piet is one of my favorite painters. He was a master of composition, filling up a canvass flawlessly time after time. The novice art observer is tempted to ask, "What is it." To which my response is typically, "It is!" Piet's compositions are well balanced with essential points of interest and a perfect formal compostition. It would be difficult if not impossible to add or remove a single line without destroying the painting.
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