Archive for July, 2007
Quite a number of excellent works of art have truly been considered as prized possessions by many art collectors from all over the world. This holds true to a number of notable paintings by a number of well known painters throughout history. There are some paintings that are so highly valued that some avid art collectors may even come to certain extremes just to get them. And getting them usually involves a great deal of money. Here are five of the most valued paintings today in terms of monetary value as of 2006.
5. Bal au moulin de la Galette, Montmartre by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
This 1876 Impressionist masterpiece by Renoir is the fifth most expensive painting to date. The Au Moulin de la Galette is actually a smaller version of Renoir’s painting of the same name that can be found at the Musee d’ Orsay in Paris. It was bought by a Japanese collector at Sothesby’s for 78.1 million in US dollars. It was recently believed to be sold to an undisclosed buyer to the tune of 113.4 million US dollars, putting it fifth in the list of the most expensive paintings.
4. Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent Van Gogh
Once considered as the most expensive painting in the 1990’s, this painting by Van Gogh once fetched for a price of 82.5 million US dollars to the same Japanese collector who bought Bal au moulin de la Galette by Renoir. Both painting have since changed ownership. It was recently reported that the Portrait of Dr. Gachet has been sold to an undisclosed party at a price of 129.7 million US dollars, enough to make it place fourth in the most expensive paintings list.
3. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt
This 1907 oil, silver and gold on canvas masterpiece was reportedly sold to a tune of 135 million US dollars to Ronald Lauder of New York City in June of 2006 to become a part of his Neue Galerie. Its adjusted price today would fetch 137.6 million US dollars.
2. Woman III by Willem de Kooning
This painting done by noted abstract expressionist painter Willem de Kooning was completed in 1953 and is one of six painting made by Kooning with the woman as the central theme. The painting was sold to billionaire Steven A. Cohen sometime in November of 2006 to the tune of 137.5 million US dollars, making it the second most expensive painting to date. Its adjusted price today would be somewhere at 140 million dollars.
1. No. 5, 1948 by Jackson Pollock
This abstract masterpiece by noted American painter Jackson Pollock is said to be the most expensive painting to date. It was reportedly sold by its previous owner, David Geffen to a still unconfirmed buyer to a tune of 140 million US dollars. If adjusted for inflation, its value today would reach as much as 142.7 million US dollars, making it the most expensive painting to date.
July 25th, 2007
Oil painting has been considered as one of the most popular methods of art. It is the process of painting using pigments that are mixed with a medium of drying oil. In the past, the most popular drying oil used by most painters was linseed oil which was boiled with a resin. This was then called as varnish and was highly valued for their excellent gloss and finish. Other types of drying oils used include poppyseed, walnut, and safflower oil. Different oils provide different properties to the oil paint and may depend on the painter to which one to use in order to create the type of artwork that the painter has in mind.
Linseed oil is taken from the seeds of the flax plant. It is usually the drying oil of choice because of its excellent properties. Pigments added to the oils are made glossier and they dry very thoroughly when used. This makes linseed oil great for underpainting the initial layers of an artwork. A more refined linseed oil variety is usually an all purpose oil that is pale or yellowish and color and dries within three to five days. There is also the cold-pressed linseed oil variety that can dry slightly faster and is considered today as the best linseed oil to use in terms of quality.
Stand oil, on the other hand, is a thicker kind of linseed oil with a slower drying time. It may take a week for the stand oil to dry. It is most ideal for use as a glaze when mixed with a solvent such as turpentine. It produces a smooth and enamel like finish to artworks absent of visible brush marks. There is also the sun thickened linseed oil which is made by exposing the linseed oil under the sun in order to make a thick and syrupy type of bleached oil. The sun thickened linseed oil may have the same brushing quality as that experienced in using stand oil. The advantage of stand oil and sun thickened linseed oil is that they have a slight tendency to turn to yellow in time as compared to other types of linseed oils.
Another type of oil painting medium being used is the poppyseed oil. It is usually a very pale oil and is less likely to turn yellow than the popular linseed oil. That is why it is usually the oil medium used for white and other pale colors. The only drawback is that poppyseed oil may take longer to dry than linseed oil. As this medium can dry for a week or more, it is ideal for use when the painter is working “wet on wet”.
Walnut oil is another drying oil medium used in oil paintings and is characterized by its pale yellow-brown color. It is also known for its distinctive smell and is a thinner type of oil than the other drying oil mediums. Walnut oils are usually used to make some oil paints become more fluid. It also has a lesser tendency to yellow than linseed oil and is therefore also good for use with pale colors. It can dry for about four to five days. Its only drawback is that it can be quite expensive and may require a different method of storage, otherwise it might go sour. Other known oil painting drying oils include safflower and sunflower oil which may have the same characteristics as poppyseed oils
July 18th, 2007
Edvard Munch was a notable Norwegian Expressionist painter largely known for his famous painting that in itself is considered one of the best known images in the world. Generally, Edvard Munch was known for his artful portrayals and treatments of fear, which to some people saw as being very intense. He was also regarded as one of the pioneers of the Expressionist movement which aims to distort reality to provide a certain emotional effect.
Edvard Munch was born on December 12, 1863 in Loten, Norway to Christian Munch and Laura Cathrine Munch, who was a victim of tuberculosis and died early in 1868. They continued to live in Loten until after the death of Edvard’s mother. After that, his father was left to fend for the whole family, with a brother and two other sisters. They were raised by their father who instilled in them a deep rooted fear that may have later on influenced the young Edvard that was reflected in the paintings that he later created. The family lived in an environment of fear that may also have contributed to the poor health of the Munch siblings.
Although the young Edvard was always ill, he was able to grow and was able to study engineering at a technical college in Oslo. But because of frequent illnesses that interrupted his studies, he left school in order to study painting at the Royal School of Art and Design of Kristiania (present day Oslo). It was here that his love for the arts grew. His initial style of work when he started painting can be defined as naturalistic as well as impressionistic at times. It eventually evolved going into symbolism into much of his later paintings. Munch preferred to focus on painting mostly figures as the main subjects on his paintings, favoring usually to provide minimal backdrop for his frontal figures. His paintings can usually appear as figures that appear to play roles in a theater stage, in poses and images that impart the different human states of mind and mental condition.
His most famous work is The Scream which was one of the artworks that belong in a series entitled the Frieze of Life. In this series of paintings, Munch tried to explore themes such as love, fear, death, life and melancholy. But it was his depiction of despair in The Scream that captured the eye of many people and eventually become one of the most recognized paintings in the world. Munch is also known for creating a number of versions of his themed works and can be easily recognized in his other artworks. The Scream actually has two versions. One was both stolen at one time but has since been recovered. One version of the said painting has sustained considerable damage that made it impossible to repair completely.
After several years of influencing the art world with his works, Munch died at a fruitful age of 80 on January 23, 1944 at his simple home in Skoyen, Oslo. He left the world with a treasure of artworks that included 1,000 paintings, 4,500 drawings, 15,400 prints and watercolors along with six sculptures made for the city of Oslo. Most of his works are now being displayed at the Munch Museum at Toyen, Oslo, a fitting tribute to one of Norway’s greatest contributors in the world of art.
July 12th, 2007
Rembrandt is considered as one of the greatest painters ever to come out from Europe. He was a master painter and etcher renowned all over the world for the emotions and motive that he was able to recreate in his many artworks. Rembrandt was born Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn on the 15th July, 1606, in Leiden in the Netherlands. He was the eighth of nine children of Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn and his wife, Neeltje van Suijttbroeck. Among his family, he was the first and the only one of the sons that was sent to the school to learn Latin.
Rembrandt went into the Philosophical Faculty of Leiden University to study Classics after seven years of schooling. His short stint at the university ended with starting a period of apprenticeship under Jacob Isaacszoon van Swanenburgh, an Italy-trained painter. After a short apprenticeship with Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam, Rembrandt decided to open up a studio in Leiden, which he then shared with his friend and colleague Jan Lievens. It was in 1627, Rembrandt began to accept students, among them Gerrit Dou. In was sometime during the year 1629 that Rembrandt was discovered by the statesman and poet Constantijn Huygens, who was the father of Christiaan Huygens who, himself, was a known Dutch mathematician and physicist. It was he who looked for and gave important commissions to Rembrandt from the court of the Hague. And because of this important connection, Prince Frederik Hendrik became a frequent customer and continued to buy paintings from Rembrandt for a long period of time.
By 1631, Rembrandt had established such a good reputation as well as an impressive display of his painting talent that he was able to receive quite a number of assignments for portraits in Amsterdam. Along the way Rembrandt was able to create and produce over 600 paintings and nearly 400 etchings. He also was able to make about 2000 drawings during his time, making him one of the most prolific artists of his time. He is a master of creating self-portraits, producing almost a hundred of them along with 20 other etchings of himself as the subject. It gave art historians as well as art lovers today a more detailed look at the man and his appearance as well as the psychological make up shown by his detailed and richly-weathered face.
Although Rembrandt was able to experience fame and fortune during his time, he was also guilty of living a life well beyond his means. This caused probably his bankruptcy in 1656. In order to pay up his debts, it led the painter to auction quite a number of his paintings. He also had to go as far as selling his house and his printing-press. Rembrandt died on October 4, 1669 in Amsterdam. Sadly, the great painter was buried in an unmarked grave in Westerkerk, not fitting for the great talent that had given the world some of the most captivating artworks that has withstood the test of time.
July 4th, 2007