Art is Culture

Since we are on the subject of art this month, I took it upon myself to visit the National Gallery of Art on 7th and Constitution Ave, West Wing. Why the West Wing? “The National Gallery of Art was created in 1937 for the people of the United States of America by a joint resolution of Congress, accepting the gift of financier and art collector Andrew W. Mellon” clearly this was a whole new introduce individual to different forms of art whether is painting , scripture or photography.

Now, upon visiting the Gallery, I found three very interesting works of art that I think were created. The three works were all created by three different French Art painters.

Henri Matisse (La Coiffure 1901) - Uses simplified figures and bold colors in his paintings. La Coiffure show cases a women figure in front of a mirror doing her hair. The painting brings the subject upfront with colors being used in the background.

Auguste Renoir (Diana 1919)- Captures the female body in its most ambiguous manner with the use of his most favorite colors black, white and gray and clear skin of Diana that show case’s Renoir’s style. Diana his earliest work is an image of a goddess huntress, a mythological figure from Roman History.

Gustave Courbet (A young Woman reading 1866) – In this painting Gustave showcase a women reading in an outdoor environment surrounded by color of green in a forest tree.

All three painting have one thing in common, transforming the women’s body into a canvas. The lines and natural shape of a women where used to convince the audience that the body is a form of art. It shapes itself in every way and to any advantage. French culture in show case art through nude paintings was an expression of understanding a woman’s look. The oil paint and water color on paper made it come to life and real. I’ve come to realize that among the three painting, that I have chosen, Auguste Renoir stands out the most. Mainly because I felt I could relate to a women huntress. Back in the day my ancients used to be women huntress and in a one of Namibian cultural women go hunting in cultural outfits and some consist of just a plain cloth wrapped around the mid-section to cover the private parts.

http://www.nga.gov/