This is Caspar David Friedrich's Monk by the Sea. It shows a loan monk looking out into the vast horizon as a storm starts to form. It is one of the first to not fully feature the human in the picture. It was revolutionary. Its very peaceful and moving.
This is Jean-Francoise Millet's The Gleaners. It was inspired in part by Genesis 3:19 ("In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread."). Its controlled dignity and beauty shows the hard working lower class women. Before this time, painting the lower classes was almost unheard of but then during this period it became more and more popular.
When photography was invented, it revolutionized art. Julia Margaret Cameron took photography from just documenting people, to an art form. The subjects of her photographs tend to look wistful. It makes you wonder what haunts them, or what trials they have that would make them look like this.
Claude Monet was part of a group of artists in France known as the impressionists. They changed art forever. Before them art was supposed to be about remaking things to look exactly the same they do in real life. Impressionists wanted to change that. As you can see, this art is not completely clear. Its more dreamy and makes you see the subject in a different way. Monet is my favorite artist. I love his dreamy, serene pictures. This is his Waterloo Bridge, London.
This is Georgia O'Keefe's Cow's Skull with Calico Roses. While it is different I think its beautiful and different. Usually you would not think a cow's skull is beautiful, but O'Keefe makes it beautiful in its starkness and as paired with the rose.
My mom loves Mary Cassatt. Her pictures of mothers and children are very sweet. She paints the sweet moments, and everyday moments between mothers and children. I honestly had a hard time picking a picture of hers. There are so many I love. This is her Breakfast in Bed.
This is Edouard Manet's (not to be confused with Monet) Madame Manet and Leon. The bright, clean colors make me think of an early, relaxing morning. Her gaze seems to look right inside of you and knows every thing about you.
Finally, this is Romero Britto's Sweet Kisses. My father knows him, and I grew up going to his gallery in Miami Beach a lot as a child. His bright colors and cartoon like subjects are so pretty, and cute. This picture is so cute and sweet. I really want a print for my house.
So there is some of my favorite art. I hope you enjoyed seeing some of it. I have to say its not all of it, by any stretch of the imagination, but its some. Do you have any favorite artist or painting?