MODULE IN ART APPRECIATION

MODULE 1: Lesson 6
FUNCTIONS OF ART

Every work of art serves a purpose for man’s convenience and comfort. This
traditional role of visual art is done by describing the things in the surroundings. Drawings
and paintings of humans and wild animals on walls within the prehistoric caves are the
earliest form to portray images, illustrate landscapes, narrate events, and represent spiritual
or fantasy.

ACTIVITY FOR LESSON 6

Below are famous works of great artists which known for its distinctive styles.
Determine the FUNCTION OF ART depicted in these paintings and give a short explanation.
Aside from that, write a short set of information about the artwork.

1. “Café Terrace at Night” by Vincent Van Gogh

Function: Therapeutic Function

Explanation: The Cafe Terrace at Night is an art made by Vincent Van Gogh that
depicts the vision of an observer who is relaxed and enjoying the beauty of the
surroundings at night. It is one of the arts of Vincent Van Gogh that was made while
having the feeling of satisfaction and when he wrote "the night is more alive and more
richly colored than the day." This makes the function of this art therapeutic. The colors,
spaces and shapes that can be seen in the art provides composure and tranquility to the
viewer. The symbols each character and object represented has the purpose to affect the
psychological aspect of a person making the art as an instrument for therapeutic means.

Information: In Cafe Terrace at Night the brightly lit cafe radiates with warmth and
inviting light, becoming a beacon of yellow set against the rich, dark blue of a night sky,
which in turn is illuminated with myriad bright stars. It is an image full of symbolism for
the artist, whose works had gradually become more significant in this respect. The
underlying symbolism in this and other paintings of a similar nature that he made,
however, is one that was understood primarily by the artist, but was not necessarily so
obvious to the impartial viewer. This in turn was a further reflection of the personal,
almost therapeutic role that Van Gogh's painting had come to represent to him, and was
one that would become increasingly so. The artist attached the color yellow to feelings of
 religious inspiration, light and happiness and wrote regarding his Yellow House, 'I have
had my little house pointed yellow, because I want it to be a house of light for everyone.'
applied this feeling to the brightly lit yellow cafe that had been a welcoming haven of
sorts for the artist,

Background
In the late 19th century, Vincent van Gogh embarked on a trip which led him to settle in
the cities of Nuenen, Antwerp, and Paris. While on these trips, the painter was introduced
to Impressionist art. In 1888, Vincent van Gogh left Paris, after spending about two years
in the city. He settled in Arles, France where he was inspired by the city’s vibrant lifestyle.
While in Arles, Vincent visited a local coffee shop known as Place du Form. While
frequenting the café, the painter decided to make a painting of the café while also
expressing his troubled existence.

Sources:
Impressionists. (n/d). Cafe Terrace at Night, 1888 by Vincent Van Gogh.
https://www.impressionists.org/cafe-terrace-at-night.jsp
Shinobi Cruz. (May 10, 2017). Café Terrace at Night.
http://blog.vangoghgallery.com/index.php/en/2017/05/10/cafe-terrace-at-night/

2.

“The Open Window” by Henry Matisse

Function: Aesthetic Function

Explanation: Henry Matisse's artwork, "The Open Window", serves an Aesthetic
Function since he was able to convey the beauty of the Mediterranean with beautiful
tones. The “open window” is a Fauvism that brings peace and joy. It is believed that it
has become a landmark for early modernism. The “open window” captures the viewer,
causing them to experience a little excitement. Matisse managed to ensure that viewers
did not pass by his works, but stopped, keeping their eyes on them, and that is why "The
Open Window" by Henri Matisse serves a personal function.

Information: The artist often used his favorite trick – an image of an open door or
window. This helped him to build the composition of the future picture itself. All the
beauty of the Mediterranean were able to convey beautiful tones. The picture seems to
be written in a careless technique, here we will not find any smooth transitions and
semitones. This beauty is rather solemn and jubilant. The canvas depicts a view of the
southern coast of France. The artist decided to write a view from his apartment, which
was located in Collioure.
 Art critics refer the work “Open Window” to the marina genre. However, such a specificity
of writing a picture is quite specific. We can see the sea only through open shutters, the
artist decided to transfer it with the help of large strokes. In the color scheme, the sea
almost merges with the sky. Only blue skies can visually delineate the line, while
separating the expanses of water from the depths of heaven. Looking at the viewer,
sailboats appear that sway on pink and lilac waves. Their exposed mast, bright orange-
colored, rush up. The greens that wrap around the window space, flower pots standing
on the windowsill, perfectly shade the water peace of the canvas. Those who have seen
how Matisse creates his work recall that black was the most crucial component. The
author outlined the window contour to them, making the contrast and brightness with
which he had so long sought.

Sources:
Opisanie-kartin. (Feb. 1, 2019). Description of the painting by paintings by Henri Matisse “Open
Window. https://en.opisanie-kartin.com/description-of-the-painting-by-paintings-by-henri-
matisse-open-window/

3. “The Red Ridge” by El Lissitzky

Function: Cultural Function

Explanation: Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge is one of Lissitzky's earliest
attempts at propagandistic art. He produced this politically charged work in support of
the Red Army shortly after the Bolsheviks had waged their revolution in 1917. He
attempted to make this with the intention of involving politics thus, this artwork
portrays a CULTURAL FUNCTION. Artworks with cultural functions are those that
can preserve cultural values. However, they are also those that question the said
values. It expresses the feelings and emotions of the artist towards a particular event
or phenomenon, and at the same time, it brings awareness to the audience that there
is a need for cultural change. Noting, the reason why The Red Ridge is created, it
can be inferred that the artist intends to promote, publicize, and most probably
influence other people on his support towards the Red Army.

Information: The red wedge symbolized the revolutionaries, who were penetrating
the anti-Communist White Army. Here Lissitzky uses his signature coded color
combination of red, white and black, which reinforces the message indicated by the
work's title. Colors and shapes take on directly symbolic significance. For example,
the smooth, curvilinear walls of the white circle are pierced by the sharp point of the
red triangle: the Red Army has pierced the defenses of the White Army. Dramatic
color contrasts also create confusion regarding space-which area is positive? Which
is negative? Meanwhile, small geometric forms in the limited color scheme float like
tiny projectiles through the space along with text. Here, basic forms combine with
actual text: painting and typography are fused. This work is an important precursor to
Lissitzky's Prouns, when Suprematist art moved onto a three-dimensional visual
 plain.

Sources:
The Art Story. (n/d). El Lissitzky Artworks. https://www.theartstory.org/artist/lissitzky-el/artworks/