History of Art

Presentation by Salidat Matyeva

“Old Woman Frying
Eggs” (around 1618)
by Diego Velazquez
“Old Woman Frying Eggs”(1618)
Diego Velazquez used working class characters as the models for this painting. There we
see the influence of chiaroscuro, we can observe how the light illuminates the face of the
women, utensil of the poaching eggs and other dishes on the table; we see the face
expression of the boy, who was thrown on the shadowed background; also there is a basket
hanging on the wall, which is not so visible at the first glance. The palette of the colors is
mostly in brown tones. The whole painting is the play of contrasts: the light and dark
shadows. The effect of chiaroscuro here is very intense. It creates very dramatic, murky
and mystical atmosphere in the darkness.
“Galata Tower on
a moonlit night”
(1845) by Ivan
Aivazovsky
“Galata Tower on a moonlit night” (1845)

Aivazovsky often visited Turkey and most of his paintings were painted in Constantinople.
He depicted a spectacular view of the tower, which is one of the main symbols of the city.
The Turkish people are well depicted, they are leading a measured and balanced nightlife.
Also, the calm sea is reflecting the bright moon. The weather is good, as can be seen from
the clear sky, bright moon and calm sea. Mosques can be seen in the distance, which gives
the picture an oriental flavor. In addition, on this calm sea, we can observe lots of fishing
boats which went out to hunt. The texture and colors of the painting are very soft and it
creates the effect of illumination of the sea by the moonlight. Despite the using of mostly
dark tones, it shows the lightness, calmness and pacification of the environment in this
painting.
“Lion Hunt in
Morocco” (1854) by
Eugene Delacroix
“Lion Hunt in Morocco” (1854)
The theme of the painting is connected with the artist's memories of a trip to Morocco in 1832. Delacroix
depicted in the foreground hunters, a man and a young man, hiding in ambush under a lush crown of a tree,
as well as two Arabs with a horse in the depths. His painting style is full of lush and excited brushwork with
vibrating flamboyant colors.

The plot of the picture is interesting for its extraordinary brilliance and emotionality of the image. The
hunting scene is imbued with dynamics and energy, we can literally feel the tense atmosphere prevailing
before the fight with the lion. Delacroix chooses not the culmination of the event, but the moment that
precedes it. We can feel through picture’s intensity that the fight will begin in any minute. The colors of the
painting are filled with contrasts of red, blue and green.

Nature is one of the main characters of the event, which serves as a background to what is happening. We
feel an internal movement in everything: the trunk of the tree seems to be twisted, the rising of distance,
extending to the horizon, and how the horse restlessly steps back.
“Garden at Sainte-
Adresse” (1867) by
Claude Monet
“Garden at Sainte-Adresse” (1867) by Claude Monet

“Garden at Sainte-Adresse” is an oil painted summer scene. The painting has a horizontal
scene of seaside and the view from above to the garden. The lines and contours are smooth
and natural. Monet was painting this picture on the sunny summer day, we can see it
through the shadows of the chairs and shiny white concrete floor. The colors of the
painting are very intense, bright and luminous. Also, it is important to notice “the
industrialization scene” on the background; we can see the sailing boats and steamships in
the sea. Monet used separate and sparkling brush strokes on a flat surface with pure colors
and blurred tones. The viewers can only see the figures and their clothes, but the faces of
people are not visible.
"View of Tiflis
from Seid-Abaz"
(1868) by Ivan
Aivazovsky
"View of Tiflis from Seid-Abaz" (1868)

Aivazovsky in this small picture showed himself to be a talented landscape painter. This modest canvas
depicts a deep panoramic view of Tiflis (Tbilisi) from the mountains. The buildings in the foreground are
flooded with bright sunlight, their outlines, figures of people and horses, two large trees are painted with the
utmost scrupulousness, with many details. The main street with an expressive realistic perspective goes
down, where the bulk of the houses lie. The rocks around the city form a kind of bowl filled with a special
lilac haze, so the illuminated houses in the center look pink, and the distant mountains look blue. He created
an effect like we are looking at the city from the hills into the depth of scenery view.

These cool shades of lilac, blues and purples contrast with the warm golden foreground sunlight, giving the
painting a dramatic dimension. The canvas not only perfectly conveys the perspective and impression of a
vast space, but also has a special, quiet and lyrical mood. This is not just a landscape, it is a feeling of love
for a wonderful city.
“The Grands
Boulevards” (1875)
by Pierre-Auguste
Renoir
“The Grands Boulevards” (1875)

Renoir on this painting illustrates the crowded parisian boulevard. By this painting, he
wanted to show the effects of industrialization. We can see the wide street full of different
people, with huge concrete building (traditional parisian apartments) on the right side. The
emphasis of the painting is in the walking the human figures, and we can even see their
clothes in details, but we cannot see their faces. In this painting, the shadows from the sun
are falling on the pavement, sun is shining on the trees under which shadow we can
observe people and horse-drawn carriage. The painting was influenced by impressionism
and we see the short and light brush strokes, also the whole picture is blurred and out of
focus. It nicely represents the life of Paris of that times.
“Cafe Terrace at
Night” (1888) by
Vincent van Gogh
“Cafe Terrace at Night” (1888)
“Cafe Terrace at Night” is an oil painting by Vincent van Gogh, first exhibited in 1891 and at
the beginning was called “Coffeehouse”. By starry sky and contrasting colors and tones, Van
Gogh created luminous and bright surface in the darkening background. The viewer’s eyes
looks at the center of the painting, on the cobblestone pavement, and it makes you feel the
vibrating atmosphere of french night-street life. On the right side, there are lighted windows of
the shop and some apartments above, which go deep into the street. Also, there are branches of
trees and people walking by the cafe. It creates really lively and vivacious environment. We
cannot see the faces of people in the terrace of cafe, but we see that this place is quite crowded;
we can even spot the waiter delivering orders. The scene fulfilled with a spiritual and emotional
tone. The brushstrokes glows with pleasure, intensity and excitement. Van Gogh showed us this
painting as he was seeing it, by making it more vibrant and colorful.
Thank you for the attention!

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