Ron Guerin Fine Art
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Influence of four great artists
The nature of this study is to explore the influences of four artists, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Andy Warhol, on myself as a developing, modern-day artist. The question examined: Can a present day artist be artistically influenced by the study of these four masters? This paper will take a detailed look into the personalities, works and techniques these artists provided during their life span. For this experiment I participated as the artist in this study looking for influences from the four great masters of fine art. I produced a body of work that would emulate each artist’s style as a method of learning each technique. The culmination of the exploration was to provide a solo exhibition with a patron survey followed by the results and discussion.
"Art is dead", Professor James Gordon Bennett stated saliently one day during class at the International Academy of Design and Technology in Tampa, Florida. He clarified later that the actual quote was “Art is dead, Andy Warhol killed it.” One could assume Warhol put an end to the traditional old masters’ techniques with his high contrast images merely colored in, or that Professor Bennett was referring to Warhol’s later works with piss art and tampon boxes. On one hand, all the great masters are dead, and in a manner of speaking one could assume "Art is dead", but on the other hand, there are plenty of artists still around producing art, just not classified as "master artists" yet. Regardless of the debate my thinking at the time was, is "Art" dead? The next question then; what is the meaning of my existence as a present day artist? These questions were enough to begin this study of four great masters and their influence on me as the artist.
Dali states, "If you act the genius you will be one" (Dali 1993, p. 11). The purpose of this study is to explore the influences of four artists, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Andy Warhol, on me as a developing, modern-day artist. The question examined: Can a present day artist be artistically influenced by the study of these four masters?
The study examines the basic principles of these artists by looking at their comparisons in Salvador Dali’s Table of Artists, from his book 50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship in which he conducted his own study of period artists and scored them on their craftsmanship, inspiration, color, design, genius, composition, originality, mystery and authenticity (Dali, 1992). I chose the four artists, which I most admired for my study, though others are included in Dali’s book. Unfortunately, Van Gogh was not well liked by Dali and is only mentioned rather briefly in Dali’s opening comments. As a result, I had to find additional resources to research Van Gogh’s work.
Dali’s publication sets two precedents, showing not only that other artists can influence artists, but that they can be part of a historical significance by leaving their thoughts and opinions on record for those later artists.
After studying the techniques and styles of each of the four masters, I aspired to implement their methods in my own paintings. As the artist, I was an active participant in the solo exhibition and provided a survey of patrons’ questionnaire regarding the work. Patrons were given the opportunity to participate in comparing each of the four paintings to the style of the corresponding master. Their responses provided the necessary data for analysis to determine the level of artistic influence. This data culminated the conclusion of the research question. The conclusion is that the modern-day artist can gain great insight into what the great masters each tried to accomplish with their work, and can visibly influence a present day artist’s work.
The artists Van Gogh, Picasso, Dali, and Warhol all made a significant impact and contribution to the world of art. Given the level of talent these four masters set a level of excellence that continues as an example of classic theory and technique for artists today.
The Influence of Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh (1853 – 1890) was considered the greatest Dutch painter since Rembrandt. He produced over eleven hundred drawings and nine hundred paintings during the ten-year period before he succumbed to mental illness and committed suicide.
Van Gogh’s work did not become popular until eleven years after his death, following an exhibition in Paris on March 17, 1901. "His influence on early abstraction and expressionism was immense and can be seen in 20th century art" (Ayoub, 2005, p. 1).
Van Gogh’s life reminds me of my own solitary moments. His loose and colorful painting style may be a result of his “letting go” lifestyle, surrendering to his depression and failure as he tried to effectively enter society. The Starry Night is a classic example of his use of rich colors (Metzger, 2006). In this painting, Van Gogh provides a depiction of the stars in the heavens meeting the earth, against a blue impasto background. This contrasts a yellow-orange moon, various starbursts and a whimsical play of light across the middle of the sky, all applied to the canvas in various directions to create yet another dimension over color and form.
I found that this artist began to shed his influence on me as I reviewed his images and life story in the book Van Gogh, the Complete Paintings (Metzger, 2006). Van Gogh is an inspiration to me despite his human frailties. He is considered one of the best artists of all time. Starting with craftsmanship and inspiration with his original Portrait of Patience Escalier, Van Gogh set the stage in dignity and style (Metzger, 2006). These life portraits painting of a shepherd featured in a yellow straw hat, one rendition on a blue background, the other on orange. He finished the canvas by adding originality, mystery and authenticity to his fine art production including the use of color, design and composition; he set a precedent for other artists to follow. In review, I now see that with his productions, Van Gogh provided a wonderful show for future artists with his many paintings. From him, I understand his use of colors, the creative style and design in the way in which they were applied. I am also challenged to emulate the way in which simple subjects were treated with his spice of color and execution. This brings new meaning and depth to my work and technique. This from a man somewhat unsuccessful at life but famous in death and yet, from the Dali study, his only mention of Van Gogh was to call him "mad" (Dali, 1992, p. 13).
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), with ninety years worth of greatness was termed "the most famous artist of the 20th century" (Moffat, 2005, p. 1). He was born October 25th, 1881 to Dona Maria Picasso Lopez and Don Jose Ruiz Blasco of Malaga, Spain. During the first part of his life, he signed his name as Pablo Ruiz, but at the turn of the 20th century changed his signature to Pablo Picasso. He is famous for his many periods of painting; the Blue and Rose period 1901-1906, Cubism 1907-1917 (African, Analytical Cubism, Synthetic or Collage Cubism), Classicism and Surrealism 1918-1936, Wartime 1937-1945, and his late works of 1946-1973. By following these many and diverse periods chronologically, I saw how his various moods were influenced by the times and how his symbolic references to history occurred. He truly interpreted history in his work, and left its record for all interested to see. "I wanted to be a painter, and I became Picasso," declared Pablo Picasso "in an apt survey of a triumphant career. In his paintings, drawings, lithographs, ceramics, and sculptures, he was tirelessly inventive and innovative" (The Times, 2008 p.1). Dali gave Picasso high marks in inspiration, design, genius and composition (Dali, 1993).
My earliest influence from Picasso would be considered a traditional symbolic influence from his decisive use of The Dove of Peace, which he designed for the International Peace Congress in Paris, 1949 (Design Boom, 2002). A lithograph featuring the white ancestor of a new family of doves, as designers carry on this historic symbol to date. From war to peace, Picasso was the heir-apparent inventor of a series of periods in the making of his art. I’ve come to admire Picasso’s tireless pursuit to record the world around him throughout his life and aspire to exhibit that dedication in my own career.
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) was born in 1904 in Figuera, a small town in Northern Spain. Dali, a child prodigy, began his career with drawing lessons at the age of ten. "His art teacher was a then well known Spanish impressionist painter, Ramon Pichot. Dali began to study art at the Royal Academy in Madrid where he was expelled twice and never took the exams. His opinion was he was more qualified than those who should have examined him" (Weyers, 1999, p. 1).
In 1928, Dali traveled to Paris and met the artists Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso. This is where Dali established himself as a principal surrealist and was the understudy to Andre Breton, the theoretical "schoolmaster of surrealism" (Weyers, 1999, p. 1). This meeting and alliance between Dali and Picasso supports the theory that other artists can be influenced. Later Dali painted renditions of Picasso’s work as a mockery of Picasso’s style (Descharnes, 1997). I can assume that Picasso may have picked up on Van Gogh’s influence in that region of France, some 27 years later when Van Gogh’s work was considered popular. Dali ranked himself with high marks in all areas in his own study.
The Salvador Dali Museum, located in St. Petersburg, Florida, certainly acts as a stage for this great master of illusion art. Dali impresses with many paintings in the collection, 95 oil paintings are housed in St. Petersburg with six of the eighteen as large historical paintings. Dali attempts to take viewers on a trip through their imagination, playing with thought processes. I have attended the museum often which has enabled me to research the artist. Seeing so many examples of his various periods in one place helped me to gain perspective into his development and style of painting in the surrealist manner.
In the book 50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship that I purchased at the museum, Dali encourages the painter to paint as if all the world’s paintings have yet to be painted (Dali, 1992). This is important to me, and should be translated by each aspiring painter to apply it to him or herself in a personal way. The appeal of actually viewing Dali’s works firsthand and reading his book is to share his inspiration and love of painting. He challenges the artist in me to continue with a zestfulness and passion he exhibited while creating my own work. By studying his book and techniques I was able to understand which colors will produce the best results for his style. After reading a description of his under-painting as "infinitely smooth and as a hard substance," at first I did not understand this contradictory concept, but with my own rendition of Gala Contemplating the Eternal Flame, I now have a better understanding of his hidden brush stroke style (Dali, 1992, p. 21),. Dali does not show or feature a particular brushstroke and the appearance of his painting is very smooth with a little bit of texture, such as fine sandpaper. His influence can be seen in my painting, and although this rendition did not fully capture his surrealistic painting style, it did turn out quite nicely.
As an elderly man, Salvador Dali was unable to paint due to illness and knowing this has certainly inspired me to continue painting while I can. Art is a gift and as long as I have this gift I intend to share it with the world.
Tribute to Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987), known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became famous worldwide for his work as a painter, advent garde filmmaker, record producer, author, and public figure known for his membership in wildly diverse social circles that included bohemian street people, distinguished intellectuals, Hollywood celebrities and wealthy patrons.
Warhol has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions, books, and feature and documentary films. He coined the widely used expression "15 minutes of fame." In his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, The Andy Warhol Museum exists in memory of his life and artwork.
The highest price ever paid for a Warhol painting is $100 million for a 1963 canvas titled Eight Elvises. The private transaction was reported in a 2009 article in The Economist, which described Warhol as the "bellwether of the art market." $100 million is a benchmark price that only Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso, Gustav Klimt and Willem de Kooning have achieved.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia