Palm Springs Museum of Modern Art

Judy Chicago "Rainbow Pickett"

I visited the Palm Springs Museum of Modern Art. It is definitely one of my favorite museums, because it has such a variety. They have had interesting exhibitions when I visited before, like Impressionism and some Pablo Picasso drawings. However, the first time I visited Palm Springs Museum of Modern Art, I only had about 40 minutes to visit. I only had enough time to see Vincent Van Gogh's painting "Still Life with Basket and Six Oranges" and Pablo Picasso's drawing of a dog. So, I was glad to come back to the Palm Springs Museum of Modern Art and have the opportunity to discover the museum and its art. During my visit to the museum, they had one exhibition going on that day. The exhibition was about neon dead fish. I did not care to take pictures, because it did not interest me. I was confused and I later formed a headache being in there after a minute. Nevertheless, I had a great time enjoying their variety of sculptures and paintings.

Palm Springs Museum of Modern Art has four levels in the building. The first floor is where they have their exhibitions.  The second floor is mostly pottery. The third floor is where majority of the sculpture is located. Judy Chicago's sculpture "Rainbow Pickett" is one of my favorite sculpture pieces in the museum. Judy Chicago is a minimalist and feminist artist during the 1960s and 1970s. The"Rainbow Pickett" was named after the 1960s soul singer Wilson Pickett. It was first shown in 1965 at the Jewish Museum. Chicago destroyed the "Pickett" because of the lack of space and cost. Chicago rebuilt the "Rainbow Pickett" in 2004. The sculpture plays with space, shapes, and light so perfectly.

The underground floor is their outside sculptures. Dale Chichuly's glasswork is complex, chaotic, and fun. I have enjoyed his other pieces of work, and glad to see his piece was in the museum. The piece is called End of the Day #2. It is made out of blown glass with steel armature.

Palm Springs Museum of Modern Art is not the biggest museum with popular artists, but it has beautiful art and I have discovered many talented artists from there. Support your local or state museums by visiting, volunteering, or donating to them.

Dale Chichuly "End of the Day #2"

A Trip to the Getty Villa

 I recently took a trip up to the Getty Villa with my mom and her friend. The Getty Villa is unlike any museum you will ever visit. It is not dark or dingy, but full of accurate and beautiful architecture, gardens, and art. The Getty Villa is a replica of a rural estate in Herculaneum.

The landscape and gardens of the Getty Villa is gorgeous and an art by itself. I joined a tour to learn the historical context of the garden and architecture. All of the tour guides were knowledgable and delightful. The plants, vegetables, and fruit that you would find in Herculaneum. A long stretch of beautiful and fully bloomed lavender fills the garden. When you reach the grapes, you feel like you are in a whole different world.

The architecture of the atrium and building was inspired by the Pompeii architecture and mosaic. When you leave the atrium, it opens up to the outdoors again. There were women statues pouring water into the long pool, little fountains, and huge columns. There are rooms located around this area that are filled with Greek, Roman, and Etruscan art.

Lansdowne Herakles

The statue of Herakles had its own temple. The statue is called "Lansdowne Herakles," it is actually a Roman copy of the Greek original. Herakles is naked and holding a club after he killed Nemean the lion. The statue is crafted in marble.

The art is all focused on mythology, especially the jars and jugs. The jugs have a scene from a mythology painted on all the jars. "The Attributed to the Eagle Paint" Etruscan water jar is about how Hercules defeated the hydra of Lerna. The jar is a black-figure pottery painting. The subjects are silhouettes with details of red and white lines.

If you want to visit the Getty Villa, my suggestion is to go with a tour or group of people. I paid $15 that included transportation and no stress about parking. The Getty Villa is free, but parking is $7. The Getty Villa is definitely unlike any museum I have ever been to.

 "The Attributed to the Eagle Paint" Etruscan

Baroque Era

Peter Paul Rubens, "Descent from the Cross"

The Baroque era was the art movement that is passionate, high contrast, and theatrical. Baroque is the art movement after the Renaissance art movement. Renaissance art was about reason, simplicity, and calmness, Baroque was the opposite. Baroque was about energy, complex, and emotion (Getlein 389).

Caravaggio, "Entombment of Christ"

Artists from the Baroque era painted their subjects like a theatre placement. Painters would paint the subject in dramatic lighting and giving a dark backdrop. Caravaggio's "Entombment of Christ" is a great example of the Baroque era composition and lighting (Getlein 391). The painting makes you feel like you are in a theatre witnessing Christ's entombment. The dramatic lighting highlights the figures' emotions. The background is completely black, which emphasizes the figures's emotions. Grief and their light in the world is gone. This painting is a moment in time, frozen and placed perfectly.

Peter Paul Rubens, "Massacre of the Innocents"

Peter Paul Rubens, one of the most well-known artist from the Baroque era. Peter Paul Rubens is a master in capturing the emotion and movement simultaneously. "Massacre of the Innocents" is a great example of his style. Massacre of the Innocents is a biblical story about Herod the Great ordering the execution of all young male children in Bethlehem, so he will not be overthrown from his throne to a newborn King of the Jews. Men in the action of tearing the babies and children out of the mother's arms. The tearing of a man's face from a mother desperately trying to save her child. The dramatic lighting illuminates the expressions of the figures. Desperation, unimaginable grief, fear, and terror are the emotions caught from Rubens's "Massacre of the Innocents."

Another example of Peter Paul Rubens's perfection capturing the movements and emotions of his figures is "Descent from the Cross". A tryptic of the events from removing Jesus Christ off the cross. Jesus's body is limp and lifeless. The man at the top is reaching out for Jesus like he dropped him and about to tumble over. The light is cast over the figures with the dark background. The emotional woman about to grasp Jesus's body. Peter Paul Ruben's is a master in capturing the movement and emotion of his subjects like he took a moment out of a play.

 Baroque era was an art movement that abandoned the Renaissance thought of calm and reasoning. Baroque was loud, dramatic, passionate, and emotional like the theatre. The canvas was a stage. Dramatic lighting and dark backgrounds were prevalent in the Baroque era characteristics. 

Assignment 11: The Price of Art

Francis Bacon, "Three Studies of Lucian Freud"

Vincent Van Gogh, "Portrait of Doctor Gachet" 

Francis Bacon's tryptic "Three Studies of Lucian Freud" sold for $142.4 million in November 2013. Christie's auction house was expecting the tryptic to sell for $85 million (New York Times). The tryptic was sold to an unnamed buyer. "Three Studies of Lucian Freud" is considered the most expensive art piece ever sold at an auction, this is not considering inflation. With inflation included, the most expensive piece of art ever sold at an auction is Vincent Van Gogh's portrait of Dr. Gauche. The portrait sold for an estimated $82 million, but with inflation included it would be worth $147 million.

"Three Studies of Lucian Freud" was sold in less than six minutes. Christie's had a record-breaking auction that had a profit of $691,583,000 in one day. (CNN)

This is not Francis Bacon's first tryptic that broke previous records of most expensive art pieces (inflation not included) at an auction house. Francis Bacon's tryptic "Triptych, 1976" sold for $86, 281,000 in 2008. (New York Times).

Peter Paul Rubens, "Massacre of the Innocents"

Peter Paul Rubens's "Massacre of the Innocents" was rediscovered in a dark hallway of a monastery in Austria, that went for auction at Sotheby's in London. Rubens's "Massacre of the Innocents" was sold for $76.7 million, considered the third-highest price paid for an art piece at an auction. Sam Fogg was the winning bidder, and he would not release the name of his client. Fogg won the auction against quite a few museums (New York Times).

Claude Monet's "Water Lily Pond"

Claude Monet's "Water Lily Pond" sold for $80,379,591 in June 2008 at an auction at Christie's. Monet rarely sold his oil paintings of his water garden. The four paintings were signed and dated by Monet, which he rare signed. There was only one for auction at Christie's. The other painting is located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, one is in a private collection, and the last one was destroyed before World War II (USA Today).

These famous art pieces are some of the most expensive art pieces sold at an auction. An extraordinary price, some of the prices may be outrageous. The art world is confusing, and there are many reasons why these pieces sold for such a high price. The historical context, signature, the relationship of the painting, personal preference, status of wealth, and simple economic supply and demand. There is one painting, and many people want the art piece. The art world can be unpredictable, but it is sadly a game of the wealthy.

1. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/13/arts/design/bacons-study-of-freud-sells-for-more-than-142-million.html?_r=0

2. http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/12/us/francis-bacon-painting-art-auction/

3. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/arts/design/15auction.html

4. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/11/arts/a-rubens-brings-76.7-million-at-london-auction.html

5. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-06-24-art_N.htm

Francis Bacon, "Triptych 1976"

Ancient Mediterranean World and Mosaics

Pompeii was a city by the Mediterranean Sea shores that was hundred miles south of Rome in the ancient Rome empire. In 79 C.E., Mt. Vesuvius erupted and buried the city of Pompeii. Lava and ashes covered the city, protecting it from the outside world for sixteen centuries. Discovered in 1748, historians were able to understand and depict Roman culture, rituals, religious practices, and politics. Mosaics help us and historians understand the life of a wealthy Roman citizen in Pompeii.

Mosaics are pieces of art and images created with assembling little pieces of glass or stone. Square pieces of stone or glass are used as the material for mosaics. Mosaics were used as interior decorative art in Pompeii.

Pompeii's wealthy houses had mosaic floors, a common practice in ancient Rome. The mosaic with the marine creatures was a dining room mosaic floor. Pompeii was by the Mediterranean Sea shores, the mosaic depicts the food the people ate or captured. Mosaics depict everyday life or materials. Mosaics provide historians many insights to the ancient Rome life, culture, ritual, and religious practices.

Cave canem

Mosaics were even used as a sign to other people. Cave canem (Beware of the dog) mosaics were popular for Roman households.

Mosaics in ancient Rome, especially Pompeii, were used to show social status. Mosaics were used to entertain guests and recognition of their public status. The mosaic with the safari animals possibly displays the occupants wealth and experience in traveling.

Mosaics even depict political and historical events like Alexander the Great mosaic from the House of the Faun. The mosaic depicts Alexander the Great's defeat of Darius, the Persian king. Discovered in the largest house in Pompeii, the House of the Faun. The mosaic highlights the wealth and power of family who owned the house.

Mosaics give us insight of the ancient Roman citizen and ancient Roman culture, politics, daily life, social status, and religious rituals. 

Alexander the Great mosaic from the House of the Faun

Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse

The Joy of Life, Henri Matisse

Guernica, Pablo Picasso

Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso lived in the same time period. Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso were both artists who drastically changed the art world during the early twentieth century. By breaking traditional art rules, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse helped pave the way for modern art.

Henri Matisse born in 1869 in France started painting when he was twenty-one years old. Matisse was cautious, reserved, hardworking, dedicated to his family, and frugal. Matisse had the characteristics of a Victorian man. Pablo Picasso had many lovers throughout his life, and did not represent the middle-class values of Victorian life like Henri Matisse.

Matisse tried many different styles throughout his life like realism, impressionism, post-impressionism, fauvism, orientalism, cubism, expressionism, and abstract expressionism. Matisse gained recognition and popularity with fauvism. Fauvism was a group of artists who choose intense colours instead of representation and realistic values (Wikipedia). Matisse used pure and intense colours in his paintings shown in his painting The Joy of Life. Henri Matisse did not just paint, but he also did book illustration and architectural design. Matisse’s piece Icarus was a book illustration from his abstract expressionism period.

The Man in Blue, Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso was born in 1881 in Spain. Picasso originally learned art formally in realist value. He became tired of the rigid academic approach, and experimented in different styles. Picasso was always in constant demand by consumers. Like Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso created artwork using different styles like neoclassicism, realism, impressionism, post-impression, Japanism, expressionism, cubism, surrealism, and art nouveau. Picasso’s work was not broken up by style, but by periods.

 The blue period was during a depressing period of Picasso’s life after his best friend committed suicide. The Man in Blue is an oil painting from Picasso’s Blue Period. Every object, clothes, and the man has a tint or shade of blue. All his paintings have a blue tint and shade. Other periods of Picasso’s were rose period, African period, Cubist period, and Neoclassicist & Surrealist period. All periods of Picasso’s work and life were popular.

Icarus, Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse’s art did not represent politics like Pablo Picasso’s art. Matisse wanted all art to avoid depressing and troubling subject matter. Pablo Picasso’s famous painting Guernica was about Francisco Franco allowing the German Nazis to bomb the town of Guernica, Spain. Outraged by the atrocities, Pablo Picasso painted Guernica and showcased it in Paris.


Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso both experimented in many different art movements and lived during the same time. Pablo Picasso went through many periods, when Matisse usually depicted happy subject matter.

Self-Portrait, Henri Matisse

Mandolin Player, Pablo Picasso

Georgia O'keeffe and Kathe Kollwitz

East River No. 1, Georgia O'keeffe

City Night, Georgia O'keeffe

Deers Skull with Pedernal, Georgia O'keeffe

Georgia O'keeffe was born on November 15, 1887 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Kathe Kollwitz was born on July 8, 1867 in Germany. Georgia O'keeffe was a precisionism landscape artist. Kathe Kollwitz was a Germany expressionist artist. Both artists born in the same period of time, but their different location help form their style.

Georgia O'keeffe's known for her New Mexico landscapes like Deers Skull with Pedernal. In Deers Skull with Pedernal, O'keeffe said that the bones did not represent death to her. Georgia O'keeffe's paintings did not evoke a depressing emotion like Kathe Kollwitz's art. O'keeffe primarily painted in oil until the mid 1970s. Georgia O'keeffe also painted urban landscapes like City Night and East River No 1. Georgia O'keeffe's primarily focus in her paintings was colour. Georgia O'keeffe was influenced by Albert Stieglitz, a famous photographer, which is apparent in her photographs. Georgia O'keeffe and Albert Stieglitz later married each other. Georgia O'keeffe's painting, Bella Donna, looks like a photograph that was taken in macro.

Bella Donna, Georgia O'keeffe

Kathe Kollwitz was an expressionist artist. Kollwitz's artwork evokes a strong emotion response. Kollwitz depicts war and the terrible aftermath of it. Kollwitz focuses on the people who are affected by war like the parents, children, and women. Kollwitz's drawing, Killed in Action, evokes the emotion from the viewer because the wife is left alone with children to feed and the news of her loved one is dead. Kathe Kollwitz's artwork is almost entirely in black and white. There is no colour in Kollwitz's artwork like her etching piece Need, which enhances the emotional response from the viewer that the world is devastating and bleak.

Kathe Kollwitz lived in Germany during World War I, the raise of Hitler, and World War II. Her death in April 22, 1945 was in Moritzburg, Germany, the end of World War II in Europe was in May 1945. Kollwitz lived through and witnessed one of Germany's darkest period of history. Kathe Kollwitz reminds the viewer of the atrocities of war and poverty. After World War I, Germany had a high percentage of people living in poverty which is depicted in Kollwitz's woodcut piece Hunger.

Georgia O'keeffe lived through World War I and World War II also, but she lived in the United States which was not in the forefront of the wars. Georgia O'keeffe's art did not focus on war or the human figure, but the beauty of the landscape of New Mexico and New York.

 Both of the artists lived in the same time period, but they were in different art movements. Georgia O'keeffe was a precisionism artist. Precisionism was the first modern-art movement in the United States. Precisionism is also known as Cubist-Realism. Kathe Kollwitz was an expressionist, showing the horrors and atrocities that war creates. 

Hunger, Kathe Kollwitz

Need, Kathe Kollwitz

Killed in Action, Kathe Kollwitz