Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is a Protestant church found in Berlin.  The original church was constructed between 1891-1895 but was destroyed in the air raid bombing during World War II.  After the war, several plans were made to redevelop the church.  A new glass church was proposed to be built on the ruins, in addition to complete destruction and removal of the remains so a totally new church would be built.  Later on, it was decided to leave the ruin behind and build a new church around it.  The old church is now a memorial to commemorate World War II.  Many artists created abstract paintings of this church as an expression of their dislike of war and its effects.

The new design of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was made by Egon Eiermann.  It has 4 buildings set around the ruins.  The original plan to completely demolish the entire church was set aside in favor of the demands of the public to save the ruins.  The four buildings were now situated on the west and east of the ruins.  The walls were made of more than 20,000 stained glass inlay designed by Gabriele Loire.  Loire got his inspiration from the glass colors of the Chartres Cathedral.  The spectacular mix red, green, blue, and yellow would surely inspire you to create your own abstract art painting.  Inside the church is a suspended figure of Christ facing the entrance?  The figure is designed by Karl Hemmeter.  Peter Tauchnitz designed the cross made of gilt silver inlaid with 37 rock crystals.  You will find the bowl of holy water contained in a stand of Carrara marble.  The wonderful sound of the organ is amplified by acoustics improved by Plexiglas panels.  If you wish to see the renowned works of art of the church, head to the northeast wall.  You will find a memorial of Protestant martyrs in bronze plaque that died in 1933-1945 under the Nazi regime.  Next is the Stalingrad Madonna, the church’s symbol for hope.

You will only get to fully understand why Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is among the most visited places in Germany when you get to see it yourself.  You can buy abstract art of this church in many galleries and also online.

The Story behind Madame X

The woman in the portrait Madame X was Virginie Amélie Avegno. She was born in New Orleans in January 1859. Her parents were well-to-do plantation owners; however after a series of tragedies her father falls in the Battle of Shiloh, her sister Valentine died because of fever that’s why the eight-year-old Amélie moved to Paris together with her mother.

The Avegno matriarch instantly began grooming her daughter for a good marriage. The goal was realized when Amélie was nineteen; the suitor was forty-year-old Pierre-Louis Gautreau, who is a banker and shipping tycoon. As low-key as the match appeared, Amélie understood that once she became a married woman, there would no longer need to play the virginal maiden. Right after the ink dried on the marriage certificate, Amélie set about plotting to conquer Paris.

An Image of a Free Woman

With her money, Amélie was able to purchased dresses from top designers; to attract utmost attention, she preferred chic, simple gowns that accentuated her figure, rather than the fussy frocks popular at the time. She likes to color her lips scarlet, drew in her eyebrows in mahogany, and reddened the tips of her ears. There were speculations that she ate small amounts of arsenic to maintain her ethereal pallor.

The Artists and the Painting

The artist, Sargent had already won several prizes at the Paris Salons before he met his most famous subject in 1881. Two years later, after much pleading, Amélie agreed to pose for him, and Sargent rented a studio near the Gautreau home. A black dress was decided upon almost immediately, but Sargent went through many pencil and watercolor sketches trying to settle on the best pose. Because Amélie was flighty and hated to sit still, Sargent eventually ended up staying with the Gautreaus at their summer home in Brittany, so his subject would always be close at hand. Finally, after a long period of artist’s block, Sargent set to work.

While the method of painting that would finally become Madame X was trying for both artist and sitter. The pose Amélie had to hold was uncomfortable and Sargent had a difficult time paitning her lavender skin tone, among many other problems, by March of 1884 it was ready to be sent to the annual Salon. Though she had not yet seen the finished product thought the work to be a masterpiece, and obviously it became a major talk in Paris with news of the portrait before the public had actually seen it.

The People Reaction and the Paintings Downfall

As soon as moment of truth came, both Amélie and Sargent were not ready for any negative reactions of the viewer. The portrait, critics cried, was ugly, obscene, and scandalous; the fallen strap of the dress and its body-hugging quality screamed vulgarity, while Amélie’s famously pale flesh looked corpse-like. Because of that portrait Amélie went from the darling of Paris society to a laughingstock, and cruel cartoons of her appeared in newspapers and magazines. Sargent, for his part, received a severe blow to his reputation as well; besides that, after the fiasco surrounding the painting, the Gautreaus refused to purchase it.

Later on, Sargent painted again the offending shoulder strap putting it in proper position. Eventually, despite of all the setbacks, his career then recovered and flourished and for the rest of his entire career he claimed that Madame X was the best art work he had ever did. In 1916 he then sold it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Like this article? You may also want to read the articles about abstract paintings as well as contemporary paintings. Or take a look on paintings we have in our site and see if you could find one that fits your personality, and buy abstract art that you like.

The future of art: A good investment!

For us to be able to look for the suture, we should also take a look into the recent past. It is not only helpful to look at different styles as well, but I think we will find that particular fashions that have changeable degrees of mutual influence upon artistic actions.

Existing art trends are the reflections of the obvious confusion found in the fashion industry. Now you can see the 60’s hippie gear with the 80’s punk. Experiments with pop and new wave persist and cartoon wear taken directly off the pages of anime imagery is finding a resemblance with hi-hop and black gangster rap. Next to this is a vision of fantastic mixture of some or all of cartoon, naïve, pop art, abstract expressionism and surrealism that I believe has been called as neo-expressionism.

Commercial world even show instant recreation of fast and becoming the most successful entity in that it encompasses almost everything in everywhere. Television has brought in a specific modern basic attitude towards art and living but nowadays it is replaced by the very latest technological breakthrough – the computer. Thorough computer, anyone can produced art in any part of the world and could let others seen it even at the other side of the world. Everyone is very much welcome to add their own personal art work. This is free to use by all and all are also entitle to express their own artistic side!

Being in the middle of another chaotic period, we are blessed since every kind of entertainment or activity is being poured into it. Soon, the combination would be just perfect for the next generation of artists to join together. But what kind of art would it be?

I think, for us to know the answer, we have to look at the present situation; on the internet. We need to look at those delicate shoots in a very deeper sense like the gaming environment, the online caricatures and their naïve graffiti styles including those intimate personal blogs absolutely overflowing with new creativity not to mention the ever handy mobile phone with instant photographic and movie ability. I believe, this is where the next art movement will arise and grow.

So, if you are looking for an investment in art for the future, I think you should start your search now into the many visual interpretations found on the net, you will then eventually find that the internet has a greater impact to the new covenant of the future fine art. Its power and strength will establish an entirely ground-breaking art that will depict a tantalizing contradiction; a movement, unknown and yet extremely personal.

Want to start your investment in abstract art? Since abstract paintings are getting its popularity why not invest on them? Buy abstract art now and sell them in the future if you want.

Wall make-over: things to consider

Walls play an important role in every house. Aside from the fact that they serve as the main pillar or base of a house structure, walls help create the atmosphere a room wants to achieve. Basically, since rooms all have walls, walls are one of the important key players in any room.  If you have a bland or empty wall, then the need to decorate it is a great must for you to do – having empty walls create a message that the owner of the house seems not to care about the entire house. So, get up quickly and think of ideas to help enliven your walls. Here are a few things that you might want to consider when doing a wall make over:

The Interior style that you want to achieve, this is the very first thing that you must think of. What is the theme or atmosphere that you want to achieve? Is it traditional or Mediterranean? Zen or Contemporary? It is here that you can determine the range of colors and the texture you need to achieve” that look.” Also, knowing the style you want will help aide you in selecting the right furniture and other decorating ideas to best suite your rooms will come in next.

Curtains or other window and wall treatments? Just what kind of curtain and windows must you install to help strengthen the interior style that you want? If your room is small, curtains that has horizontal lines in it can make it look larger. If you have a low ceiling, vertical lines can help make it taller. Can’t paint your walls? Then add life to those empty space using curtains that has bold colors to divert the attention of your visitors from the blank wall.

Plants and other flora.  Plants help create a more relaxed and fresh room. Meanwhile, flowers gives your room some power-packed burst of colors without having to worry if whether or not they fit with the rest of the room – they fit with almost any kind!

Lighting. Lighting place another important role in fully achieving an atmosphere, so carefully select which types of light will help emphasize your theme.

Artwork. Give life to a wall using paintings and other wall accessories, like a collection of plates hung on a wall, to give more punch to a boring wall. If you are confused with regard to which painting to hang, it is better to buy abstract art or contemporary paintings since they have a broad selection of subjects that you can choose from. If you want, you may try to search on online gallery paintings which have original abstract art paintings up for sale.

Distinguishing Abstract art from Representational

If you have tried walking in an art gallery, most likely, you will see those gallery paintings that may only include colors, shapes, forms and textures to create an image or form – or in most cases, no specific image at all! These paintings are called abstract art. An abstract art painting uses only visual imagery, or are non-representational – meaning, all you see are those that we might find hard to comprehend by the first glance because they do not represent a subject per SE. They are not specific or defined by any instance.

To make things easier to understand, let’s do a simple activity:

1. Try to enter an abstract art gallery in your local museums or stores that has art works up for display or sale. Or, if you want to just stay in the comforts of your home, try searching for online gallery paintings which allows you to view abstract art or contemporary art.

1. Look at the paintings from afar. What do you see?

If you can see those paintings with stokes, lines and colors that are so well defined and are almost life-like or true to life, like the beautiful Mona Lisa, these are the Representational Art.

Do you only see the burst of the beautiful and exquisite colors, the varying shapes and strokes that create a form or does it give you the feeling that you can see or define something out of it, but can only comprehend the impression that they create? Ladies and gentlemen, you are now looking at a work of art done in abstraction. In short, these are abstract art.

1. Come closer to the painting and look at the title. What does it says?

From afar, you might have seen, for example, two circles – one is bigger and is located on the upper part; the other smaller, just next to the bigger circle – and colors that seem to exude some warmth in it. But looking closer, you read the title that says “Mother and Child.” Now really, a mother and a child? Take another look at the painting and try to understand what those circles and colors meant. The bigger circle is the head of the mother, and the smaller one is the head of the child. Meanwhile, the warmth that the painting impresses upon its viewer is the love and care a mother gives to her child.

See the difference? In Representational Art, it lets you sees things as how they should be, meanwhile Abstract art lets you see things differently by allowing you to enter into a new level of creativity and imagination. So explore those senses and feelings, visit abstract art galleries or buy abstract art that will make your world more colorful!

Friendship

“No man is an island.” This is one of the quotes that we commonly hear when we human behavior is discussed. Is it true? Yes it is. No man will ever survive if he is always alone. In fact in the movie “Cast away”, Chuck Noland, whose role was portrayed by Tom Hanks, even created her ‘custom-made friend out of a volleyball’ named “Wilson” when he got stranded  on a deserted island due to an unfaithful plane crash just so he can keep himself sane.

Friendship is probably the most important foundation in a relationship any human being, may it be between two lovers, within family members, among a team, community, or basically in any organization where any person gets the chance to relate to the other persons surrounding him or her. This is because friendship serves as the primary stepping stone for people to establish a foundation that is more than enough to create an intricate relationship in the future. In addition, it is through friendship that we learn to get to know a person – their likes and dislikes, their emotional, physical and intellectual capacity, their tendencies when in a situation, and definitely a lot more- the possibilities are endless! With all of these, we are able to adjust to the personality differences that continuously occur, appreciate the works and efforts that they exert even if these are just the simple things in life, and complement the strengths and weakness of our friends so that we will all learn to be interdependent with each other, and thus achieving a better relationship and productivity out of that friendship.

So keep the friendship burning – walk, eat, talk and laugh with your friends or with your significant others. Boring day ahead? Try to visit an abstract art gallery where you may view and talk about the abstract paintings or contemporary paintings that you have fancied and have been curious about. Want to buy abstract art for your friend but can’t find them in your local galleries? Then try searching for an abstract art gallery online where you and your friend may choose from the wide array of gallery paintings available. The thing is, always seize the moments and have fun while in their company.

Lacquer Paintings

Lacquer paintings are ancient paintings that regained their popularity in the world art scene for the last decade. Vietnam and Burma are two main producers of this distinctive art. The two countries were just recently opened up to tourism and started exhibiting their highly skilled artists.

Vietnamese and Burmese Lacquer methods are very old. In Vietnam, Lacquer arts have been found in tombs in more than 2,300 years ago while prehistoric inscriptions around Burmese city Bagan have shown Lacquer way back 11^th century.

This kind of painting involves much more process than those traditional oil or watercolor form. To create a Lacquer painting, the artist must use sap from Lacquer trees to hold a cloth covering onto their wooden canvas. They will paint the outlines of the picture in hot Lacquer and put the colors one layer at a time, letting each dry out before putting the nest color. Modern lacquer artists in Vietnam have learned to use other substances like crushed egg shells, gold foil and plants into their artwork allowing them to come up with a unique and fascinating expression of creativity.

On the other hand, in Burma, using of gold foil was already used in lacquer ware centuries ago but usually this way of making lacquer was only reserve for royal paintings as well as religious art. Other materials like animal bone, colored glass and bamboo are also used depending on where the lacquer designs are applied to. Colored glass is being used into lacquer paintings of thrones, Buddhist images, caskets and others alike while bamboo is their favorite choice in lacquer paintings that depicted vases, tables, chairs and chest.

For the past years, most of the people in Bagan have been involved in lacquer ware, passing the tradition down through the years. At present there is a government-sponsored institution in Began that is dedicated in recruiting and giving training to lacquer ware artists and the demand for Burmese and Vietnamese lacquer ware in the West countries continue to rise.

Want to buy lacquer painting? You may want to search in the internet amongst the famous lacquer painting of Vietnam and Burma. Or you may also want to buy abstract art online. Abstract art painting like lacquer is very popular and one of the most collected artwork of all times. There are several of abstract paintings that you can select with. Try visiting your nearest abstract art gallery or search them in the internet.

Faces and people

What does a face speaks of? For many of us, we have seen a lot of original paintings showing different views and expressions. A lot of which are faces of strangers we hardly knew of but has affected our insights deeply.

Abstract paintings or even contemporary paintings have showcased a lot of expressions and different people as well. Who among us have never heard of Mona Lisa? Who would have thought that a simple lady would be an international sensation because of an original painting?

Whatever form of art, cubist, impressionist, surrealism, or even pop art? People and faces are undeniably the popular preference among artists. They have indulged great joy in the mysteries of expressing the unknown. A face could have launch a thousand ships and the eyes as they say are the windows to the soul…then maybe the hands responsible to these masterpieces are the key elements for us to reach out into each and everyone.

Finding the right painting could be a tough job if you do not have the idea on where the art galleries are, or the artist worth spending for. Buy abstract art or anything that would suit you whether it is contemporary or pop. These elegant works of art are treasures that would last a lifetime. Find the right piece and you might be surprised to know its value in the nearest future.

Paintings are to be treasured it can even go down to one’s heirloom. Know art and appreciate it. These are key values in finding the perfect masterpiece.

Want to have something affordable to hang on your wall?

Imagine a room without any decorations in it. It looks dull right? The fastest way to bring an alluring look to your room is to put up some prints of beautiful paintings.

You might want to consider the following:

Prices:

For printing paints, expect to pay a range amount of $50-$500 for an unframed print. Prints that cost less than $50 are more likely look like a poster. Aside from that, you should also expect to pay a comparable amount to have your print framed. Before art prints were sold online, the only way to get them was either in the galleries or in the museum shops hat has to charge a large markup. It is not a surprise if you find an art prints today that cost more than a few hundred dollars and indeed impossible to find good-quality prints below $100. However, those lower amount prints might also be on sale. But if you are a fun of paintings like the “Starry Night” of Van Gogh, you should not be surprise if you will spend much money on it.

Selection:

For each painting or photograph, there is at least on print on display in a museum anywhere. With the help of internet, nowadays it is much easier to find the right art print among the numerous existing prints and have it send to you right away, regardless of where the original is located. And because websites will let you browse thumbnail images of the artwork, it will be easy for you to find a specific piece even if what you just know is the artist’s name or the time period when is what made.

And just to let you know, prints are available in variety of print stocks.

Prints or Original Paintings?

If what you just wanted is to have some prints to decorate you wall rather than collecting them, I suggest you buy prints instead the original one. The reason behind are as follows:

Costs: An original work of art will take some weeks before it become finish. Think about the costs it will take you for hiring someone to make that artwork of yours. That is one reason why original artwork costs for about thousands of dollars. For you to have the art piece you wanted, you should also buy the labor of an artist investing on it.

Questionable investment value: Original artwork only has investment value if the price rises. More often than not, amount does not. To make it short, if you are more on to investment, I suggest you buy stocks and t buy art for the sake of you are giving value to it.

Wisdom: What you need to have is the wisdom of what you are doing. Better have no error since there are lots of frauds in this business. Another thing is, there are many wishful thinking on the part of art dealers in regards to a work’s long-term market prospects.

Now you can make your room look more beautiful and alive. With the use of internet you can have lots of choices to choose from. All you have to do is search them. You might as well buy abstract art prints on the abstract art gallery site. Just make sure to look for prints of those abstract art paintings that will surely fit your taste.

Assemblage Art – Collage Creativity Amalgamated With Imagination

Have you ever heard of ‘Assemblage Art’? Well, actually, this is an art form which is similar to ‘collage making.’ Some keys to this form of art are creativity and an effective portrayal of imagination. Several dissimilar ‘found objects,’ like wood, paper, fabric, plastic, or leaves, are organized in a three-dimensional plane, according to the respective thematic fashion of a work in Assemblage art. As Donald Barthelme, the famous literary author and art admirer, have quoted, “…the principle of collage is the central principle of all art in the 20th century.”

This form of art was first seen in the works of revolutionary artists, like Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Georges Braque (1882-1963). Picasso introduced collages through his painting, “Still Life with Chair-Caning (1911-12)” while Braque would mix sand and sawdust in order to create a new texture to paint with. ‘Assemblage Art’ officially started way back in 1950. At that time, artist Jean Dubuffet created a series of collages, “assemblages’ d’empreintes,” where he portrayed butterfly wings. Another landmark name in this field is Joseph Cornell (1903-72) His contemporary painting became known with its boxes oriented works, such as choosing a glass painted front and then placing Victorian pictures. An undertone of ‘Surrealism’ is always carried by the boxes as it never failed to convey a political or revolutionary message. It was his interactive assemblages like “Medici Slot Machine” boxes that became the exemplary of the highest order.

It was in the New York Museum of Modern Art when first ever exhibition on ‘Assemblage Art’ occurred and that was in the year 1961. Such exhibition was an instant hit. Braque, Marcel Duchamp, Dubuffet, Kurt Schwitters, Picasso, Man Ray, Robert Rauschenberg, Joseph Cornell were among the prominent artists whose works were included in the gallery paintings. Some of the main objects that were used in the exhibited works were welded materials, natural, as well as recycled products.

Another master sculptor who made use of welded and automobile wreck pieces in his works was the American artist named John Chamberlain who was born in 1927. Minoru Ohira (b. 1950), Robert H. Hudson (b. 1938), Fred H. Roster (b. 1930), Edward Kienholz [(1927-94) who is the creator of the tableaux, “the Beanery”, and Daniel Spoerri (b. 1930) who is the creator of “snare pictures” from the used food objects & utensils are among the other renowned assemblage artists. There are also female artists in this field and those who have shown high competence in ‘Assemblage Art’ are Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) and Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven. Louise American was an ‘Abstract Expressionist’ artist who was mainly admired for her exceptional employment of the used pieces of wood in her artistic composition. A 3-stories high assemblage was one of her famous works.

Owing to its usefulness, ‘Assemblage Art’ are created with manufactured, natural, waste, sand, junk beds, beaches, waste ground, including basically any tangible and usable object. It is the manifestation of the artist’s imagination that has the real essence in this art form more than the use of object. Because of the mystery and innovation of ‘Assemblage Art,’ numerous young art students were attracted. As a consequence, evolution and excellence of this art field continuously occurred just like the field of abstract art.