Which Famous Masterpieces Capture the Essence of Spring?
After you've gained inspiration from these masterpieces, join us to make some lovely Springtime artwork of your own!
Here are some of the Spring and Easter-themed classes, coming up:
https://www....ng-paintings-
'Primavera' - by Sandro Botticelli (late 1470s or early 1480s)
Possibly one of the most famous personifications of Spring, this huge tempera painting has been described as “one of the most written about, and most controversial paintings in the world”. It shows a group of figures from classical mythology (including the three graces, and Cupid) in a blossoming orange grove. The central female figure is an allegory of Spring, or primavera in Italian.
To the far right of the scene, you'll see the male personification of the wind of March, called Zephyrus, kidnapping the nymph Chloris; she looks back in terror at her pursuer, with flowers already sprouting from her mouth. After Zephyrus catches her, she will be transformed into Flora, the goddess of Spring, who Botticelli shows overlapping with Chloris; now she wears a floral dress and wreath on her head, as she scatters flowers across the ground.
*this work is also called: 'Allegory of Spring’
https://www....%20mythology.
'Flora' - by Evelyn de Morgan
Flora is the Roman goddess of the flowers, associated with spring. This painting is clearly inspired by Botticelli’s work, it was made entirely in Florence, as a celebration of the city and its Renaissance artists.
Evelyn de Morgan was an English painter, her works were influenced by the style of Pre-Raphaelite movement, in fact she was a follower of Edward Burne-Jones. Her paintings exhibit spirituality, mythological, biblical and literary themes; dualities such as life and death or light and darkness as metaphors; allegories of war and the role of women.
The goddess is depicted in front of a nescola or loquat tree wich bears fruits in the spring. Her robe is patterned with Florentine flowers. Some blossoms drop from her hands and lie scattered in front of her feet. We can also see little birds within the tree.
*This painting was actually inspired by Botticelli’s ‘Primavera’
https://vict...ntings/5.html
'Spring' - by Rosalba Carriera (early 18th century)
Rosalba Carriera was a Rococo artist from Venice, who played a key role in popularising the medium of pastels in 18th-century Europe. Here are three different versions of Spring by Carriera, as part of several versions of female allegorical figures representing the Four Seasons (including one version of Winter which is also a self-portrait). The whiteness and smoothness of the women’s skin, as well as the soft drapery and blossoming flowers, are typical of Carriera’s artistic style, reflective of the ideals of feminine beauty in Western Europe at the time.
Here, you can view the three lovely Springtime portraits by Carriera:
(1) An Allegory Of Spring, 1673-1757 - https://onli...1757-37/91616
(2) Spring, 1725 - https://www....ntings-spring
(3) A Personification of Spring, 1730 - https://www....ion-of-spring
'Viewing Cherry Blossoms in the Palace Garden in Spring' - by Utagawa Kunisada (1847-52)
This woodblock print is a charming scene of Prince Genji and three women enjoying an outing to view the cherry blossoms in the palace garden. The nobleman pauses at left, waiting for his companions to catch up with him as they cross stepping stones over the water. At right, a young beauty lifts the hem of her robe as she gingerly makes her way along the rounded rocks. She extends an ornate pipe in her hand, the woman in front taking hold of it to steady her. A matron follows behind, assisting the smiling princess, whose kimono features a pattern of shells with Genji symbols on them. At left, a bridge leads to a small octagonal building topped with a phoenix, where a woman removes a shoji panel in preparation for the group's visit. Flower cherry trees frame the evening sky. An attractive design, detailed with embossing on the white kimono trim.
https://www....?item=1067217
'Springtime' - by Claude Monet (1872)
Monet moved to Argenteuil, a suburban town on the right bank of the Seine River northwest of Paris, in late December 1871. Many of the types of scenes that he and the other Impressionists favored could be found in this small town, conveniently connected by rail to nearby Paris. In this painting, Monet was less interested in capturing a likeness than in studying how unblended dabs of color could suggest the effect of brilliant sunlight filtered through leaves.
During the early 1870s, Monet frequently depicted views of his backyard garden that included his wife, Camille, and their son, Jean. However, when exhibited at the Second Impressionist Exhibition in 1876, this painting was titled more generically, "Woman Reading.”
https://art....8/springtime/
'Almond Blossoms' - by Vincent van Gogh(1890) ***Seen, Above
Almond trees flower early in spring. The tree therefore marks the arrival of spring and the start of new life. And that was very appropriate in this case, as Vincent didn’t paint this work for just any old reason.
This painting was a gift for Vincent’s newborn nephew. The painting became a treasured possession as soon as Vincent presented it to Theo and Jo as a gift
For Van Gogh, painting Almond Blossom signified a new start. At the time, he had already been at an asylum in Saint-Rémy for almost ten months. Due to an attack of his illness, Vincent had not worked for weeks. He was now allowed back outside to paint, surrounded by nature.
He painted the branches from below and very close up. It is as if you are lying on your back on the grass, looking up at the branches above you, so that you can no longer see the entire tree. Vincent had seen this approach in Japanese printmaking and was inspired by it.
https://www....on/s0176v1962
'Spring' (Fruit Trees in Bloom) by - Claude Monet (1873)
"Spring - Fruit Trees in Bloom" is a wonderful example of Monet's Impressionist style, which focuses on capturing the light and atmosphere of a moment. The painting shows an orchard of fruit trees just blooming in the spring. The trees are covered in flowers and seem to be almost covered in white and pink blossoms.
The main motif of the painting is a row of fruit trees that stretch along a road or path, creating depth and perspective in the composition. The trees are depicted with a gentle brushstroke, which contributes to the impression of lightness and ephemerality. Flowering trees are depicted almost blending into the background, typical of the Impressionist style, which emphasizes the moment and the atmosphere of the place.
The hedgerow under the trees is covered with blooming grass and flowers, adding more color and life to the composition. Light plays a key role in the image, which we can see in the subtle reflection on the trees and the bright reflections on the road.
Overall, the painting "Spring - fruit trees in bloom" by Monet has a fresh and joyful character that perfectly captures the beauty of spring and blooming nature. Monet tried to capture the feeling and atmosphere of the moment, which makes this painting a moving and inspiring work.
https://www....search/437106
Hawthorne Blossom Near Rudston, David Hockney (2008)
There are several things that have long made Hockney’s work particularly distinctive, his vibrant use of color, the way he captures light whether it be the cloudier tones of Yorkshire or the startling clarity of the LA sun, and the deeply personal representation of everything that appears in his work.
https://www..../artwork/2475
Spring by Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1563)
Historians used to wonder if Giuseppe Arcimboldo was a madman, assembling human faces from vegetables and flowers. But Arcimboldo was just wildly creative. ‘Spring' is from his Four Seasons collection—a suite of paintings showcasing the literal fruits of the prosperous reign of Emperor Maximilian II. The Emperor loved the work so much, he had Arcimboldo reproduce the paintings multiple times, so he could send them to his friends and family.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo, (*also spelled Arcimboldi) was an Italian painter best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made entirely of objects such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, fish and books.
These works form a distinct category from his other productions. He was a conventional portrait painter for three Holy Roman Emperors in Vienna and Prague; also producing religious subjects and a series of colored drawings of exotic animals in the imperial collection of animals. He specialized in grotesque symbolical compositions of fruits, animals, landscapes, or various inanimate objects arranged into human forms.
The still life portraits were partly intended as curiosities to amuse the court, but critics have expressed how his new and unique style of art was another part of the revival of the art during the Renaissance.
This one is oil on oakwood panel
https://en.w...o,_Madrid.jpg