Sandro Botticelli - The Birth of Venus

Sandro Botticelli was a painter during the Early Renaissance period. He was born in 1445 and died 1510, living in Florence, Italy. Much of his noted artistic work depicted figures of Roman mythology as the subject, including his two most famous pieces, Primavera and the Birth of Venus.

The Birth of Venus, painted between 1482 and 1486, shows Venus,the Roman goddess of love and beauty, emerging fully grown from the sea. Also depicted in the painting are the Zephyrs, or gods of the west wind, blowing Venus to shore in her giant clam shell, as well as Horae, the goddess of the seasons, who is trying to cover a naked Venus with a cloak. Venus was believed to be the mother of the famous winged god of lust, Cupid.

The painting is currently held in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Spain. It is not only believed to be Botticelli's most famous work, but also one of the most recognizable paintings in art history.

Leonardo Da Vinci- The Vitruvian Man

Leonardo da Vinci was an italian mathematician, engineer, inventor, botonist, sculptor, architect, and artist, among other things, and is regarded as the personification of the term renaissance man. Considered one of the greatest painters in history, some of his famous works include The Last Supper and The Mona Lisa. He invented technology far too advanced for its time, advanced science in the fields of anatomy, optics, and engineering, and was one of the most talented men to ever walk the earth. Da Vinci was born in 1452 and died in 1519.

The Vitruvian Man, a drawing by Da Vinci using paper and ink, depicts a man set twice upon himself, enclosed in a circle. It is also called the Canon of Proportions because the notes around the drawing detail the perfect proportions of man and the symmetry of the human body. It is believed to be a symbol for the universe as a whole. The drawing is kept at the Gallarie de' Accadamia in Venice, Italy.

The Vitruvian Man is so famous and such an well known icon that it appears on the 1 Euro coin all over Europe.

Jackson Pollock- The Key

Jackson Pollock was a very famous artist because of his original form and method of painting. Pollock used an action painting method of abstract expressionism; instead of using an easel, Pollock would place the canvas on the floor and use a drip method, broad brush strokes, or used sticks, paint cans, or even knives to apply the paint to the painting. Pollock's work is very chaotic and has very little in the form identifiable relationships throughout the paintings.

This piece, named "The Key", was finished in 1946, right before his famous "drip period". The piece was done using oil on canvas. I especially liked this piece because of its interesting color and unidentifiable abstract look. I found it interesting that the title has very little to do with the actual painting, as there are almost certainly no keys. I enjoy Pollock's abstract form and his unconventional techniques. This piece currently resides in Chicago at the Art Institute.

Andy Warhol- Marilyn Monroe Prints

Andy Warhol was a famous American artist who is best known for incorporating pop culture in his artistic works, often being referred to as the "pope of pop". Warhol became a serious player in the American art scene, not only working with painting and drawing, but also film, writing, music, photography and more. Warhol did a number of works using celebrities, notably several using Marilyn Monroe as the subject after her suicide. He intended to mass produce his art, and used a method called silk screening in which he transferred a photo onto a silk screen and used color inks to transfer the image onto various mediums.

He used bright and vibrant, but very obscure colors for the many faces of Marilyn Monroe shown in his prints. Warhol did many different prints, using one, two or multiple Monroe faces, and after four months of working on the Marilyn Monroe prints, Warhol released them to the public in 1967. I believe that the use of different colors of faces are supposed to symbolize the depth and difference in human emotion.

Salvidor Dali- Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening

This painting by Spanish painter Salvidor Dali is titled, "Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening". It is of the surrealist style of its absurd, dreamlike, almost hallucinogenic look and brilliant use of color. Dali painted this piece in 1944, and it currently resides in Madrid, Spain at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.

The painting depicts a nude woman sleeping and dreaming about a bee flying around a pomegranate (which is pictured both literally and metaphorically). The woman is believed to be Dali's wife, Gala. The larger pomegranate on the left of the painting has a large red fish and two tigers leaping out of it. The second tiger seems to be wielding a rifle with a bayonet. The tigers and bayonet, in my opinion, are to symbolize the bee, with the tigers comprising the yellow and black striped body of the bee, and the bayonet to symbolize the stinger. There is also an interesting interpretation of an elephant wanting along the horizon line with absurdly long legs, holding some type of crystal-looking object. I really appreciate Dali's use of both literal and symbolical interpretations of reality, and his strange, dreamlike atmosphere.