Buying Paintings: Minimalism

Though I could enjoy speaking on the topic of art for sometime, I found myself without a way to truly understand the differing values in the ways of thought that permeate this grouping of human experience, and found myself looking to sources over the Internet to further my knowledge to utilize the information gathered to purchase paintings.  I have always been interested in the passions evoked by the series of artists and movements that proliferate what we have come to know as the history of art.  Reflecting on this notion of life’s passing interaction whether Romanticist, Surrealist, or Minimalist in nature.

Speaking on Minimalism now, the ideas that made this movement unique relied heavily upon the work being stripped down to the barest fundamental aspects, and laying bare those integral parts of self-expression.  Many pieces of work other than visual art has been affected by these ideals of minimalism, and acted outside of this particular aesthetic appeal, creating new ways to interpret literature and even lifestyles.  As far as painting goes, however, the minimalist paintings will typically use limited color schemes and simple geometric designs.  Minimalist sculpture is focused on the materials used.

Some of the phases commonly agreed on about this movement are each notable for how they have progressed the overall conception of minimalism as a movement.  A distillation in forms was the first phase, with contributors claiming in order to create a universal language of art that masses were meant to understand easily, and seemed poised to support the rapid industrialization for particular settings of the time.  Searching for a purity of form, and paving the way for the abstractions to come later on, allowing for the second more notable phase to reach its’ crescendo afterwards.

Much of the formats for commercial artwork we see today have had a great deal of background in this movement of visual art, allowing us to understand on a fundamental level what the message is that the work is trying to convey, and a large amount of the signs and signals we find today relies heavily upon these ideals to translate a universal meaning to the general populace.  We can easily see the progression of minimalism in these examples of the world over, and it almost as ingrained into our society now as much as we care to see.

A minimalist painting will typically use a very limited amount of colors and have a very simplistic geometric design. Minimalism in sculpture, on the other hand, is much more concerned with the materials used. Many people believe that minimalism in generally is about geometric shapes, but this interpretation depends widely on the branch of art as well as the interpreter.

But the simplest way to describe minimalism is that the less that is in the painting or work of art, the better it is. Minimalism is all about drawing attention to the few objects and colors of the composition. In this way minimalism shows us that less is better, for the eye is not drawn away by this of that filler or extra objects.

Minimalism is about starting with nothing and then carefully applying the few objects and colors that will define the piece as a whole. Minimalism is still one of the major parts of contemporary art, but it is used I conjunction with other styles and flairs from other art movements to form new types of minimalism.

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Buying Paintings: Gothic Art

Some of the most valuable early artwork comes from a point of time before the Renaissance had begun, and going on through the early Middle Ages, referred to as the period of Gothic art.  During this particular time in history, the artwork took on telling narrative stories through pictures, and much of these pieces were Christian and secular in nature.  Some of the earliest examples of Gothic art are sculptures found on cathedral and abbey walls, and the first real form of Gothic artwork began as architectural works in fact, even becoming the subject matter for many stained glass windows at the time.

The style of painting that further defined Gothic art wasn’t produced until nearly fifty years after Gothic architecture and sculptures, and even though the break between Romanesque artwork and the Gothic styles has remained imprecise at best, the beginnings of Gothic artwork seems to occur in various areas at different but related intervals.  The artwork began in England and France around 1200, and in other areas like Germany and Italy between 1220 and 1300.  The paintings stayed just as narrative as the architecture on church walls during this time, and has stayed the territory of secular storytelling for a long time afterwards.

Though Gothic art in paintings has had a relatively short time as the medium of choice amongst the artists, there is evidence that the artwork falls into four particular styles of these paintings, and these were the most common forms during this time period.  The fresco, the panel painting, the illuminated manuscript, and the artwork done on stained glass are all depictions of Gothic painting.  Of these particular types, stained glass artwork had remained a strong reminder of those ages long past, and is still created by master artisans that learned their trade skills from these dark ages.

In the case of the other three particular forms of Gothic painting, frescoes continued to be used as the pictorial narratives on church walls in southern Europe, and were a consistent incorporation of early Christian and Romanesque traditions.  In Italy, during the 13th century, the panel painting began and spread throughout Europe.  With this proliferation, panel paintings became even more predominant by the 15th century, and becoming even more popular than stained glass at the time.  Since not all monumental works have survived, illuminated manuscripts are the most complete record of Gothic painting, and provide a comprehensive account of styles that would otherwise perished.

As the state of the world began to change, so too did the interpretations of the artwork as a reflection of these changing times and attitudes, and the movement became known as International Gothic by the late 15th century.  From there, it had evolved into an art form depicting not just secular stories and allegories, but also resulted in the occurrence of more illuminated manuscripts and paintings as increased trade and the rise of cities and universities grew.  With this proliferation of growth, more people were literate, and lead to better records kept with this occurring.  Leading up to many of the well-known medieval artists today.

The International Gothic style of artwork was developed in Burgundy, Bohemia, and northern Italy in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.  During this period in Gothic art, artists traveled widely around the civilized world at the time creating a common aesthetic among the aristocracy of the time, and removing the concepts of contrary artistic styles.  The main influences for this period in artwork were derived from northern France, the Netherlands, and Italy.  It was during this time, that aspects of rational uses of perspective and setting became a common feature, and other features included flowing lines and rich coloring.

In the case of Gothic sculpture, it had evolved from the elongated forms of the Romanesque style, and became a more naturalistic expression in the early 12th and late 13th centuries.  Influences from Greek and Roman statuary were incorporated into drapery, facial expressions, and poses.  The sculptor Claus Sluter and the changing tastes for more naturalistic styles became a harbinger for the end of the Gothic period of art, and signaled the beginning of the evolution into Renaissance period at the end of the 15th century.

In a time period where upheaval was the normal occurrence of many of the people then, Gothic art fell into the broad scope of medieval artwork that included such disparate elements and styles as Viking art and Celtic art, but in varying degrees relied upon the artistic heritage of the Roman Empire and the early Christian Church.  In fact, much medieval artwork has the history of these elements conjoining and converging into the remarkable artistic legacy we read about today, and have contributed over time to the outcome of many other forms of art from the Renaissance to the present day.

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Buying Abstract Paintings

Buying and collecting abstract painting can be a labor of love.  I love abstract paintings.  I think that my favorite medium is gouache.  I recently purchased a work from Oscar Bluemner.  The person I bought the abstract painting from had it in storage for over twenty years.  I am going to hang this piece in my office.

I found an oil abstract painting that was dated 1947 that was painted by Louis Bassi Siegriest.  I liked the composition, it felt oddly soothing.  The artist signed the back of the painting.  It was a little out of my price range, but I bought it anyway.

Trade Winds is the name of an abstract painting I bought from the artist Joanne Riddle while I was in Connecticut.  The piece was huge and I had to have it sent by freight to my home.  The blue in the painting was so vivid.  The whole composition was absolutely inspired.

I bought an abstract painting for my sister-in-law last year.  The artist of the piece was Leonardo Nierman and the medium he used was oil.  I bought the piece unframed and took my sister-in-law to framer to choose the frame.

I tried to buy an abstract painting from the mayor of our town.  I offered him two thousand dollars for the modernist abstract colorful figure.  The artist used red, white and blue and I wanted to acquire this for my stepmother.  She would have loved it, but the mayor was unwilling to part with it.

My mother has decorated her home in a style that she liked in Santa Fe.  I bought a large abstract painting for her from her favorite artist, Lou Monti.  She has seen his work in a number of homes and always raves about them.  She was so happy when she saw the painting I bought for her hanging on the wall of her living room.

I dated a guy once that had a signed abstract painting by Robert Gilberg on his wall.  I saw something different every time I saw it.  That painting had an attraction that I just can’t quite explain.  He was always buying art and changing out abstract paintings on his walls, but this particular piece always stayed.  I guess he was attracted to it as well.

The abstract painting that I bought for my older brother did not work in his apartment.  I ended up buying a painting that was a little too large for the room it was intended for.  The colors did not work in the only room that worked for its size.

I ended up selling that abstract painting the same place that I had bought it, on eBay!  I ended up making a profit on the abstract painting.  There was more information in my auction about the artist, Richard Diebenkorn, than there had been in the auction that I won.  I think the extra hour of research I spent made the abstract painting’s value increase.

I learned a long time ago that an abstract painting is worth exactly as much as someone is willing to pay for it.  I have friends that just cannot be convinced of this basic truth.  I think that if no one wants a particular abstract painting, then it is worth nothing.

My brother used the money from the sale of the unwanted abstract painting to find himself another abstract painting.  He ended up with an abstract collage that was made in the late 1930s.  I liked it when I saw it and it worked beautifully in his office.

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