History Of Painting Research Articles

The National Element in Polish Music of the Period of the Partitions – Symbolic Violence or Weaponised Culture?

This study presents the concept of nationality in Polish music during the partition period as an interaction of three basic conceptual categories and evolution of their perception. The first one is a modern concept of nation, covering all social strata, being formed since the beginning of the 19th century and developed in the period between the November and January Uprisings. Historians apply the concepts of Johann Georg Herder and Stanisław Staszic unifying the role of a language. The second category is Romanticism as an aesthetic and social challenge that underlines personality and subjectivity rather than ethnic or social origins; as a concept of deepest spirituality expressed in non-conceptual art of music. All the elements making up the concept of nationality drew their strength from the third category – historicism which took control over the culture and art of the century. Almost mythical vision of an ideal, historic homeland dominated music, to the highest degree the operas on Polish themes, and, on unprecedented scale, adaptations of the canon of the greatest Polish literature (Słowacki, Mickiewicz, Kraszewski, Sienkiewicz, Wyspiański). In spite of the emergence of Positivism, the Romantic motifs in Polish poetry and belletristic such as the need for sacrifice to save Poland did not vanish. Similarly, in the fine arts, especially in the 2nd half of the 19th century, a remarkable growth in historic painting was observed. ‘Not only a sword but also a book promised salvation’, writes Alina Witkowska.

On pairing visual shapes in painting and cinema

The paper presents an analysis of the interaction of visual forms in painting and cinema (on the example of the pairing of A. Durer's painting and the modern cinema). The empirical basis of the analytical part of the study was visual sources (films by Andrei Tarkovsky, Ingmar Bergman, Lars von Trier, Francis Ford Coppola, Lado Kvataniya, works of art by Albrecht Durer). During the conducted research, it was determined how painting and cinema correlate, whether the analysis of a painting in a film makes it possible to understand the general concept, the chronicle of what is happening, the image of the main character. The main hypothesis of the study was confirmed that the pictorial work is the conceptual basis or “ideology” of the film, which makes it possible to identify stable and reproducible forms of conjugation of historical painting in the modern cinema. It was found that the analyzed films raise questions of vitality, pure soul and the role of conscience, parting with peace and war, both external and internal. It is shown that in the film "Ivanov's childhood", "Execution" and "Dracula" the presence of works creates a conceptual field for understanding the images and plot, in "Melancholy" the pairing occurs at the junction of the interpretation of the names and the alignment of the frame. In the "Seventh Seal", the meaning of A. Durer's engraving is generally adjacent to the meaning of the director's painting, justifying the artistic connection of both creators.

The creativity of Feodosii Humenyuk in the formation and development of the Kyiv school of historical painting

The purpose of the work is to study the main stages and stylistic characteristics of the work of the People's Artist of Ukraine F. Humenyuk as a bright representative of the Kyiv school of historical painting. The research methodology consists in the application of such scientific research methods as historical, art history, analysis, synthesis, and Semitic, which together made it possible to achieve substantiated research results. The scientific novelty of the work consists in summarising the work of the outstanding Ukrainian artist F. Humenyuk and examining it from the perspective of the formation and development of the Kyiv school of historical painting. Conclusions. As a result of the conducted research, it was established that the work of F. Humenyuk is an important component in the development of the modern Kyiv school of historical painting, within which the artist formed his own unique style, which is based on the deep traditions of folk art, icon painting, Byzantism, Baroque, and Boychukism. In his works, which are characterised by multi-component complex compositions, the historical past and modern artistic versions of his reading are combined. The author's symbolic and allegorical interpretations of historical events and persons are full of many meanings, metaphors and images, forming an original poetic background for reading the stories at a highly professional level. Heading the educational and creative workshop of historical painting for a long time, F. Humenyuk not only educated worthy students, but also significantly influenced the formation of the Kyiv school of historical painting. Keywords: historical painting, Kyiv School of Painting, Feodosii Humenyuk, Kyiv Art Institute, author's stylistics.

Digital image-based method to identify historical pigments in wall paintings

In this paper, a new analytical approach based on smartphone digital-images analysis coupled to chemometrics is proposed to investigate the nature of different pigments of historical and cultural interest. To that end, wall painting replicas were prepared and painted with 9 different pigments covering three colors: yellow, blue, and green. The mockups were photographed with a smartphone, and the images calibrated using a reference color chart. Two approaches were tested: one based on commercial color charts, and other based on lab-made ad hoc charts. The former demonstrated to yield better results, and the calibrated CIELAB coordinates were used to build Support Vector Machines (SVM) as a classification method. The optimized SVMs were able to successfully classify each pigment based on corrected CIELAB color descriptors, with errors of prediction below 5 %. Overall, this paper proposes a fast and non-invasive analytical method based on image treatment and chemometrics to discriminate among historical pigments in wall painting replicas.

Historical Cossack Portrait in the Work of Natalia Pavlusenko

The purpose of the work is to explore the genre of the historical Cossack portrait in the work of contemporary Kyiv artist Natalia Pavlusenko. The methodology of the research consists in the application of the art method, biographical, research, as well as analytical, historical, descriptive, which together made it possible to achieve substantiated research results. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that for the first time the work of the contemporary Kyiv artist N. Pavlusenko is examined within the framework of the author's artistic project "Heroes of Cossack Ukraine". Conclusions. As a result of the conducted research, it was established that the work of N. Pavlusenko in the genre of historical Cossack portrait belongs to modern artistic phenomena and is a notable contribution to the development of the Ukrainian historical genre of painting. The series of the artist's works, united by the artistic project "Heroes of Cossack Ukraine", is a series of portraits of hetmans and atamans of the Cossack period in the author's performance with high professional skill. Each of the works is the author's interpretation of the image based on the study of a significant number of historical sources, which conveys not only the authenticity of the era, but is marked by a certain psychologism and character. The designated project of the historical Cossack portrait is a significant contribution to the popularisation of Ukrainian history and art, as well as the promotion of patriotism and national-cultural identity. Keywords: Natalia Pavlusenko, historical Cossack portrait, historical painting, picture, "Heroes of Cossack Ukraine" project, historical figures, Cossack hetmans.

In Situ Infrared and UV–Vis Ellipsometries to Probe The Varnish Ageing and Swelling of G. Bellini “Transfiguration”

AbstractVarnish layers are optical coatings that act as physico‐chemical barrier between the historical paint layers and the environment. Understanding how varnish materials protect historical paintings over time and in the presence of humidity or organic vapors is of central importance for art preservation. However, probing the behavior of varnish after aging in real conditions remains a challenge. Here the question is addressed by “reshaping” the varnish material from the masterpiece of G. Bellini, the “Transfiguration”, into an optical layer; coupling in situ Ultraviolet‐Visible (UV–vis) and Infrared (IR) ellipsometries, the chemical state is correlated, optical properties and swelling of the varnish in presence of water and organic vapors. It shows that the varnish material aged since the 1950s still exhibits effective water repellence. The methodology may be applied to other relevant historical systems beyond paintings and may help in establishing more efficient preservation strategies for historical artworks.

In the Service of Indoctrination

The construction of national culture and identity, particularly for a newly established nation, is a complex and multifaceted process, one that by definition requires a scrupulous, circumspect, and thoughtful disposition. The historical weight and scale of such an undertaking demand gravity and seriousness that signify a grand enterprise. This was the cultural context within which genre painting found its way to the US in the early nineteenth century. Genre painting (also referred to as morality painting) in Europe often employed humor to provide social criticism, but in the US it was seen as a quintessential style to portray the American nation as unified and democratic through renderings of the daily life of common people – once portrait and history painting had provided the metanarratives and the pantheon of national heroes upon which this new phase of cultural production evolved. The study investigates the key aspects of the ambivalence between genre painting in the old and the new worlds and the ways in which humor was employed in subtle ways in American genre paintings to illuminate the social norms and expectations associated with the up-and-coming middle-class values cemented at the heart of what emerged as the “proper” American nation.

Correlated x-ray fluorescence and ptychographic nano-tomography on Rembrandt’s The Night Watch reveals unknown lead “layer”

The Night Watch , one of the most famous masterpieces by Rembrandt, is the subject of a large research and conservation project. For the conservation treatment, it is of great importance to understand its current condition. Correlated nano-tomography using x-ray fluorescence and ptychography revealed a—so far unknown—lead-containing “layer”, which likely acts as a protective impregnation layer applied on the canvas before the quartz-clay ground was applied. This layer might explain the presence of lead soap protrusions in areas where no other lead components are present. In addition to the three-dimensional elemental mapping, ptychography visualizes and quantifies components not detectable by hard x-ray fluorescence such as the organic fraction and quartz. The first-time use of this combination of synchrotron-based techniques on a historic paint micro-sample shows it to be an important tool to better interpret the results of noninvasive imaging techniques operating on the macroscale.

Formation of reading literacy of schoolchildren in history lessons: historiographical aspect

The article analyzes approaches to the formation of reading literacy of students at school in history lessons in both domestic and foreign historiography over the past two decades. History is one of the main disciplines for the development of reading literacy. Reading literacy is included in functional literacy, that is, a person's ability to find and apply the acquired knowledge in life, adapt to constantly changing conditions, and learn throughout life. The most important skills are to find the necessary information in a huge information flow, critically evaluate it and use it for practical purposes. The studied works present both the theoretical aspect, the components of reader's literacy, and the practical component, methodological techniques, tasks are shown, methodological recommendations aimed at the development of reader's literacy are developed. In history lessons, as part of the educational process, it is necessary to form reading literacy skills using different types of text – solid and non–solid, with different information presentation – legislative acts, memoirs of contemporaries, excerpts from newspapers, fiction, as well as actively use historical paintings, maps, objects with inscriptions (coins, medals, monetary bills, stamps, etc.). This will allow the student to receive information from various sources, compare them with each other, and critically evaluate. Using different types of tasks, including personal assessment, students learn to analyze information and apply it in life.

Analysis of a pigment grinding muller from Lacapelle Livron (Tarn and Garonne, France): A tool to prepare cinnabar in a medieval painter workshop or a scriptorium?

A hemispherical stone has been discovered in a 19th century ruined barn at the village of Lacapelle Livron (Tarn and Garonne, France). Its morphology and its mirror polished flat surface showing numerous picketing marks allow to propose a grinding function. Optical microscopic observation shows that numerous striations and depressions present on the main flattened surface are resulting from a grinding action on a hard material. Further investigation with SEM-EDS analysis revealed high quantity of cinnabar pigment spreaded on the whole working flat surface and minor traces on other sides, indicating that the stone have been used as a muller to process pigment. Minor incidental traces of orpiment and calcite and an undetermined black organic residue analysed on a smaller flattened side are probably in relation with a second step of pigment processing. Additionally, many vegetal micro-fragments and micro-fibres have been observed in relation with the main working surface and red pigment. Identification of cotton among this fibre material is suggesting a late medieval or renaissance dating. Other observations and analysis put also in evidence iron striated and lined residues on the stone surfaces which could have resulted from the contact metal tool (i.e., knife) used to pick pigment, and from a handle or from the storage in a box. At last, comparison of the artefact can be done with historical pigment mullers from 18th–19th century and representation of painting workshop between the 15th and 17th century can help to propose different possible contexts of usage of this tool.

“The Sack of Benjamin... I am Now Putting it in Order”. One Unfulfilled Vision

The article is the first to consider Alexander Ivanov's process of drafting the sketches for an unrealized painting based on the Bible story “Joseph’s Brothers Finding a Cup in the Sack of Benjamin”. The paper also considers the artist's discussion of compositional options with his father – historical painter A. I. Ivanov, as well as with famous European masters – Bertel Thorvaldsen, Vincenzo Camuccini, Johann Friedrich Overbeck. Such a dialog and exchange of opinions is of particular importance for understanding the specifics of both Alexander Ivanov's creative personality and the peculiarities of compositional, scenic and figurative approaches to historical painting in the times of classicism.

Exploration of Artistic Expression in the Context of the Renaissance from Different Countries: Take Innovations in Painting Techniques as an Example

This study investigates the painting techniques of different regions as a representative of urban culture in Italy and the Netherlands during the Renaissance. At this time, the artworks struggled between humanistic and divine worldviews but also manifested regional relatively independent personalities resulting in various economic and cultural contexts. Incorporating evidence from paintings, artists' manuscripts, and other contexts, this paper contrasts painting techniques from two countries concerning ways of seeing the world, renewing suitable materials, and drawing scientifically. These creations are particularly evident throughout the painting's history revealing disparate proportions of city-culture components, including artistic creation, everyday lifestyle, and city value from historical memories. It allows the Renaissance cultural development process to be easily grasped by a direct artistic expression despite space-time barriers. Though the different paths of national artistic development have produced different results, the similar cause and connotation of painting techniques’ innovations in the two places reflects the inevitability of history, because art is not an accidental product, but the result of the cultural development of an entire city.

From Virtual Reality to the Emerging Discipline of Perception Engineering

This article makes the case that a powerful new discipline, which we term perception engineering, is steadily emerging. It follows from a progression of ideas that involve creating illusions, from historical paintings and film to modern video games and virtual reality. Rather than creating physical artifacts such as bridges, airplanes, or computers, perception engineers create illusory perceptual experiences. The scope is defined over any agent that interacts with the physical world, including both biological organisms (humans and animals) and engineered systems (robots and autonomous systems). The key idea is that an agent, called a producer, alters the environment with the intent to alter the perceptual experience of another agent, called a receiver. Most importantly, the article introduces a precise mathematical formulation of this process, based on the von Neumann–Morgenstern notion of information, to help scope and define the discipline. This formulation is then applied to the cases of engineered and biological agents, with discussion of its implications for existing fields such as virtual reality, robotics, and even social media. Finally, open challenges and opportunities for involvement are identified.

Ukrainian Military Themes in the Historical Battle Painting of Andrii Kholomeniuk

The purpose of the work is to investigate the topic of Ukrainian military history in the historical-battle painting of A. Kholomeniuk; analyse the main cycles and their plot, imagery, author's interpretation. The research methodology consists in the application of the historical-chronological method, comparison and generalisation, art analysis, with the application of the principles of systematicity and historicism. The scientific novelty of the study consists in the systematic generalisation and analysis of the artistic works of the famous artist-battalist A. Kholomeniuk, which reproduce various historical periods of the military history of Ukraine, mainly the late Middle Ages and the Cossack region. Conclusions. As a result of the conducted research, it was established that in his work A. Kholomeniuk addresses various topics and plots of Ukrainian military history, among which the large cycle of works "The Khotyn War of 1621" (approx. 80 paintings) occupies a prominent place, which serves as a kind of pictorial encyclopaedia of Ukrainian Cossacks. A. Kholomenyuk's battle paintings have a distinct author's style of painting, with an expressive manner and play of colour, light and shadow, characterised by perfect composition and a deep study of historical details and context. The battle-historical works of A. Kholomeniuk belong to the important examples of modern Ukrainian historical-battle painting, which vividly reflects Ukrainian military themes.
 Keywords: A. Kholomeniuk, battle-historical painting, battle studies, historical themes, military history of Ukraine, Cossack period.

A pro-American perspective on the American Revolution: Johann Heinrich Ramberg’s (1763–1840) adaptations of illustrations by Daniel Chodowiecki

The Allgemeines Historisches Taschenbuch, oder Abriss der merkwürdigsten neuen Welt-Begebenheiten (General Historical Pocketbook, or Outline of the most remarkable new world events), published in Berlin in 1784 and supported by the Academy of Arts, contained one of the most important contemporary accounts of the North American Revolution, titled Geschichte der Revolution von Nord-Amerika (History of the North American Revolution) by Matthias Christian Sprengel, professor at Göttingen University. It further contained influential illustrations, among them twelve engravings designed by Academy member Daniel Chodowiecki, each depicting a key motif from the American struggle for independence and its outcome. In the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), an original copy of the pocket book with the Geschichte der Revolution has been preserved, and it is unique in that eleven drawings by Johann Heinrich Ramberg are glued in in addition to the original plates. Ramberg of Hanover was to follow Chodowiecki as the most prolific artist in German book illustration. Several of the drawings are dated 1786 or 1787, when the young Ramberg was a fellow at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, studying under the American history painter Benjamin West. These drawings are examined and published in their entirety here for the first time. An article published in Amerikastudien in 1978 first mentioned the drawings in the Metropolitan Museum and their obvious connection to the Chodowiecki prints, stating they posed a “puzzling iconographic problem” because the German artist in London appeared to change the viewpoint in at least one case. This article follows up on Jantz’s observation. It examines how Chodowiecki’s designs all show the perspective of the British or share a “neutral” outsider perspective. I argue that in nearly all cases, Ramberg moves the observer closer to the action, takes on the perspective of the Americans or one sympathetic to them, shows more emotion and movement than Chodowiecki, and thus invites an emotional reaction from the viewer. The question of whether Ramberg planned publication, though, remains unanswered.

Magyar történelmi témák 18. századi bécsi festői: adatok Wenzel Pohl munkásságához és az August Rumelnek tulajdonított mohácsi csata-képhez

Media news made the name of Wenzel Pohl known in Hungary in the early 2000s, for the two large history paintings (The Battle of Mohács, Saint Stephen converting the Hungarians to the christian faith), which had cropped up in the art trade and which were purchased by the Hungarian state and deposited in the Hungarian embassy in Vienna, were attributed to him. Although more recent research has proposed that the painter of the cycle once consisting of six pieces was most probably August Rumel and not Pohl, it is worth knowing of Pohl’s artistic activity irrespective of the Hungarian relevance, too, because his person is gradually fading out of art historiography – for example, his name is missing from the 96th volume of the Saur Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon published in 2017.The best-known Pohl portraits are the ones he painted of the noted Jesuit astronomer, mathematician and physicist Miksa Hell. A full-figure portrait shows the scientist in traditional Sami costume during his research trip to the North, and we know of a portrait showing Hell is a monk’s frock. His engraved copies of paintings in the Viennese imperial collection, real forerunners to the representative 19th century album of prints presenting the collection, probably belong to a series. In the cycle of paintings about the coronation of Joseph II as Holy Roman Emperor (Frankfurt, 1765) he was assigned the painting of architectural details, which is confirmed by the fact that he was sent on a study trip to Frankfurt to make drawn sketches of the venues of the event. After the representative painting of Martin van Meytens he made a small-scale version of the group portrait of Maria Theresa and her family. His chef d’oeuvre is the representative painting series showing the events of the coronation of Maria Theresa in Pozsony in 1741 painted for the Hungarian court chancellery in Vienna. He painted it with Franz Messmer in the second half of the 1760s. In contrast, the three portraits of monarchs in Riesensaal in Innsbruck so far attributed to him by researchers were actually painted by Jakob Kohl.The other part of the paper contributes a few new viewpoints to the examination of the painting about the battle of Mohács earlier attributed to Pohl. In addition to contemporaneous woodcuts of the tragic battle of 1526 in news-letters and pamphlets in German, to 16th century Turkish miniatures, and diverse 16–18th century European manuscript and book illustrations, a ceiling fresco in Garamszentbenedek and several large paintings – including Rumel’s work – also conjured up the battle in the 18th century. Since in the nation’s historical consciousness and cultural memory the battle of Mohács did not acquire its symbolic, mythic position represented to this day before the 19th century, the two works of art were way ahead of their time in anticipating the salient position of the tragic event, because, unlike, for example, István dorffmaister’s late 18th century pictures ordered in Mohács, they show the battle as a fatal even in the history of the entire nation. on the other side, by the terminating piece of the series ordered for the Transylvanian court chancellery being the battle of Mohács, the client departed from the 18th century imperial, dynastic outlook which presented as positive parallels to the battle of Mohács and the capture of Szigetvár by the Turks the victorious battles of the late 17th century liberating war led by the Habsburg Empire: the second battle of Mohács and the recapture of Szigetvár, partly as examples of divine justice and partly as legitimation of the Habsburg Empire’s territorial expansion “earned with blood”. It is noteworthy that the right side of central scene of Rumel’s Battle of Mohács resembles the composition of leonardo da Vinci’s Battle of Anghiari surviving in copies only. It is presumable that the renaissance battle scenes served as a model example for the painter.

James Cahill's Song Painting World and the Early Painting History of Ancient China

Mr. James Cahill devoted himself to connecting the changes in the painting history from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the Song Dynasty into a systematic exposition. That is, early Chinese painting changed from decoration to the continuous exploration of the reproduction of nature and visual faithfulness, and reached its peak in the Song Dynasty, becoming another great naturalism and reproduction painting tradition comparable to the Italian Renaissance. In order to expand and enhance the world influence of Chinese visual art, James Cahill has put forward unique academic ideas, aiming at guiding a kind of understanding and enlightenment of ordinary perception of life.

Activities of National Union of Artists of Ukraine in Development and Popularisation of Ukrainian Art in Wartime

The purpose of the work is to examine the basic principles and activities of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine (hereinafter – NUAU) and the Kyiv Organisation of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine (hereinafter – KONUAU) at the present stage, to identify relevant issues related to the development and popularisation of Ukrainian art, in particular during the period of full-scale war. The research methodology is in the application of systematic and cultural-historical approaches, combined with such methods as art history, analysis, synthesis, generalisation, description and comparison, which together help to achieve substantiated research results. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time a brief analysis of the activities of the NUAU and KONUAU was revealed in the context of an unfolding full-scale war was considered and presented, and the cultural and axiological potential of the union’s activities and the promotion of the achievements of contemporary Ukrainian artists, the affirmation of national identity, Ukrainian culture and art, which in times of war is not only a unifying factor, but also a means of expressing a civic position. Conclusions. Based on the analysis of creative events, exhibitions, and other cultural practices of the NUAU and KONUAU, the article reveals the cultural and axiological potential of the union's activities, which manifests itself in the transmission of artistic and cultural values inherent in Ukrainian art, which, especially during the war, through the efforts of the artists of the NUAU and KONUAU, is aimed at uniting civil society in the fight against Russian aggression, as well as in matters of practical volunteer activity, which is an extremely important component in the formation of national consciousness and patriotism.
 Key words: National Union of Artists of Ukraine, Kyiv Organisation of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, Ukrainian art, national school of painting, thematic painting, historical painting, war, military aggression, artists.

Study And Appreciation Of Claude Monet’s Artistic Creation And Life Experience

Claude Monet an outstanding Impressionist painter in the 19th century, is one of the founders of Impressionist painting, known as the "father of Impressionism". His representative works include Impression of Sunrise, Cathedral of Rouen, Haystack, and Water Lily. Many artists and scholars in the study of Monet's works, summed up the artist Monet can be famous for the reason: thanks to his unique insight and innovation in painting creation. Every seemingly insignificant change over time will eventually add up and change things qualitatively. This paper makes a correlation analysis between Monet's painting style and his life experience to explore the influence of the painter's life experience on the painting methods adopted at that time, to study and appreciate his representative works which have achieved periodic success. When people not only stop to appreciate the color surface of the work, but also understand the story behind the creation of art, this will more vividly and truly restore the character image of a writer, and further explore the connotation, historical status, and influence on the development history of painting. At the same time, it is beneficial to broaden the richness of the history of art painting and is also of great benefit to the field of art education and academic research.

On the Combination of Oil Painting Techniques and Modern Illustration Art

Oil painting represents the mainstream of modern Western painting art. The development history of Western painting art cannot be separated from the evolution of the style, subject matter and techniques of oil painting. Since its emergence, oil painting has experienced several style periods, including classicism, Romanticism, Impressionism, abstraction and so on. Among them, Impressionism, which was born in the middle of 19th century, played an important role in the history of western oil painting. It changed the style and way of oil painting popular in the past few centuries with new color theory and creative techniques. Impressionism emphasized the intuitive observation and real performance of the painting object. Since then, painting is no longer limited to the spiritual transmission of the author, and "what you paint is what you see" has gradually become one of the creation principles of Western oil painting. This paper analyzes the paintings of famous Impressionist painters with examples, sums up how Impressionist paintings skillfully use light, shadow and color to create, and discusses its referential significance for modern illustration.