Lacma: Learning About Art Can Make You Adore It

LACMA: Learning about Art Can Make you Adore it

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art was so large, I wasn’t sure where to begin. As my mother and I parked my car and walked towards the massive structure, I looked for the ticket booth and had already began to feel a bit overwhelmed. We continued to follow the waterworks to our right and my mother mentioned to me that it reminded her of the Vietnam Memorial. There are a few things I noticed off the bat, and that was the large amount of palm trees there were in front of the building. I know this is Los Angeles, but I’m from San Jose and often notice palm trees when most people do not. I wondered if the palm trees were planted there to make people from out of state appreciate the “LA-ish” vibe the museum exuded. I was pleasantly surprised by the Anderson building, I thought it looked open, airy, and very LA. If I could describe the museum in one word, it would have to be “active”. There were many people just walking, talking, chatting, drinking, shmoozing, just having fun. I felt very relaxed and actually a bit overdressed at this museum. Something that I noticed was the floor outside and inside the Anderson Building. For some reason I thought it was absolutely beautiful, and what really struck me was how spotless this museum was. For the amount of people hustling and bustling, I was surprised at the cleanliness. After a good hour of some hardcore art viewing I took a break and went into the sunny cafÐ"©. My mom and I couldn’t help but notice how bright and happy it was. This was a well needed break, since my mother was not really interested in the art as much as I was (but you were right, she was impressed with my knowledge). Overall, I thought that the atmosphere was very active, clean, and pleasant. It was a paradox, for at first I was feeling so overwhelmed and almost a bit regretful and by the end of the trip I felt light and airy and had enjoyed an immense amount of art; the following being two pieces I particularly took to liking.

A Still Life with Oysters and Grapes

This work was done by Jan Davidsz de Heem of Antwerp in 1653. It was done in the medium of oil on panel. There are a multitude of items set upon a half covered table, which include two oysters on a silver platter, a half pealed lemon with several slices of lemon scattered about the table, a bunch of green grapes and a bunch of red grapes, a glass of half filled white wine, a blue satin tablecloth that seems to be slipping off the table, various kinds of leaves, vines and ivy, a butterfly and a bee, and finally a mossy green cracked wall is the backdrop to this work.

It looks as if someone just pushed everything on the table to one side, for all of the items seem to be piled atop one another rather haphazardly. The colors are very bright and beautiful, as they typically were during the Dutch Baroque period. The most important visual element in this work in my opinion is the use of light. There is a use of tenebrism in the work on the back wall of the painting, which leads the viewer to believe that this table was in a room in a house in Holland, and was lit up by a single window in the upper left hand corner of the room, out of sight for the viewer. The objects on the table are in the spotlight and they are very realistic, calm and serene. It almost looks as if you are sitting on your own sofa at home, admiring the scene. It is pushed up fairly close to the pictorial plane, but not as close as it would be in a Flemish Baroque work. Although the space is very crowded and off balanced, it still is incredibly tranquil. Also, I believe it is important to point out that this painting is an example of vanitas, a work that uses symbolism to show the transience of life. This is important to mention because it is most commonly associated with the Dutch Baroque period.

This work was indeed produced for the middle class. During the 1600's, Holland had a very wide and successful middle class who supported the arts themselves, rather than the church who was usually the main patron of the arts. The Netherlands at this time were split down the middle. The northern Protestant Dutch were fighting for independence; while the southern Catholic portion of the Netherlands remained under Spanish rule. To sum, this work reflects the time period in which it was made because it was most likely made to hang in a middle class Dutch home. The still life was very restrained and peaceful because the Dutch viewed their homes as being a sacred place.

De Heem concentrated mostly on still life’s in the Netherlands, and was admired in his talent of doing so. He was born and raised in Holland and went to School in Antwerp, and was surrounded by Dutch influence. He was known for his harmony of color in his works along with realistic portrayals of your common still life objects: a variety of flowers and fruits, a multitude of fish including lobsters and oysters; butterflies, bees and moths, goblets and silverware, and snails and sea shells. Most of his works were to display these items in large amounts, often falling off the table and pushed to one side as seen in A Still Life with Oysters and Grapes. Gold and silver cups, like the one seen in A Still Life with Oysters and Grapes, were used as an allegory of the vanity of earthly possessions. Salvation is seen as a chalice covered in blossoms, however a medallion covered in flowers and fruit was a symbol of abundance (Renaissance).

There are many other Dutch baroque artists that did works in the same style as De Heem. Rembrandt and Vermeer made outstanding works as they depicted political and cultural issues in simple everyday scenes, portraits, and still-life’s of a multitude of ordinary objects. To those who were viewing these works of art that were well-informed about the political and cultural issues of the day, some of these pictures had significant hidden messages and alternative meanings, while others simply had none at all (Dutch & Flemish Art in 17th century).

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Venus Disarming Cupid

The title of this work is Venus Disarming Cupid and it is done by Alessandro Allori. It was made circa 1570 in Florence in the Mannerist Style. This work was done with oil on panel during the late renaissance. This piece depicts Venus, nude and laying on her side while Cupid, also nude, is standing hunched behind her, their hands entwined. Next to Venus are two doves feeding each other. The background is otherworldly, although it is very subtle and only visible in the top left hand corner of the work. Cupid looks as if he is going to whisper