Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Niccolo Paganini, 1819, graphite on paper. Ingres was one of the first artists to use graphite as a major tool for portraiture. It is clear that Ingres has a masterful grasp over the depiction of line, no stroke is wasted and is always executed with clarity and purpose. As well as this we see his exceptional ability to capture the spirit and likeness of his sitters.
Pierre Bonnard, Nude in the Bath, 1937, oil on canvas. Bonnard was one of the founding members of Les Nabis (the prophets) as an artist he found inspiration in the stark schematic outlines of painters like Gauguin. As well as this he was drawn to the formal compositions and purity of colour depicted in Japanese woodblock prints. All of this culminates in 'Nude in a Bath' an intimate subject but executed in a highly stylised manner. Here Bonnard rejects depth and perspective and uses a palette of unnatural warm and cool colours, blending the nude into her surroundings and the interior into the world beyond the window. The effect is unusually mythic and otherworldly.
Hasegawa Tohaku, Pine Forest, 1580, ink on paper Hasegawa was a unique visionary who set himself apart from other artists working in the Momyama period. There is no hint of gold leaf in this work which was so prevalent in the academic schools of the day, instead comparisons can be more closely drawn to the deeply atmospheric ink paintings of the Southern Song Dynasty. Here we see a masterfully subtle handling of Indian ink, as the artist uses almost minute washes to create the effect of a tense mist hanging over a thick wall of trees.
Ni Zan, Rongxi Studio, 1372, ink on paper. Ni Zan (1301-1374) is considered to be one of the four great masters of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368). Despite this his output as an artist was very limited and he chose similar motifs for each piece, making him in a sense the original Chinese series painter. His work often included mountains, shelter, trees and water but executed in a sparing style which boarded on offhanded, however his sparse technique somehow exudes a wistful atmosphere which is unique in itself. As well as this Ni Zan was one of the pioneers in the concept of the three perfections, poetry, calligraphy and painting. Promoting the idea that a picture inscribed with a poem written in a complementary calligraphic style enhances the aesthetic accomplishment of the piece.
John Everett Millais, The Blind Girl, 1854, oil on canvas. Millais was one of the founders of the pre-raphaelite movement, which sought to imbue British art with the same detail and vitality seen in Italian renaissance painting. Although this piece does possess a sentimental theme it is still alluding to a deeper meaning. The blind girl and the child mirror the image of the virgin and christ, and the butterfly which sits on her shawl is symbolic of the soul, the fact the butterfly and the double rainbow go unnoticed is also indicative of the girls blindness to the beauty around her, due to her affliction. Despite this through the religious imagery we can assume that Christ will endow her with a new and better vision as in the biblical miracle.
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, 1875, oil on panel. The famous art critic and champion of the pre raphaelite movement once famously said about this painting, that it was like 'flinging a pot of paint in the public's face'. Consequentially they faced a libel case which Whistler won after claiming that Ruskin had damaged his reputation. This painting has risen above this important defining moment in art history to become a masterpiece in its own right. It shows immense musicality and expressiveness capturing the spontaneity of the nightly firework display over Cremore Gardens.
Caspar David Friedrich, Monk on the Seashore, 1809, oil on canvas. Friedrich's work epitomises the concept of the sublime in art. Here we see the small figure of a lonely monk dwarfed by a stormy vast sky and a bleak black sea, the perfect symbol for man's insignificance in contrast to the awe inspiring power of nature.
Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Carceri d'Invenzione, 1749, etching and sulphur tint. This etching is a part of a series of invented prisons, which include torture instruments, wandering lost prisoners and a surreal illusionistic depictions of architectural space. In such dramatic imaginative scenes as this it is not difficult to forget that Piranesi started his training as a theatrical stage designer.
Mary Cassatt, Reading 'La Figaro', 1878, oil on canvas. Although perhaps most famous for her depiction of motherhood Cassatt was also a pioneering painter of real everyday women who did not simply comply to a sentimental stereotype. Here we can see an example of the 'New Woman' confident, independent and intellectual.
Odilon Redon, the Crying Spider, 1881, lithograph. Redon produced a series of dark and fantastical lithographs which were called his Noirs. They reflected Redon's fantasies and psychologically conjured up dreamlike images. They were born from his fascination with Freud and the study of dreams as well as his interest in science and nature. What emerged from Redon's vibrant imagination are intimate and exuberant pictures which pushed the boundaries of art and subject matter.
Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, La Promeneuse, 1892, oil on cardboard. This intimate natural portrait depicts a prostitute walking the streets. Lautrec was particularly fascinated by the lifestyle of prostitutes and felt a strong affinity with them and other members of the urban underclass. This is perhaps because he felt like a freakish social outcast among his own aristocratic classes due to his physical abnormality.
Utagawa Toyokuni I, Segawa Kikunojō III, 1798, woodblock print. Segawa Kikunojo III was a celebrated kabuki actor who posted exclusively female parts. The tradition of men playing women in the theatre was first encouraged to avoid licentious behaviour, but for many of these actors it was not a moral necessity but a serious way of life. For example they would continue to dress as women outside of Kabuki and would even become major trend setters among the female population. Their cultural influence is clearly apparent from the number of woodblock prints which were mass produced to glorify capture their image.
Deep Vessel with Handles, Middle Jomon period (ca. 3500–2500 B.C.), Earthenware with cord-marked and incised decoration. The Jomon period marks the earliest known civilisation in Japan, and also a time when visual culture and craftsmanship was flourishing. Here we can see an example of Jomon pottery, which was created with woven coils of clay and then fired in an open pit. The effect of this ancient form of ceramics is staggeringly elaborate, with dynamic flowing shapes which convey the power of the elements. Despite the visual power of these vessels their overall function is somewhat enigmatic, however it has been suggested that they were used for ritualistic purposes.
Paul Gauguin, Vision after the Sermon, 1888, oil on canvas. Here we see an image of a group of women witnessing a vision on Jacob wrestling the angel. It evokes a point in Gauguin's career when he was focusing less on landscape painting, and was drawing his attention more to personal depictions of figurative and religious subjects. In addition to this it is interesting to note the schematic style of the figures and the boldness of the colours and outline. Here we can see that stained glass windows inspired the style of this painting, as well as his increased fascination with so called 'Primitive' art which harks back to a simpler way of life.