Clouds in European paintings (Olga E.)

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Clouds
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from Masaccio to Van Gogh, through Giorgione and
Ruisdael from the Early Italian Renaissance to
Romanticism, through the Dutch Golden Age and
19th century landscape painters delicate,
feathery, menacing, intangible and ever-changing
...
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Clouds in European paintings
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No one before him has depicted clouds in the sky
so realistically ... Masaccio was one of the
great innovators of the Early Italian Renaissance.
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the arrival in Capernaum of Jesus and the
Apostles, based on the account given in
Matthew's Gospel. Jesus and the Apostles, the
hills and the mountains, trees and
hedges and a luminous blue sky streaked with
white clouds painted in perfect perspective.
Masaccio The Tribute Money Le
Paiement du tribut El pago del tributo 1424-1428 B
rancacci Chapel, Florence
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a blue sky with some passing clouds ... a
balustrade, the courtiers, putti, a peacock, a
vase Hidden in the cloud next to the vase is
a human profile, probably a self-portrait of the
artist cleverly disguised. Andrea
Mantegna Camera degli Sposi, The oculus La
Chambre des Époux, Oculus Cámara de los esposos,
Óculo 1465-1474 Palazzo Ducale, Mantua
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humanity dragged along by sin, in a large white
cloud in the blue sky, the image of Christ, with
his arms raised in a gesture of despair, only
the Angel, and the spectator, are looking at the
Christ of sorrow, who in vain calls men to
himself Hieronymus Bosch The
Haywain Triptych, central panel Le Chariot de
foin, panneau central El carro del heno, panel
central 1501-1502 Museo del Prado, Madrid
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celestial clouds ... the orderly room, the
night cap, towel, candle Mary Gabriel angel
holding a white lily and the Father God in a
cloud and a cat, not at all happy with all
the fuss that has come to break the quiet routine
of its life. Lorenzo Lotto Recanati
Annunciation Annonciation de Recanati La
Anunciación 1534 Museo Civico Villa Colloredo
Mels, Recanati
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The artist combines the Greco-Roman mythological
tradition, made famous by Virgil, with the
Christian interpretation of Hell in the Middle
Ages and Renaissance (Dante, The Divine
Comedy). the river Styx, the boatman Charon
and a human soul a pale blue sky with white and
gray clouds of Paradise a sky with dark stormy
clouds of Hell Joachim
Patinir Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx
Traversée du monde souterrain, Paysage avec la
barque de Charon, Charon traversant le Styx,
Passage du Styx, ou Traversée du Styx El paso de
la laguna Estigia o Caronte cruzando la laguna
Estigia 1520-1524 Museo Nacional del Prado,
Madrid
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a pastoral scene shrouded in mystery a woman
sits nursing a baby, a young man, possibly a
soldier, holding a long staff or pike a
fortified town, a river, a bridge dark
clouds and ... a lightning that tears the sky,
foreshadowing the violence of the coming storm.
Giorgione The Tempest La tempête La
tempestad 1506-1508 Gallerie dell'Accademia,
Venice
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The stormy sky and dark clouds contrast with
the sunlit city, creating a dramatic and
emotional effect. Le Greco
Vista de Toledo View of Toledo Vue de
Tolède 1596-1600 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York
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Dark clouds overhanging the city
... Johannes Vermeer View
of Delft Vue de Delft Vista de
Delft 1659-1660 Mauritshuis, The Hague
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A beam of sunlight breaks through the black
clouds and illuminates the bridge and the
trees. Rembrand van
Rijn Landscape with a Stone Bridge Paysage avec
un pont de pierre Paisaje con puente de
piedra 1638 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
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The windmill rises up majestically, defying the
dark rain clouds Jacob
van Ruisdael Windmill at Wijk bij
Duurstede Moulin de Wijk de Duurstede El molino
de Wijk bij Duurstede 1670 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
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A rocky shoreline buffeted by a violent storm
two ships roll in the giant swell, the
remains of a ship lie shattered against the
rocks and bolts of lightning streak from the
dark thunder clouds. Claude
Joseph Vernet Tempête, Un naufrage dans une mer
agitée A Shipwreck in Stormy Seas Un naufragio en
mares tempestuosos 1773 The National Gallery,
London
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stands upon a rocky precipice, the wanderer
gazes out on a landscape covered in a thick sea
of fog ... a lonely figure confronting nature in
astonished reverence Caspar
David Friedrich Wanderer above the Sea of Fog Le
voyageur au-dessus d'une mer de nuages El
caminante sobre el mar de nubes 1818 Hamburger
Kunsthalle, Hamburg
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JMW Turners sky in his radical Snow Storm
Hannibal riding an elephant, overwhelmed by a
blizzard and his soldiers fighting against the
snowstorm Nature keeping human ambition in
check Joseph Mallord William
Turner Snow Storm Hannibal and his Army Crossing
the Alps Hannibal traversant les Alpes Aníbal
cruzando los Alpes 1810-1812 The Tate Gallery,
London
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Dark clouds in the sky and ... a children play
in the sand Eugène
Boudin Plage à Trouville Beach at Trouville Playa
en Trouville 1890 National Gallery, London
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the sky with pale, almost translucent white
clouds and the beach with elegant women in
crinolines sitting on the sand, sheltering from
the sun under their parasols, chatting
... Eugène Boudin La plage à
Trouville The Beach at Trouville La playa de
Trouville 1865 Princeton University Art Museum,
Princeton
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under a sky streaked with bright clouds, in a
huge empty plain, a man and a woman stand with
their heads bent in prayer Their faces are
left in shadow, while the light underlines their
gestures and posture. Jean-Franço
is Millet L'Angélus The Angelus El
Ángelus 1857-1859 Musée d'Orsay, Paris
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hills and mountains, golden fields of ripe
wheat olive trees, a dark Provençal cypress
towering like a green obelisk and white
clouds swirling in an azure sky
... Vincent van Gogh Wheat Field
with Cypresses Champ de blé avec cyprès Campo de
trigo con cipreses 1889 Metropolitan Museum of
Art, New York, NY
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a grey sky ... a cold shore and a small white
hut on four wheels, solitary and remote,
reflecting the melancholy northern European
light James Ensor Bathing hut
on the beach Cabine de bain sur la plage ou
Chariot sur la plage Caseta en la
playa 1876 Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp,
Antwerp
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an atmospheric landscape ... the greenery of the
nearby garden, the city bathed in golden
reflections, the turquoise of the
Mediterranean and ... the storm clouds invite
dreaming Pierre Bonnard Ciel d'orage
sur Cannes Stormy Sky over Cannes Cielo
Tormentoso Sobre Cannes 1945 Private collection
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Magritte's clouds ... a cloud that rushes
through the half-open door, a cloud that visits
our mundane life to bring a little of its
lightness, to transform the banal into the
extraordinary, the normal into the bizarre, the
everyday into a mystery, to offer a new
perspective on our surroundings "This is
not a cloud" Magritte might have said.
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the infinity of the sky ... Two men, black
trench coats and bowler hats, surrounded by big
white fluffy clouds. Both float and converse
while "ascending" to a higher state, where they
can continue sharing. René
Magritte La Reconnaissance infinie The infinite
recognition La Gratitud Infinita 1963 Private
collection
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land, sea and sky and an ajar door and a
whimsical cloud, which seem to promise much and
inviting the viewer to enter a new "enchanted
domain" ... As the philosopher Tagore argues,
by closing the door we could also remove some
doubts, but the truth would also be left out.
Isnt it worth facing these open doors, with all
that awaits us outside? René
Magritte La Victoire The Victory 1939 Collection
particulière
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Clouds in European paintings Les nuages dans la
peinture européenne Las nubes en la pintura
europea images and text credit   www.
Music
The Piano Guys Limitless created
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www.wistarie.net/tags/olga-e
In praise of clouds, let us all find a patch of
grass, lie back and take a minute, to witness
something we wont see again ...
music The Piano Guys Limitless