Velázquez & Image of a Master

It is inspiring how these artists started when they were pretty young. Some were well known of ever since 16 years old. I was interested in both these videos because it shows how much potential any one can have. The video with Albrecht Durer was well known for his drawing of his hands, which we are actually doing for this module.

Velazquez when he was 24 he started being a court painter for Philip IV. He started painting when he was way younger though. His painting, Order of Santiago conferred his nobility. He captured the moment which includes the light, air and other elements that disappear in a trice not because they are fleeting but because they are timeless. The worst art is his had no friends except only one which was the king. He had only one love who was his wife. His consuming interest was painting, and this was his friend, lover of literature and patron of the arts. It is incredible how talented you can be but I wouldn't want to live all my life to have just very limited amount of friends and paint forever in my life. Velazquez was a man of good character not very interested in government. The king guaranteed his livelihood and his future as a painter. When Velazquez painted he was free of artistic compromise or unwanted commissions. Velazquez basically painted what he wanted to paint. Velazquez always saw the king as eloquent, speaking not with his lip but with work. When he was on his trip back to Madrid, he painted Mythology Forge of Vulcan. For Velazquez the life mattered and not myths. Velazquez painted slowly and was very educated.

Albrecht Durer was born in 1471. He exercised a powerful influence on the art of Northern Europe. He was very talented, and performed a self portrait at age 13. He loved painting hands, which connects to what we have to do in our module for this class. Durer examined the process of aging carefully. For example, the ruthless eye of paintings determines the process of aging. There was some scrutiny of narcissism which was an art of scrutinizing his own face. After he visited to the Alps he discovered the art of landscape. Durer was the first true landscape artist in Europe. Durer was asked for an altar piece for their chapel inside the church. The theme was the virgin angels that distributed garlands of roses to rulers of church and state. Durer always had something to learn. From the Venetians, he learned how to employ the first brushstroke without color to achieve the effect of solid form simply with light and shadow. The painter examines his model through a grid then transfers each detail onto sheet of paper scored with the same grid. His search was the perfect form possessed by the Ancient Greeks and since lost. An example of this was his own self portrait.