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Lesson 1: Why art mattersWhat work of art inspired you?
Artworks can deeply influence and inspire us, as shown by Mary Cassatt's "Lydia in a Loge" and Albrecht Durer's "Self Portrait". Experiencing art in person, like Chartres Cathedral, can shift our understanding. Artifacts like Nefertiti and Hans Holbein's "The Ambassadors" can connect us to the past in profound ways. Created by Smarthistory.
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- The piece of art that I have always been inspired by has either been one of the cabin landscape scenes by Bob Ross or "The Fallen Angel" by Alexandre Cabanel, that in which depicts the devil, and the feelings that he had as he was cast out of heaven as depicted in John Milton's poem "Paradise Lost" which in my opinion it is just one of a kind, if you haven't seen it then look it up, it perfectly depicts the emotions of such depicted in the poem.(9 votes)
- These are worthy observations, William. This is the place for learners to question and answer each other. What is YOUR question?(0 votes)
- For me, I have two pieces. It's either "Stańczyk" by Jan Matejko. I recommend reading more about it, I think it's important for me because it tells a story about my country, Poland. It is also a very sad painting. But a very gorgeous one. The second piece is "Macierzyństwo" by Wyspiański. It shows a mother feeding her baby. It's a very warm piece, showing a wonderful realtionship of a mother and her child.(7 votes)
- “Was there a work of art that changed your life?” really got me thinking, because I been seeing a lot of arts by pictures by looking on the Internet but the art piece that got me in love was statues in the art museum because it really caught my eyes making me want to look at the way it was built and modeled so right, making me want to try my best to draw it .(4 votes)
- The Vienna State Opera House, 1912, art created by a certain Austrian painter inspired me(4 votes)
- The artwork that inspired me to draw as a hobby wasn't a historical artwork, but instead it was actually a tutorial on YouTube for drawing a character in what was my favorite book series at the time. Although in the past 2 years or so, I haven't drawn characters from that book series as much now that I have discovered a video game that I really love the art direction, characters, and writing of.(3 votes)
- Cave carvings and paintings are my favorite to look at.(2 votes)
- I love Hilma af Klint's works, how they are both figurative and representational in different ways, there's a beautiful symbolism to them.(2 votes)
- I was inspired to start creating art through an artist, not just one piece of art.
Junji Ito opened the world to cross-hatching to me. the way he shades and the techniques he uses in his manga is just something I had never seen before. And I just fell in love with that style.(2 votes) - One work of art that inspired and moved me deeply is Vincent van Gogh's "Starry Night." The swirling skies, vibrant colors, and emotive brushstrokes captured my imagination and conveyed a profound sense of wonder and emotion. Seeing it in person at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City was a transformative experience. It made me appreciate the power of art to express complex emotions and the beauty in the world, even amid personal struggles. This painting ignited my passion for art and motivated me to explore and understand more about the lives and works of artists.(2 votes)
Video transcript
(jazzy music) - [Host] Was there a
work of art that inspired or moved you or changed your life? - [Commentator] An artwork
that really stopped me in my tracks is Mary
Cassatt's "Lydia in a Loge." It is an interesting composition, the fact that it was
done by a woman artist made one explore the idea of gender in art and it made me actually go
to Paris and go to the Opera and sit in a loge box and
experience a performance there. - [Commentator] I thought
I really understood Chartres Cathedral. When I saw slides it really
looked like a cathedral on a hill where there was
open air all around it. It was a complete myth, this photograph that I learned from. I was lucky enough to be
able to go to Chartres and it was completely surrounded by a city and I realized how
integral the cathedral was to the community because the
entire city was really built around this central plaza. I think any time I've ever
seen a work of art in person that I learned first as a
slide I learned something new and I'm just bowled over. - [Commentator] Albrecht
Durer, his "Self Portrait" where he kind of looks like Jesus, it really blew my mind
that anybody would think so highly of themselves
as to put themselves in that position, but at the same time it's such a gorgeous painting
and you see his expertise. You almost think, well, maybe he is right. Maybe he should put
himself on that pedestal. It is humorous, it's
elegant, and that's the one that really made me look
at work in a different way. - [Commentator] When I was
13, this is a few years after the wall came down in Berlin, and we book a trip and saw Nefertiti. I was totally awestruck, she is utterly beautiful and imperfect. She is human and yet she's
thousands of years old and so to have this vivid
image of a powerful woman from the past was something
that I think put me on the trajectory of
becoming an art historian. - [Commentator] A work of
art that has changed the way I've thought about the past is when I was a freshman undergraduate I was taught of Hans
Holbein's "The Ambassadors" as being this portrait of
a European Renaissance man and then later on I
learned to pay attention to the globe that is on
the shelf and I learned to pay attention to the
navigation instruments and realized through that work of art the past was an
interconnected place in a way that is not exactly the same as our globally connected,
21st-century lives but similar. (jazzy music)