Luis de la Fuente

Art Appreciation

If you follow my blog, you'd probably know that I have an appreciation for the aesthetics of the female form. If you know me well, you'd also know that I look for art that captures the beauty the various posterior muscles such as the deltoids, toracolumbar, teres, lats, infraspinatus, and gluteus maximus.

The painting that caught my attention was XXI by Spanish artist Luis de la Fuente. The painting not only captures the beauty of the girl's back but the fine details of her skirt.

De la Fuente is known for pastels and oils of the human form as well as still life. He relies on lighting to create an aesthetic peace to his paintings.

You can see more of his artwork HERE.

XII via artistsinpastel

XXI via fineartandyou

Ensimismada via artodyssey1

Sources:

http://www.artelibre.net/LUISDELAFUENTE/index.htm
http://www.artistsinpastel.com/2010/03/luis-de-la-fuente.html
http://www.fineartandyou.com/2014/02/figurative-paintings-by-luis-de-la.html
http://artodyssey1.blogspot.com/2010/07/luis-de-la-fuente-nace-en-madrid-en.html?m=1

Ella Fitzgerald

Music Appreciation

Recipient of 14 Grammy Awards, a National Medal of Arts, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom, Ella Fitzgerald is considered the First Lady of Song, the Queen of Jazz, or just Lady Ella.

Born on April 25, 1917, the American jazz singer collaborated with the best in jazz such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Frank Sinatra.

Recognized as one of the greatest scat singer, Ella Fitzgerald recorded more than 200 albums and about 2,000 songs. Her first number one song was 1938's "A-Tisket, A-Tasket."

You can read more about her HERE.

Sources:

http://www.ellafitzgerald.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Fitzgerald
http://www.biography.com/people/ella-fitzgerald-9296210
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_fitzgerald_ella.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ella-fitzgerald-is-born

Alicia Brizzio

Art Appreciation

Is it possible to fall in love with a painting? I ask this because after coming across a painting of a naked girl seated and reaching for her toes, I can't stop looking. The painting is titled "Desnudo" and it's by Argentina artist Alicia Brizzio.

The self-taught artist is well recognized for her oil, acrylic and pastel techniques. You can see more of her figurative works HERE.

Retrato via artodyssey1

Desnudo via tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica

Solo Una Mujer via artodyssey1

Sources:

http://www.aliciabrizzio.com/home.html
http://aliciabrizzio.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/alicia.brizzio
https://youtu.be/kZ-847G0yug
http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/a/aliciab/
http://www.tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com/2011/05/alicia-brizzio-buenos-aires-argentina.html
http://artodyssey1.blogspot.com/2012/01/alicia-brizzio.html

Sunil Janah

Photography Appreciation

Sunil Janah was an internationally acclaimed documentary photographer known for capturing the struggles of ordinary Indian people and well-known people like Gandhi.

You can read more about Sunil Janah and view his photography HERE.

via sensor

via swarajarchive

via punjabinpictures

Sources:

http://suniljanah.org/sjanah/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunil_Janah
http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/11/the-photography-of-sunil-janah/
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/10/world/asia/sunil-janah-who-photographed-bengal-famine-dies-at-94.html?_r=0
http://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/rdv19n1/sunil.htm
http://issuu.com/ram-rahman/docs/sunil-janah-photographs
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/portraitist-of-the-nehruvian-era/article3559899.ece
https://swarajarchive.wordpress.com/art/exhibitions/previous-exhibitions/sunil-janah-exhibition/ https://rotigraphy.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/sunil-janah-passes-away/ http://punjabinpictures.blogspot.com/2006/05/punjab-1945.html
http://sensor.jkeveningmail.com/2012/07/the-photography-of-sunil-janah.html

Talantbek Chekirov

Art Appreciation

I came across Kyrgyzstan artist Talantbek Chekirov's work while visiting one of my favorite art blogs, Maher Art Gallery. What caught my attention was his photorealistic paintings of beautiful women.

Chekirov is known for his oil paintings that uses light to detail the complexity of the female form in intimate settings.

You can see more of his beautiful paintings on his Facebook page HERE.

Fortuna via designterritory

Heaven in New York via fasci-arte

Untitled via fasci-arte

Sources:

http://www.originalpaintings.com/talantbek_chekirov.htm
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Talantbek-Chekirov/485761021461031
http://www.paintinghere.org/artist/talantbek_chekirov.html
http://www.watergatestreetgallery.co.uk/artist/12436/talantbek-chekirov
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/sensual-photorealistic/
http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/talantbek-chekirov
http://artodyssey1.blogspot.com/2013/05/talantbek-chekirov.html
http://designterritory.blogspot.com/2011/01/talantbek-chekirov.html
http://maherartgallery.blogspot.com/2012/03/talantbek-chekirov-1971-kygystan.html
http://fasci-arte.blogspot.com/2014/10/talantbek-chekirov.html
http://www.kaifineart.com/2014/02/talantbek-chekirov.html

Cornell Capa

Photography Appreciation

My dad gave me his Minolta SLR camera when I was in my teens. I took it everywhere, and documented my friends and families to the point of annoyance. Uninhibited and spontaneous reactions was always my focus, because these types of images captured the natural and memorable moments.

One distinguished photographer, Cornell Capa (Kornell Friedmann) coined the phrase, "the concerned photographer," a practice of producing "images in which genuine human feeling predominates over commercial cynicism or disinterested formalism."

The Hungarian-American photographer was known for capturing memorable images such as ballerinas at a ballet school in Moscow, detainees at a Nicaraguan prison, or a Robert Kennedy campaign speech. His photography shows emotions and stories. My favorite, though, is a photo of girls sitting on the couch barefoot. One is shown massaging her aching foot, perhaps after dancing for hours in heels.

You can see more of his wonderful photographs HERE.

Cornell Capa - Bolshoi Ballet School 

Moscow (1958) via samuraipaolo 

Nicaragua Prison (1956) via prisonphotography 

Robert Kennedy campaigning in Elmira, New York, 

September 1964 via prisonphotography

Teenage girls resting feet at first formal dance 

at the Naval Armory via jessie-clayton

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_Capa
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1439737/Cornell-Capa
http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL53ZYFH
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/24/arts/design/23cnd-capa.html?_r=0
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Capa.html
http://anthonylukephotography.blogspot.com/2011/08/photographer-cornell-capa-reflects-on.html
http://blog.everlasting-star.net/2010/12/movies/misfits-in-santa-monica/
https://pleasurephoto.wordpress.com/category/cornell-capa/
http://jessie-clayton.blogspot.com/2011/10/alex-webb-antoine-dagata-cornell-capa.html
https://samuraipaolo.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/life-i-grandi-fotografi/cornell-capa-bolshoj-1958/
http://prisonphotography.org/2009/07/03/cornell-capa-concerned-about-prisons/

Alexandra Nedzvetckaya

Art Appreciation

Russian artist Alexandra Nedzvetckaya is known for her realistic oil paintings of deeply expressive women in folklore settings.

Perhaps the painting that caught my attention was her depiction of Judith and Holofernes. In the painting, Judith is shown in deep thought while holding the decapitated head of Holofernes.

In other beautiful paintings, the female is shown in dreamlike settings, such as "Sovereign of Butterflies," where the girl is shown with her eyes closed and butterflies floating above her hands.

You can see more of her beautiful work HERE.

Judith via just-art

Sovereign of Butterflies via just-art

Summer via conchigliadivenere 

Sources:

http://www.academart.com/nedzvetckaya.htm
http://www.nutcracker.com/about-mb/visual-artists
http://1siir.de/Alexandra-Nedzvetckaya.htm
http://www.picturesofbabies.net/realistic-paintings-by-alexandra-nedzvetckaya/
http://just-art.tumblr.com/post/96102073932
https://conchigliadivenere.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/alexandra-nedzvetckaya-1981-russian/

Francesca Woodman

Photography Appreciation

I started this blog a few years ago because I wanted to share appreciation for the art I came across on the internet.

Recently, I stumbled upon the work of a young artist while surfing the web, and to be honest, her beauty caught my attention. I scrolled and admired each photo that she took. The majority of them featured herself as the model, and I was so intrigued and wanted to find out more about this photographer.

Her name was Francesca Woodman, and she was best known for the black and white photos of mostly herself posing in erotic positions that held a sort of cryptic message. The American photographer was the daughter of two known artists, George and Betty Woodman. And similar to her parents she was an artist who found her passion in photography to express herself.

Unfortunately, she killed herself at the age of 22, but her work continues to garner critical acclaim and recognition. You can see more of her work HERE.

Polka Dots, Providence, Rhode Island (1976) via fansinaflashbulb

Untitled, Rome (1977-1978) via myprivatebrussels

Untitled (1975-80) via deathhour

Sources:

http://www.mariangoodman.com/artists/francesca-woodman/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesca_Woodman
http://www.artnet.com/artists/francesca-woodman/
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/aug/31/searching-for-the-real-francesca-woodman
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/francesca-woodman-10512
http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/exhibitions/past/exhibit/4432
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/arts/design/francesca-woodman-at-guggenheim-museum.html?_r=0
https://deathhour.wordpress.com/2011/09/07/francesca-woodman/
http://myprivatebrussels.com/2014/07/30/woman-the-feminist-avant-garde-of-the-1970s-francesca-woodman/
http://jadedigitalimaging.blogspot.com/2013/02/artist-francesca-woodman.html
https://fansinaflashbulb.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/recent-acquisition-francesca-woodman/