Renaissance hair!

We've all had a bad hair day (a day when our hair just doesn't look good) or bed head (when our head is messy because we just woke up from bed) or even hat hair (when our hair is messy because we had a hat on).

There are many ways to describe hair.  In this post, we will look at some types of hair and see the variety of hair styles in Renaissance portraits.   We will also learn/review some simple vocabulary.

Let's start with no hair.  A person with no hair is bald.  Here is an example:

Hair can be straight:

or curly:

or wavy (not very curly, but not straight, either):

It can be long or short:

If you have long hair, you can wear it up, or wear it down:

 or wear it in braids:

Now, it's your turn! 

Find some other portraits (ancient or modern) with interesting hairstyles.  Send me the photo and we can describe the hair style in English!

Are you feeling blue or do you see the world through rose-colored glasses?

Color is a very important element of art.  It gives meaning and influences the mood of a painting.  When we look at a painting, the colors are often the first thing we notice.

Picasso is a great example of an artist who used color to create mood and meaning in his paintings. 
We can see this in his two distinct periods: the Blue Period and the Rose Period.

Picasso's Blue Period

Picasso's Blue Period dates from 1901 to 1904.  This painting, The Old Guitarist, is a good example of his style during this time.  This painting is almost monochromatic - the artist used different shades of one color: blue.

Blue is a cool color and gives the painting a somber, almost sad feeling.  Many people believe Picasso started painting in blue after the death of his friend and that during his Blue Period the artist suffered from depression.

How does the color influence the mood and meaning of this painting? 
How does it make you feel?
What other elements contribute to the mood of this painting?

Picasso's Rose Period

Picasso's Blue Period was followed by his Rose Period.  During the Rose Period, Picasso changed to much warmer colors, mostly pink.  The subjects of his paintings also changed.  It is also said that Picasso's life started to get better during this time.

This is a good example of the Rose Period style.  It is a painting of an actor.  You can see that Picasso uses different tones of pink in this painting. 

How does this influence the mood of the painting?
How does this painting compare to the example from the Blue Period?

Color idioms

There are many idioms and phrases in English that show the relationship between color and mood.  Here are some examples.

- To feel blue: to be sad, depressed
- To see the world in rose-colored glasses: to be very positive, optimistic
- To show your true colors: to show someone who you really are
- To be green with envy: to be jealous
- To be tickled pink: to be very pleased, delighted
- To see red: to be extremely angry
- To be as white as a sheet / white as a ghost: to be very scared, frightened

 Are any of these similar to expressions in your native language?  

Can you think of any other paintings that have strong colors?  How do these colors affect the mood?

Comparatives and Leonardo

Comparatives are exactly what you think they are - words used to compare (show similarities) and contrast (show differences) between two or more things.

There are three simple rules to change an adjective (a word used to describe a person, place, or thing) into a comparative.  These rules depend on the last letter of the adjective and how long it is (how many syllables it has).

Rule 1:

   - if the adjective has only 1 syllable: add -er to the end
          examples:   old - older; fast - faster
       
       Spelling note: if the adjective ends in consonant - vowel -            consonant: double the last letter
               examples:  fat - fatter fater; big - bigger biger

Rule 2:

   - if the adjective has 2 syllables and ends in a y: change the y to i and add -er
          examples:  happy - happier

Rule 3:

  - for all other cases (adjectives with 3 or more syllables and adjectives with 2 syllables not ending in y): 
     use the word "more" before the adjective
          examples: important - more important importanter; modern - more modern moderner

Leonardo da Vinci and the two copies of The Virgin of the Rocks

Comparatives are very helpful to describe works of art.  It can be very useful (and fun) to compare works of art with the same subjects or even by the same artist.    Today, we will make a very interesting comparison: we will compare two works of art by the same artist and with the same subject!

The two paintings above are both called The Virgin of the Rocks.  They were both painted by Leonardo da Vinci.  It is very probable, however, that one painting was done by Leonardo's assistants.  The painting on the left is in the Louvre, in Paris, and the painting on the right is in the National Gallery, in London.

Can you guess which one was most likely painted by Leonardo and which was probably painted by his assistants?  Why do you think so?

There are some different interpretations about why Leonardo and his assistants painted two identical paintings.  Let's focus, however, on comparing these two works of art because they are not, in fact, identical.

First, let's identify the figures (people) in the paintings. 
      - Mary is the woman in the center.
      - Jesus is the baby on the left side of the painting (but on the right side of Mary)
      - An angel is on the right of the painting
      - St. John the Baptist is the baby sitting next to the angel on the right side of the painting

Similarities: 
    There are many similarities.  For example:
               - Both paintings have the same setting (location) of a cave. 
               - The same people are in both paintings.
               - Mary has the same hand gesture (position of her hands).

      Can you find any other similarities?

Differences:
    What differences do you see?  For example:
            - In the painting on the left, the angel is pointing (indicating with a finger).  She is not pointing in the
             painting on the right.
    
    Can you find any other differences?

Comparatives:
Use the following adjectives (and any other adjectives you can think of) to make sentences comparing these two paintings.  You can refer to the painting on the left as "the Louvre version" and the painting on the right as "the London version."

For example:  St. John the Baptist looks bigger in the London version.

          soft            beautiful        big        bright      dark     clear     natural

What did this comparison show you about these two works of art?  Do you have a better idea now of which one is the "original" - which one was painted by Leonardo (and not by his assistants)?

Turkey day!

Yesterday was Thanksgiving or, as many Americans call it, Turkey day!  Thanksgiving is a holiday where we give thanks for everything and everyone in our life.  It is also a holiday where we eat...a lot!

This infographic shows some of the main foods Americans eat on Thanksgiving (and also explains how to cook a turkey if you are interested!).  Have you ever tried any of these foods? (Click on the image to make it bigger.)

Of course, the most famous Thanksgiving food is turkey.

There are several idioms with the word "turkey".  Here are some examples:

- to quit something cold turkey: to stop doing something immediately and completely (the opposite of doing something gradually)

   Ex. My father quit smoking cold turkey.  One day he just stopped smoking completely and never smoked     

      again.

- to talk turkey: to talk about business, talk about something serious

   Ex.  We really need to solve this problem.  We need to talk turkey.

 

The turkey is usually made with stuffing, which is a mixture of bread, vegetables and soup that is placed inside the bird while it cooks in the oven. 

Here are some idioms with "stuff":

- to be stuffed: to be extremely full

    Ex. I just ate so much food! I'm stuffed!

- to stuff it: to be quiet (this is a rude term)

   Ex. She is always making me angry!  I told her to stuff it.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

When it rains, it pours.

Those of you here in Rome know that it has been raining all week.  That got me thinking about all the words and expressions we have related to rain.

Different types of rain
Rain comes in many forms.  There is light rain and heavy rain, but do you know these other words for the different types of rain?

These words all describe rain, and are in order from light to heavy.  So, a sprinkle is a very light rain, whereas a downpour is an extremely heavy rain (one that usually doesn't last very long).

- Sprinkle
- Drizzle
- Light shower
- Heavy shower
- Downpour

There are many famous paintings which show rain.   Can you describe the rain in these paintings using the vocabulary words above?

Caillebotte

Monet

Chagall

Van Gogh

Renoir

Hiroshige

Expressions with rain
Here are some common expressions with rain:
- Come rain or shine: no matter if there is rain or sunshine, in any type of weather.
         Ex: We will go to the park come rain or shine. (This means that we will go to the park regardless of
                  whether it rains or not.)
- When it rains, it pours: when one thing goes wrong, usually many things go wrong
        Ex. What a bad day!  First, I lost my keys.  Then, I missed the bus.  At work, my computer broke
                  down!  When it rains it pours!
- It's raining cats and dogs: it is raining very hard
       Ex. Wow! Look outside! It's raining cats and dogs!  I think I will stay home.
- Don't rain on my parade: Don't destroy or ruin this pleasurable moment for me.  (This expression probably orginated from a 1964 song, "Don't Rain on my Parade.")
      Sally: I got a new job in New York!
      Mary: That's great...but you know the traffic is very bad and New York is very expensive.
      Sally: Please don't rain on my parade!


Do you know any other famous paintings which show rain?  Can you think of any other expressions with rain? 

Arcimboldo teaches us some useful vocabulary

Giuseppe Arcimboldo was a sixteenth-century Italian painter.  He was born in Milan and worked as a portraitist (artist who paints images of people's faces) for the emperor Ferdinand I in Vienna.  He is most known, however, for a series of unusual paintings of faces made only of objects, like fruit, vegetables, flowers, fish and books.  Let's take a look at some of these famous portraits.  Not only are they fun to look at, but we can also use them to learn new vocabulary.

Image from edupics.com

Before we begin, let's review some vocabulary related to the parts of the face.

Can you fill in the diagram with the following words? (answers at the end of this post)
                                1. Nose
                                2. Eyebrow
                                3. Mouth
                                4. Chin
                                5. Ear
                                6. Eye
                                7. Hair








Now look at this famous portrait by Arcimboldo.  It is a painting of a man's face, made of fruit and vegetables. It is a profile (a view from the side). 

Look at the painting and the detail on the right.  Can you identify what objects are used for each of the body parts? Match the objects with the body parts. (answers at the end)

                       1.    Lips                                                              a.. Wheat
                       2.    Ear                                                               b. Peach
                       3.    Nose                                                            c. Peas
                       4.    Eyebrow                                                       d. Garlic
                       5.    Cheek (part of the face below the eye)              e. Zucchini
                       6.    Chin                                                              f.  Pear
                       7.    Teeth                                                            g. Cherries

Can you name any other fruit and vegetables you see in the painting?

Here is another painting by Arcimboldo.  This painting is considered "reversible" because you can look at it in two different ways. On the left, the painting looks like a basket of fruit.  When we turn the paining over, however, we see a portrait!  The basket becomes a hat.

Can you identify any of the fruit used in this portrait?

There are many other similar paintings by Arcimboldo.  Do you like these paintings?
Do you know any other artists who paint portraits in an unusual way?


Hope you enjoyed this post!


Answers:
1. Parts of the face: from top left corner, moving clockwise (the direction the hands on a clock move):  Eyebrow, hair, eye, nose, chin, mouth, ear
2. Matching: 1-g, 2-d, 3-e, 4-a, 5-b, 6-f, 7-c

 (images from Wikimedia Commons)

The present continuous and Baroque art

Introduction:
We use the present continuous to describe an action that is happening at the moment or that is in the process of change.

To form the present continuous:
     Be + Verb-ING

We often use the present continuous to describe actions in works of art. In this post, we will practice using the present continuous to describe actions in Baroque painting and sculpture.


Italian Baroque and the "fleeting moment"
The Baroque period in Italy began in the late 16th century.  Baroque art is very dramatic.  Artists such as  Bernini show figures in a fleeting (very quick) moment.  Imagine taking a photograph of a man running.  Your photo shows the man's legs both off the ground for a very short time.  He looks like he is flying.  The man did not stay in this position for very long.  Your photograph shows a fleeting moment - a moment that lasted for an extremely short time.  It shows the man in motion.  This is very typical of Baroque art.

A fleeting moment - The man is running.

  
Bernini

 

Gianlorenzo Bernini is one of the most famous artists from the Baroque period.  Most of his sculptures are made of marble.  Bernini was such a skillful artist that he makes the marble look soft and flexible in his works of art. 

This image is one of Bernini's most famous sculptures.  It shows Apollo and Daphne.  In this mythological story, Apollo loves Daphne and follows her, but Daphne does not want him.   She tries to escape from him by changing into a tree. 

  

      Apollo is chasing after Daphne.
      Daphne is becoming a tree.

 

                Daphne's hands are changing into leaves.         Her toenails are becoming the roots of the tree.

Here is another work of art by Bernini, his statue of David.  In this sculpture, David is fighting the giant Goliath.  We don't see Goliath, we only see David.  

Look at the sculpture from different angles.  Then describe the action in this sculpture using the present continuous.  Use the vocabulary words to help you.

   Vocabulary:
                    Sling - (n) a weapon made of a string used to throw stones
                    To spin - (v) to move in a circular motion
                    To twist - (v) to bend or turn something, changing its shape
                   

Do you know any other Baroque sculptors or painters?  Find some examples of the "fleeting moment" and practice describing the actions using the present continuous.