Jan Miense Molenaer
The Dentist, 1629
Oil on Panel
Jan Miense Molenaer was born in 1610 in Haarlem, Netherlands ("Jan Miense Molenaer: Biography Virtual Uffizi"). He was a genre Dutch painter in what is known as the Dutch Golden Age. During this time the eighty’s year war raged and the Dutch won their independence from Spain ("History of Dutch Golden Age - Holland.com"). With this came a changing of the era. New territory was being charted, trade by the east-India company thrived and war heroes were becoming national heroes. With these changes it’s no wonder the art world began to evolve too. Wealth from merchant activities combined with a lack of church attendance shifted art subjects from biblical to mundane ("History of Dutch Golden Age …show more content…
In 1845 his family moved to Normandy and his father wished for him to go into the family grocery store business but Monet wanted to become an artist ("Claude Oscar Monet Biography"). Monet entered the Le Havre secondary school of the arts in 1851 at the age of eleven. Upon his mother’s death at age sixteen Monet moved in with his aunt. Years later while he was in the military he contracted typhoid fever and his aunt got him out of the army if he agreed to complete and art course. Monet became a student of Charles Gleyre in Paris where he made several acquaintances and where he learned new approaches to art which led to impressionism ("Claude Oscar Monet …show more content…
While I do find this piece beautiful it does have a lot going on. The first thing I notice is the stunning whale in the center with its size consuming most of the piece. I’m drawn to the all different colors and techniques used as well as the materials and its sheer size. I like the fact that 2 different mediums were used; pencil and acrylic. You can see the clean lines of the pencil on what I think is a birch tree on the left, and if you look closely you can see writing. You can observe brushstrokes that are in varying color and direction making it feel whimsical. While I find this piece a bit puzzling and different none the less it is still
The Dentist, 1629
Oil on Panel
Jan Miense Molenaer was born in 1610 in Haarlem, Netherlands ("Jan Miense Molenaer: Biography Virtual Uffizi"). He was a genre Dutch painter in what is known as the Dutch Golden Age. During this time the eighty’s year war raged and the Dutch won their independence from Spain ("History of Dutch Golden Age - Holland.com"). With this came a changing of the era. New territory was being charted, trade by the east-India company thrived and war heroes were becoming national heroes. With these changes it’s no wonder the art world began to evolve too. Wealth from merchant activities combined with a lack of church attendance shifted art subjects from biblical to mundane ("History of Dutch Golden Age …show more content…
In 1845 his family moved to Normandy and his father wished for him to go into the family grocery store business but Monet wanted to become an artist ("Claude Oscar Monet Biography"). Monet entered the Le Havre secondary school of the arts in 1851 at the age of eleven. Upon his mother’s death at age sixteen Monet moved in with his aunt. Years later while he was in the military he contracted typhoid fever and his aunt got him out of the army if he agreed to complete and art course. Monet became a student of Charles Gleyre in Paris where he made several acquaintances and where he learned new approaches to art which led to impressionism ("Claude Oscar Monet …show more content…
While I do find this piece beautiful it does have a lot going on. The first thing I notice is the stunning whale in the center with its size consuming most of the piece. I’m drawn to the all different colors and techniques used as well as the materials and its sheer size. I like the fact that 2 different mediums were used; pencil and acrylic. You can see the clean lines of the pencil on what I think is a birch tree on the left, and if you look closely you can see writing. You can observe brushstrokes that are in varying color and direction making it feel whimsical. While I find this piece a bit puzzling and different none the less it is still