Art History Quotes

“only assume that his royal patrons were happy for Velázquez to include himself in this family portrait – he is certainly one of the dominant figures, the King and Queen being seen only as reflections in the mirrors at the centre of the back wall.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“We can”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“In this painting the artist has become more dominant than his subjects,”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“It is really a portrait of the family of King Philip IV of Spain, and it was only in a catalogue of the royal collection of pictures written in 1843 by Pedro de Madrazo that the title Las Meninas (which means ‘The Ladies in Waiting’) was given to the work.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“and placing emphasis on the kinds of values that a male-dominated society and culture wants to read about and wants to see in the works themselves.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“Here, as in most of art history, ‘International’ refers only to the West, and in this particular case to Europe since America was not really known about when this work was made.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“The pattern-like quality of the picture surface, together with the opulent materials and the flatness of the image (there are no illusions of space or depth in this painting), are all characteristics of a mode of painting known as International Gothic.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“fabric.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“Secondly, the decorative effect of Gentile’s painting as a whole adds much to the luxurious feel of the picture. If you look at it quickly, the background, foreground, and all the figures seem to form a rich pattern across the picture rather like a woven”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“Florentine merchants, we know they were keen patrons across several generations. (There is another Strozzi Altarpiece showing Christ enthroned with the Virgin and saints by Orcagna [Andrea di Cione] dated 1357, which remains in its original setting in Santa Maria Novella in Florence.)”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“In the case of the Strozzi family, who were wealthy”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“the patron must have been wealthy enough to afford these expensive materials – we know that paintings such as these were seen as symbols of wealth since in the contracts between artists and patrons there were often clauses stating how much gold and semi-precious pigments were to be used.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“and semi-precious stones like lapis lazuli, which were ground up to make the rich blue that is so dominant in the picture – tells us a great deal.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“its ornate gilded frame it presented a magical image, lit by candlelight in the family chapel.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“An abundance of gold leaf and rich colours enhance the jewel-like appearance of the altarpiece.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“Although the work dates from the Early Renaissance, Gentile shows an affinity with these older traditions in his style and materials, which implies there are not such clear breaks between one artistic period and the next.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“The close relationship between the patron and the painting might lead us to question what this image was for.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“Interestingly, in this case the artist comes a distinct third, showing how less famous artists can be sidelined as other preoccupations in the writing of art history come to the fore.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“The second issue this picture raises is the idea of the patron – the painting has two titles: one describes the subject matter, the other refers to the family who commissioned it.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“Looking at a work of art in a gallery can place emphasis on the physical characteristics of the work itself,”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“Usually the different rooms of a gallery follow a chronological sequence, perhaps subdivided into categories, styles, or subject matter. So our primary evidence for art history – the work itself – is presented out of its original context.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“presented by a gallery.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“This relocation of the picture raises an important issue when looking at works of art – quite often they are no longer in their original location, and we see them as part of a historical sequence”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“The first is Gentile da Fabriano’s Adoration of the Magi (Fig. 5), also known as the Strozzi Altarpiece. The painting is now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, but originally it was an altarpiece in the Strozzi family chapel in Santa Trinità, Florence.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“as well as in Italy”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“we must not forget the discovery of perspective in the Renaissance period in northern Europe”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“Through the emphasis on the everyday, mass consumption, and experience visual culture does concentrate mainly on the study of modernity – in this case the world in the post-World War II era.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“Take John Constable’s The Cornfield (1826; Fig. 4). A recent exhibition of this work held at the National Gallery in London showed how this revered image of the English countryside has been used on a range of items such as biscuit tins and calendars, as well as for posters and prints.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“The history of an individual work is contained within itself and can be found in the answers to the questions who, what, when, and how.”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever Keats”
― Dana Arnold, Art History: A Very Short Introduction