Tate Britain Museum Assignment

Tate Britain

John Singer Sargent, Carnation, Lily, Lily Rose

1885, American Impressionism/Realism

 Sargent uses an array of colors to capture the fleeting light of dusk on a summer night. While he uses warm colors such as a deep red and soft pink for the flowers, they, along with the grass and trees, seem to have a cool blue/green overlay. This cool veil gives the sense of the imminent night. Sargent contrasts the cool, more subdued colors with the warm, almost florescent oranges and yellows of the Japanese lanterns. The lines are quite realistic and pay particular attention to detail.

I think that this might be celebrating the carefree spirit of children and their appreciation with life’s simple pleasures. It allows the viewers to think back to their own childhoods and perhaps to contemplate what was most important to them at that age. The artist may also have painted these two sisters to emphasize the importance of family and spending time together.

Sargent met Claude Monet in France and used his open-air technique to create this painting. I was surprised to find out that Sargent carefully planned out and staged the subject matter before actually painting it. The two girls, who are the daughters of the illustrator Frederick Barnard, were given specially designed dresses to wear as they posed. Sargent also brought in many real and fake flowers to the scene to add more color.

Hampton Court

We had a 2 minute moment of silence as we were entering Hampton Court today in honor of Remembrance Day and the sacrifices made by those involved in war. I am very impressed with how much respect is shown for the armed forces and civilians in war. People all over the city can be seen with a small paper poppy pinned to their shirt to show respect.

Hamton Court was a palace owned by King Henry VIII and was later expanded by William III. It was pouring rain so we didn’t get to go out into the gardens and mazes which I was very disappointed about.

Luckily I got one shot underneath a cloister with the formal garden in this courtyard. I also toured King Henry’s apartments and kitchens and some of the grand apartments which were cool. They all had great views of the gardens outside so I got some pictures of what they might have seen looking out the windows.

Natural History

Today for biology we visited the Natural History Museum and learned about the evolution of man. I learned a lot about the Neanderthal people that I didn’t know before. Scientists have recently studied the DNA of Neanderthals and found that there is no genetic link between Neanderthal and modern humans. It is likely that we had a common ancestor but we have no direct link to them. I also found it very interesting that they buried their dead and probably had some sort of belief in an afterlife.

After the evolution exhibit Laura, Catherine, and I explored the rest of the museum and saw a life size model of a blue whale. It was huuuuuge! There were lots of darling school children there venturing through as well. I love their uniforms. I felt like I learned a lot here and definitely want to come back to see the other exhibits.

Le Coup de Foudre...Paris

I titled this essay Le Coup de Foudre, which is a phrase the French use to say “Love at first sight.” That’s how it happened for France and me. One look and I was completely captivated. This essay shows two very different views of this beautiful country: the naturalistic landscapes of  Versailles and the juxtaposition of nature and humanity in the city of Paris.

The Queen’s Hamlet was a miniature village built within the gardens of Versailles as a retreat for Marie Antoinette in the 1780s. It is said that Marie Antoinette and her servants would go there and dress up as milkmaids and peasants to escape the formalities of the court.  I loved the charm of this little village and the story behind it.

It was such an enchanting little village, I couldn’t get myself to leave. It made me think about the places I go to get away from the normal pace of life. I think it is incredible that she was able to build her very own make-believe town where she could pretend she was something she was not for a while. I think I did that Just that as I strolled past what felt like fairy tale cottages. 

I was so drawn to all of the tall trees in the gardens of Versailles. I loved how they are perfectly lined up in a straight line but their individual branches still twist and wind in their own directions; they still

have their individuality. 

I was going for a walk at sunset and just had to stop to take a picture of the Eiffel tower and the bridge over the Seine. The yellow reflections of the lights made great complimentary reflections on the blue water. The purples and pinks of the sky were breathtaking.

One morning as I walked to our new hotel, I spotted the Eiffel tower in the distance. I loved the hazy effect the clouds had on the structure. It was neat to see the trees stand out as darker, bolder images, and have the tower as more of an afterthought in the background. It reminded of the concept we talked about in class where nature is dwelling alongside the structures of man and will eventually overtake them. I used a sepia tone effect that emphasized the stark contrast between the light shades of the sky and Eiffel Tower and the dark branches of the trees.

This picture of the Eiffel Tower really captures grandeur of the structure at night. There was actually a tree in the bottom left-hand corner of the frame but it didn’t show up in the picture. Unlike the previous picture of the tower in the morning, this picture emphasizes the power of man and the way we dominate nature.

Stonehenge & Stourhead

This was one of my favorite day trips our group has taken so far. We first stopped at Stonehenge. It is one of those sites you hear about all your life so actually seeing it in person was a cool feeling. I was surprised at how close it was to the freeway and modern life. I imagined it to be off in some remote field but as the town has just been built up and around this famous site.

Stourhead was the next stop on the agenda. It is a beautiful landscape garden designed by Capability Brown. The pond was unbelievably placid and the colors of the scenery was unreal. It provided for some great drawings in my sketchbook.

London Lanscapes...Up Close

For the country walk and Hyde Park visits, I decided to focus on close-up details of the landscape. I often find that when I am taking pictures of vast landscapes or large structures, I overlook the little treasures that make up the bigger picture.  I tried to be mindful of the beauty that was under my feet or right by my side and feel that I was able to capture some of the vividness of these small pieces of nature.

I was very drawn to the bright colors of all of the flowers.  I positioned the pink flower off-center and in focus so almost everything in front and behind was not in focus. I think it puts a nice emphasis on the flower. 

The purple flowers were growing on vines on a stone wall and caught my eye with the odd-numbered petals on the flowers and leaves, which I find aesthetically pleasing. I also loved the blue flowers as I have never seen a flower with that color before.

I love the how the dew of the morning was captured in the drops of water on the leaves that covered an entire field on the country walk. 

This autumn leaf is one of my favorite photographs. Fall is such an amazing season; the smell of the leaves, the colors, the crisp air. I lay down on the grass and I was amazed at how well my little camera was able to capture such rich color. I like the shadows on the grass and the red-green contrast between the leaf and the grass.

I thought the landscape design of this little cottage was very charming. In these photographs, I tried to portray the cottage through a passerby’s point of view. When I look at them I feel as though I have been strolling down the cobblestone road and have just stopped to peer through the garden vines to see the cottage. I feel like they are both very

inviting pictures for the viewer.

This photograph was taken as I was running to the train station after the country walk. At first glance I was frustrated because the gorgeous colored leaves were blurry. As I continued to look at it, however, I couldn’t help but like something about it. The blur effect gives the subject a sort of movement quality that feels like the quick passing of time. It reminds me of the fleeting autumns in Utah with their vibrant colors that, all too quickly, fade and fall to the ground, only to be covered by snow.

Stratford Upon Avon

I loved our visit to Stratford Upon Avon. It was so fun to see all of these old farms and cottages and be able to associate them with Shakespeare. I feel like I put him on a pedestal sometimes and forget that he grew up in normal circumstances. It was neat to see the reenactments and to try to imagine what Shakespeare's childhood might have been like.

These pictures were taken at Mary Arden's farm, Shakespeare's mother's birthplace. They had a meal reenactment inside where we learned about where everyone would sit and what the workers' lives would have been like.

Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway, had a cottage with beautiful gardens and a charming ambiance. While walking through some of the rooms in the house I learned that the people of that time were very superstitious. They made their beds short so you couldn't lay completely flat. They thought you looked dead if you laid straight on your back and brought bad luck.

Shakespeare lived in this Tudor house until he was about ten-years-old. There was a strange man inside the window seal dressed in black reciting soliloquies from Hamlet. He was quite passionate about it, he really gave my Hamlet performance a run for its money.