The first piece in this gallery is Wheat field with Cypresses by Vincent van Gogh. It is Oil paint on canvas, the brush strokes are always curved to give a sense of depth. And the colors Van Gogh used complement each other, and this gives the viewer a sense of reminiscence. Van Gogh was skilled at using nontraditional brush strokes to invoke the presence of objects. The next piece I have is Haystacks by Claude Monet. This is a scene of a field during the winter months near where Monet lived. Monet used shadowing to give the painting its depth. The shadowing gives the viewer the impression that it is late in the winter and the light blues used give the sense of snow falling and the cold temperatures. The next is La Orana Maria by Paul Gauguin. Created in 1891, this piece depicts a Polynesian scene. There is sharp contrast in this piece from the bright colors on the women’s dresses to the dark looming mountains in the background. This next piece is titled Salome by Henri Regnault. This portrait of Salome was long considered a masterpiece. Created in 1870, this is a representation of the biblical woman known for her seductiveness. The use of color gives the appearance of her wearing a gold dress, and the contrast of her curly black hair. There is not a lot of motion given the nature of portraits, but the eye is drawn to her face first because of the color contrast with her hair and the gold background. The last piece in this gallery is Aristotle with a Bust of Homer by Rembrandt. Created in 1653 this piece shows Aristotle looking contemplative with his hand rested atop the bust of the great poet Homer. The negative space on the canvas is filled with black to give the appearance of a dimly lit room. The eyes are drawn to Aristotle’s flowing attire and jewelry. The shadowing also give the appearance of the light source originating from the left of where the viewer is standing.
