Chapters 10 & 11

The above is a Wood Engraving by Albrecht Durer titled "Madonna crowned by an Angel." For this technique, artists take a piece of wood and etch a design/picture against the grain of the wood, also a type of relief.  Notably, Durer was heavily influenced by his trips to study art in Italy where he gained a great appreciation for artists work such as Raphael and da Vinci.  His wood engravings reflected this influence an were much more detailed than traditional German wood engravings.  This detail can be seen above, especially in the mother, child, and angels attributes.

The artist Jess (Collins) is most known for his Collages where pieces of various materials (i.e. cloth, photographs, leaves, etc.) are brought together on one surface to make a new piece of art.  Jess was greatly influenced by his previous work as a chemist during World War II as he worked on The Manhattan Project. The above collage is titled "The Mouse's Tale" which explores the contradictory perspectives at a chemical refinery.

Kathe Kollwitz created the above Woodcut titled "Hunger."  Woodcuts are a relief printmaking process where the artist etches a design/painting into a piece of wood, leaving the design raised.  Kollwitz's passion was to bring light to human suffering especially poverty, hunger, and the tragedies of war.  She was most inspired by The Peasant War and World War I as she lived in Germany and was a first hand witness to these events.  Here here woodcut "Hunger" creates a ghostly perspective of hunger during the Peasant War.

"The Studio" by Jacob Lawrence is a good example of the painting style of Gouache.  This technique uses a more opaque watercolor paint which artists create by adding a gum/glue substance to watercolor paint.  Lawrence was heavily influenced by Harlem where he grew up and developed his passion for art.  Here he was enrolled in art school as a young child through his adolescence.  The Harlem influence can be felt through the use of bright bold colors and the city scene in the background.

Jackson Pollock is well know for his drip style of painting using Oil Paint such as the above painting titled "Free Form."  Oil paint is a painting medium that is thick, opaque paint that yields a shine when dry; however, the paint takes longer to dry.  Pollock painted on unstretched canvas which he placed on the floor instead of a traditional easel.  It is believe he learned this style from the Native American tribes of Arizona and California where he spent a great deal of his time as a child and as an adult by observing their sand painting technique.  He danced around the canvas spattering paint from every angle often times using unconventional applicators such as tree branches instead of paint brushes.

Charles Burchfield explored Watercolor paint mediums with the above painting titled "In May."  Watercolor is another painting medium using water and gum arabic and is much more transparent and quick drying than oil paint. Burchfield was inspired by his favorite authors who wrote about nature such as Henry David Thoreau.  Many of his pieces are based around nature and landscapes.