Shadow & Light (After Homage)
ARTH 365: Studies in 17th and 18th Century Art and Architecture
2 December 2022 - 9 January 2023
Coordinated by Caroline DeFrias
Students in the fall 2022 semester course “Studies in 17th and 18th Century Art and Architecture” took their considerations of the course’s artists, artistic movements and techniques from theoretical examinations to engaged practice by creating pieces inspired by the material covered in this course. The students engaged the tactical, sensual and human dimensions of art production by trying their hand at chiaroscuro, tenebrism, and working within the visual language of movements from these periods to create beautiful and dynamic scenes inspired by works popular in Europe from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Art is a powerful tool for investigation and understanding. There is something remarkable to be found not simply in studying a work of art, an artist, a style, or movement, but in trying one’s hand at these techniques. What can we learn about our own period when we speak of the present in a visual language from another time? Students from “Studies in 17th and 18th Century Art and Architecture” invite you to share in their explorations—and perhaps try your own later—to see what we can further learn and appreciate from 17th and 18th Century Art History.
The medium, style, and influence taken by was the personal choice of the student, the only requirement was that the work fit within the Vitrine space with room enough for others, and engage course material.
Exhibition view
Amelia Palidwor, Study of Vermeer’s Woman Reading a Letter, 2022.
"Vermeer’s ‘woman reading a letter’ is a beautiful example of Vermeer’s mastery of light. I was inspired by the limited palette of yellows and blues in the original work."
Étienne Martin, Mon Rococo, 2022.
Lily McGillivray-Griswold, Untitled (Portrait Study of a Woman), 2022. "A portrait study of woman in oil, on a wood panel, emulating portrait framing and style
from painters Peter Paul Reubens and Anthony Van Dyck."
Freya Rothery, The Plucking of the Brow, 2022. "In this oil painting, I use the techniques mastered by Caravaggio to explore how chiaroscuro can create a bold and dramatic composition out of one of life’s seemingly mundane moments – in this instance plucking someone’s eyebrow. My goal is to use a single source of light and an unexpected perspective to give it an almost monumental quality that fills the frame."
Russell Banx, In the Cave, 2022. "This Lithography print is influenced by Georges de La Tour’s The Penitent Magdalen from 1640. Since diving deeper into Carravaggism, I have discovered how my work is influenced by the sense of composition and light. The skillful use of soft light conveys such a tender quality. In this lithography drawing, I intentionally thought about using a single light source to create an intimate moment between two people."
Vlada Vdovina, Into the Looking Glass, or, 21st Century Privacy, 2022.