I did not receive a strong art education while growing up. My friend and art teacher gave me a copy of E.H. Gombrich’s “The Story of Art” as a starting point. So I created this publication to share the most interesting takeaways I learned from Gombrich’s chapters.
So what is art? According to Gombrich, “there really is no such thing as Art. There are only artists.” Artists are people that want to make beautiful art. However, “the trouble with beauty is that tastes and standards of what is beautiful vary so much” Gombrich explains.
My main takeaway from Gombrich’s introduction chapter is that art and artists are as diverse as people are- which means there’s often contradicting and conflicting opinions on what art is or should be.
Real versus Ideal: Some people feel “real” art- art that resembles and reflects reality is the most beautiful. Other people like to see things in their ideal form.
Caravaggio, Saint Matthew, 1602 (First submission)
For example, Caravaggio was a bold and revolutionary Italian painter that was commissioned to paint a picture of St Matthew writing the gospel with the help of an Angel for the altar of a church in Rome. His first draft was considered a scandal! Caravaggio imagined what an elderly, poor, working man chosen to be a saint and having to write the holy scripture must look like. He painted an old bald man with dirty feet being carefully guided by an Angel the way teachers teaches school students. The church was really angry at him for his “lack of respect” for the saint. He had to redo it.
Caravaggio, Saint Matthew, 1602 (Accepted Submission)
Caravaggio learned his lesson and made his work “better” the second time around. He stuck with conventional ideas of what an angel and a saint should look like, kept their angel-human distance further apart, and made sure the scripture work are taken much more seriously. He made another beautiful picture that was accepted by the church.
Which one is better and more “authentic” is still debated today by different people with strong conflicting opinions on what is the right way to do and judge art.
Detailed versus Simplified: Some people like to see more details (e.g. paintings should be like a picture) as true artistry. Other people think great art should be able to capture the essence of the picture in fewer strokes.
Albrecht Dürer, Hare, 1502 [Albertina, Vienna]
For example, Dürer’s watercolor and gouache painting of a rabbit is one of the most famous examples of a picture made with lots of details. The hair looks very realistic, the whiskers are pointy, the fur is fluffy in all the right places.
Rembrandt Van Rijn, Elephant, 1637 [Albertina, Vienna]
In contrast, Rembrandt made a wrinkly Elephant with black chalk with a lot less detail. Some people love it and think it’s brilliant how he captures the Elephant’s character with so few lines. Other people are offended that it’s not “real” or good enough.
And a Cartoon! There are also some people, like myself, who really love cartoons and are excited to discover how playful cartoon made it’s way into prominent “A”rt History too.
Pablo Picasso, Cockerel, 1938
My favorite discovery in the intro is the fact that Disney pre-dates Picasso’s funny cartoon chicken! Disney (1923) is famous for making so many amazing cartoons. Disney work was not considered “A”rt because it’s clearly not “real”, have too many exaggerations, and are for children instead of sophisticated “A”dults. Too bad Picasso was already famous and accepted as one of the most influential “A”rtist of his time. In 1938, Picasso made a really funny cartoon chicken. And Picasso also happened to incorporate cartoon inspirations in kicking off the Cubist movement- which is still celebrated as incredible “A”rt by many today!
It’s important to note that Gombrich acknowledged that the idea “Art with a capital A has no existence.” I’m interpreting that as art is as accessible as anyone that wants to engage with it. =)