I have always felt that painting is one of the most expressive and beautiful forms of art, particularly those of painters of the past. Painters have the ability to alter the way we see physical forms, and the way our brains comprehend the world. I have selected four of my personal favorites- painters I have studied in school through the fine arts department here at UCONN, which is a fabulous program full of wonderful course selections. Each painter was innovative for his time, and perfected techniques that were exemplary of his movement then, and still are today.
Innovative Painters:
Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890):
A painter with some of the most recognizable works in the art world, Vincent Van Gogh was an elemental force of Impressionist art. Contained in this site are links to any and all Van Gogh works, from letters to sketches and paintings. His biography details the life of an artist in a perpetual state of self-torment, who died penniless. Sad, but intriguing.
Claude Monet (1840-1926):
Claude Monet was an archetypal Impressionist painter. Throughout his career, he demonstrated an unwavering devotion to the ideals of the Impressionist movement. This site is dedicated soley to Monet's life. Due to the length of his life and his number of accomplishments, his biography is documented in the form of an accurate timeline. All information is provided in both English and French.
Henry Matisse (1869-1954):
This site regards Matisse "...as one of the great formative figures in 20th-century art, a master of the use of color and form to convey emotional expression." The biography is a true "praise-piece," and the works of Matisse are neatly catalogued in a list beside the essay.Other Art Links:
Like painters, film directors also hold our impressionable minds in their hands. Their art is so intricate and complex, that they, too, have become a favorite of mine. Film directors play one of the most important roles in a movie, even more so than the actors. The director provides the primary "voice" for a film, and guides it into what we see on the silver screen. Directors have to power to change the way we see the world. Their influence is so powerful that it was extremely difficult to select only four directors. However, the chosen few shown here are acclaimed masters of cinema, geniuses in many respects, and have helped to shape society and culture.
Acclaimed Directors (in alphabetical order):
Tim Burton (1985- ): Tim Burton is one of Hollywood's wildest, most imaginative comic-strip visualists. His style as a director is as unique as some of the characters he uses. He has directed such films as: "Beetljuice" (1988), "Batman" (1989), "Edward Scissorhands" (1990), and "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993). This site details his films, with bits of personal information scattered throughout it. It includes links to an extensive picture gallery, articles, and, my personal favorite, multimedia.
Francis Ford Coppola (1939- ): The most notable Italian-American director in film history, Francis Ford Coppola is best known for revolutionary cultural and historical movies. "The Godfather" trilogy is one of his best known accomplishments (1972, 1974, 1990). Other successful films include: "Apocalypse Now" (1979) and "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992). The Coppola website details these successes and much more. It does not include much personal data about him, but what it lacks in that department, it makes up for in links. One link will take the user to a longer, more detailed, biography of Coppola. The filmography link is extensive and user friendly.
Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980): Known for his distinct profile, Hitchcock is hailed as the British master of manipulative terror and suspense thrillers. He has done everything from books to television to films, but is best known for his flare for movie mysteries. Everyone remembers "Psycho" (1960), and "The Birds" (1963). Psycho remains to be a movie-store favorite, and was remade in 1999. Hitchcock also directed the screenplay of acclaimed book Rebecca (1940). This Hitchcock page introduces the master himself with just a few brief, but informative, paragraphs, and provides links to other links, his biography, movies, and a picture gallery.
Steven Spielberg (1946- ): Steven Spielberg is, by far, the most commercially successful producer/director of Hollywood blockbusters, and it is not hard to see why! When Spielberg lends his creative genius to the screen, history is made. "Schindler's List", a 1993 film, won many awards for its artistic depiction of the Holocaust. "Jaws" (1975) turned water-lovers into land-dwellers, and "Jurassic Park" (1993) tuned audiences everywhere on to the wonderful world of genetic cloning. This site claims to be the "one-stop source for finding Steven Spielberg," and has every reason to boast. All information is one click away, which includes book-buys from Amazon.com.
Allison Stockwell
November 9, 2001