NATURE QUESTIONS Flashcards
Who sent the rhinoceros to who?
Sultan Muzaffar Shan II sent it as a gift to the governor of Portuguese India, who then regifted it to King Manuel I of Portugal
Who sent Dürer the letters about the rhino?
Valentin Ferdinand sent a description of the rhino he had seen in Lisbon. An unknown sender sent a sketch of the rhino he had also seen in Lisbon
What was Vishnu the god of?
War and victory and preservation
What was buried in Angkor Wat for Vishnu and what did it represent?
Gold to represent the sun and white sapphires to represent the moon
Where were the offerings to Vishnu buried?
Beneath the sanctuary tower
What is the form of Angkor Wat?
A quincunx, consisting of a sanctuary tower flanked by four prasats
What does the quincunxes represent?
The five peaks of Mount Meru, the mythical centre of the Hindu world
What does the moat around Angkor Wat symbolise?
The cosmic ocean encircling amount Meru
Who rediscovered Angkor Wat and when?
In a the 1840s, French explorer, Henri Mouhot
What Japanese concepts did Frank Lloyd Wright follow in Fallingwater?
Osamari: unity, integrity and effortless fit
What two colours did FLW use in Fallingwater?
Light ochre for the concrete and his signature Cherokee red for the steel
Who commissioned the Guggenheim Museum?
Hilla von Rebay and Solomon R Guggenheim
What did FLW say about Manhattan?
It is a “vast prison with glass fronts”
Finish the sentence: the Guggenheim was a catalyst for change, making it…
“Socially and culturally acceptable for an architect to design such a highly expressive, intensely personal museum”
What was the spiral a visual metaphor for and who said this?
William J Curtis said the spiral was a visual metaphor for “growth and change in nature”
What did FLW say about the colour red?
“Red is the colour of creation”
What did FLW say the circle represented?
Infinity
What did FLW say the spiral represented?
Organic process
What did FLW say the spire represented?
Aspiration
What did FLW say the triangle represented?
Structural unity
What did FLW say the square represented?
Integrity
What was claimed by Rousseau or his friends about his life in the jungle?
In Mexico in 1960, he served as a regimental bandsman
Where did Rousseau’s inspiration for the jungle come from?
- The botanical gardens of Paris, such as the Jardins des Plantes
-Caged animals
-Oversised plants and trees
-Prints and books
What did the Jardins des Plantes include?
Zoological galleries with taxidermy specimens of exotic animals
Which plants did Rousseau include in Surpris! That he copied from the botanical garden?
The rubber plant and the mother-in-law’s tongue plant
What quote did Louise Bourgeois make about the nature of the spider in correlation to her family?
“I came from a family of repairers. The spider is a repairer. If you bash into the web of a spider she doesn’t get mad. She weaves and repairs it”
What did Louise Bourgeois say when she feared she was unable to have children and when?
In the late 1930s, “The fear of not having children made me hysterical, it made me emotionally upset”
What date did Louise Bourgeois begin writing the word maman in her diary to mark her menstrual cycle?
8th August 1940
How was John Constable’s Hay Wain received in England and France?
It was poorly received in England as critics preferred more of a traditional style and a more ‘serious’ subject matter. Though, Constable did have success in Paris and greatly influenced Delacroix’s painterly style
Who was Constable influenced by?
Claude Lorraine, Reubens and 17th century Dutch painters
What did Edmund Burke say in his 1757 Philosophical Enquiry?
That the sublime produces the strongest emotion that the mind is capable of feeling
When was Turners final visit to Norman Castle?
1831
When was Norham Castle,e built and destroyed?
It was built in the 12th century and destroyed in 1513 by cannon fire in the civil war
Where was the asylum that Van Gogh was staying in?
Saint Remy
What did Van Gogh say in his letter to his brother, Theo, about the cypresses?
“The cypresses still occupy me, I would like to do something with them like the canvases of the sunflowers”
What did Van Gogh say in his letter to Theo about the wind?
“The wind is a devil of a mistral”…“A wind that doesn’t cheer me up”
Why did Van Gogh use individual brushstrokes?
To break up colour and “to convey his own excitement”
When did the Netherlands become independent from Spain?
1648
What happened to paintings during the Dutch Golden Age?
There was less desire for religious paintings, instead buyers wanted still life, landscape and genre paintings
Who perfected the first device known as a microscope and when?
In 1609, Galileo Galilei perfected the first device known as a microscope
Who was Rachel Ruysch’s father?
- He was a professor of anatomy and botany.
- A pharmacist
- A surgeon
- Head of the Amsterdam botanical garden
- Owned a personal collection of anatomical species called the ‘Museum Ruyschianum
What is the purpose of Vanitas still life/memento mori?
To contemplate the brevity of life and the frailty of man
Who was Rachel Ruysch’s teacher and what did he teach her?
Willelm Van Aelst taught her how to arrange a bouquet of flowers in a vase so it would look more spontaneous and less formalised
Why was Angkor Wat orientated towards the west?
It was sighted so that outside the western entrance the sun could be seen rising at the beginning of the solar year because Suryavarman’s name means ‘shield of the sun’
When did Claude Monet move to Giverny?
1883, where he lived until his death
When did Monet purchase the water garden and where was it?
In 1892, he bought a piece of land across the road from his house for an ambitious project to create a water garden
Why did Monet build the water garden?
“For the purpose of cultivating aquatic plants”
Which plants surrounded the water-lily pond?
An artful arrangement of:
Flowers, reeds, willow trees, bushes and bamboo
Which plants lined the water banks of the water-lily pond?
Poppies, agrimony, blue sage, dahlias and irises
Where did Monet get his influence for the bridge from?
Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints which he collected
What did Monet say about his water-lilies?
“It took me some time to understand my water lilies. I planted them for pleasure; I cultivated them without thinking of painting them”
Where did the water-lillies come from?
The Latour-Marliac nursery where Joseph Latour-Marliac had produced a hybrid pink water lily
What was the term referencing Japanese style and when did it come about?
‘Japonisme’, at the end of the 19th century Paris
Which poet influenced Claude Money’s water lily pond and what was the poem called?
‘The white water lily’ by Stephane Mallarmé
When was the paint tube invented?
1841
Why did Monet use small commas of pure colour?
Who was Ai Wei-Wei’s father?
His father was a famous poet who was denounced as a ‘rightist’ and was ‘re-educated through labour’ during the cultural revolution
What was the aim of the cultural revolution?
Mao aimed to strip everyone’s freedom of individuality
Explain Ai’s political stance.
Ai is a socio-political activist and has been highly critical of the Chinese Government, particularly, the government’s policies on democracy and human rights
What are Ai’s views on individuality in China?
“Modern Chinese cultural history is one that scorns the value of the individual”
What did Ai say in his tweet about individuality?
“As soon as I think that one fifth of the world’s population are still not considered individuals, I a, unable to sleep”
What did Ai say about the sunflower seeds as a snack?
“Even for the poorest people, the treat or the treasure we’d have would be the sunflower seeds in everybody’s pockets”
Discuss the team used for Wei-Wei’s sunflower seeds.
Ai used a dedicated team in Jingdezhen, the famous ‘porcelain city’, employing 1600 artisans
Who sponsored the Sunflower seeds?
‘Unilever’, a western company
What does ukiyo-e mean?
Floating world
What series is the Great Wave of Kanagawa part of and why is this significant?
‘The thirty six views of Mount Fuji’ which focuses mainly on land, though in this version the Great wave diminishes Fuji and emphasises water rather than land
What training did Hokusai have?
- At 16, he was apprenticed as an engraver, which he did for 3 years
- At 18, he was an apprentice for Katsukawa Shunsō, one of the leading ukiyo-e artists of the time
When did Hokusai produce the Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji?
After the death of his wife and loss of all his money due to his grandson’s gambling
What did Mount Fuji represent?
During the edo period, Mount Fuji was a symbol of religious devotion, it was considered secret to Buddhist and Shinto faiths
Explain the socio economic status of Japan at the time Hokusai produced his ‘Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji’
Since the ban on trade was lifted in 1720, Japan had more interactions with the Europeans. Hokusai was responding to the boom in tourism, where woodblock prints were purchased as souvenirs
What did trade between Europe and Japan allow for?
Prussian blue was imported. It was a synthetic dye invented in Germany, which quickly became popular in Japan through the trading of textiles and ceramics
What are the narrow boats in The Great Wave of Kanagawa called?
Oshiokuri-brune which means high speed skiffs
What are oshiokuri-brune boats used for?
To take the spring catch of bonito fish to Edo’s fish market
What is the wave in Hokusai’s Great Wave called?
A plunging breaker wave
What was Richard Long’s South Bank Circle made for?
Long’s retrospective at the Hayward Gallery at The South Bank Centre in London
What material is used for South Bank Circle?
The delabole slate comes from the Delabole quarry in Cornwall, where it was roughly cut to retain as much of its natural characteristics as possible
What does Richard Long base much of his work on?
Walks made outdoors in nature. He often made arrangements using objects he encountered on his walks, bringing elements like: sticks and stones into his works since the late 1960s
What is the significance of the use of stone in South bank circle?
Stone is one of the earliest materials used by man to fashion tools, create monuments and to mark territory.
What did Richard Long say about his preferred material, stone?
“I like the idea that stones are what the world is made of”
What is the historical background of stones (southbank circle)
Ancient civilisations have created structures like stone circles and designed paths on which walking was part of ritual activity
What did Long say about British landscapes?
“It’s my home landscape and I find it very rich”
What do Long’s own personal experiences have in common with?
Zen Buddhism’s concept of ‘now-ness’ and being in the moment
How does Long take inspiration from his study of the Theory of Relativity?
The configuration of subatomic particles coincides with the thinnest and smallest stones being placed within the work and not around the edge
What did Long say about the relationship between man and nature in his works?
‘You could say my work is… a balance between the patterns of nature and the formalism of human, abstract ideas like circles and lines’
What is the scale of South bank circle?
Nearly two metres in diameter, composed of 168 pieces of slate lying close together
What was the 1840s described as?
A period of ‘railway mania’
Explain Turner’s recognition of the sublime.
In the sublime great fear is accompanied by great exhilaration
Who studied the sublime and what did the study entail?
The sublime was studied in Edmund Burke’s 1757 Philosophical enquiry which connected the sublime with experiences of awe, terror, and danger
What did Ruskin say about Turner?
An unreliable anecdote by Ruskin records the origins of the picture as a train ride during a storm, during which Turner supposedly stuck his head out of the window. Excited as ever by strong emotions, Turner then replicated this experience in paint
Where is Rain, steam and speed set?
The bridge is Maidenhead viaduct across the Thames between Taplow and Maidenhead, on the newly laid Great Western line to Bristol and Exeter
What is the bridge on the left in Rain Steam and Speed?
Taylor’s road bridge, which Turner actually distorted the shape of to include in the painting
Which artist was Turner influenced by in Rain, Steam and speed and how is this shown?
Claude Monet
- the diagonal recession to a vanishing point
- the dancing female figures
Which small details contrast between the old rural England and the new industrial England in Rain, Steam and Speed?
- Slower form of transport - a skiff - in contrast with the hurtling train
- A farmer ploughing in the fields to reinforce the shift in countryside landscape
- A hare to emphasises the speed of the train due to the hares natural fast speed
What does Bathers at Asnierès portray?
It portrays a popular bathing spot on the left bank of the Seine, near two bridges that cross the river between Asnières and Clichy
What happened socially as Seurat worked on Bathers at Asnières?
Urban development was proceeding at a rapid pace. The population of Paris had doubled from 1million to 2million between 1850 and 1877 due to a flood of working class people being pushed to the suburbs
What was Seurat’s political view?
Seurat was a neo-impressionist, aiming to be more lyrical and carefree than politically provocative
Who does Seurat aim to represent in Bathers at Asnières?
He is trying to focus on the ‘Great social struggle’ taking place in France between the workers and the capital, choosing to represent those of the working class rather than the upper class which dominated Paris at the time
What techniques did Seurat use in Bathers at Asnières?
He used a new style of flat brush which enabled him to develop the balayé technique, where paint is applied in a criss-cross formation, which suggests a flickering play of light
Which technique did Seurat later use?
Pointillism, to rework certain areas of the painting. Pointillism was a new method of painting where small dots of colour were applied onto the canvas which are naturally blended by the human eye when viewed from a distance
Give an example of pointillism?
Dots of pure red and blue are placed next to each other to produce purple when viewed from a distance
What was the other version of Bathers at Asnières that Seurat painted?
‘La Jette’, where instead he focuses on the more affluent middle class rather than few working class
Which old master did Seurat reference in Bathers at Asnières?
Piero della Francesca, through the poses of the inhabitants on the riverbank
What is a Line made by walking?
One long straight line made by the artists feet repeatedly walking back and forth over the same path until the flattened grass could capture sunlight and would be visible by photograph
What was Richard Long doing at the time he made ‘A line made by waking’?
He was a student at Central Saint Martins School of Art
How did Long choose the location for A Line Made by Walking?
He took a random train from London Waterloo going South West, where he arrived in Wiltshire
Discuss the social context behind a Line Made By Walking.
The 1960s was a period of ecology and conservation, where people became more cautious of their environmental impacts
What did Long say about his love for the British landscape?
“It is my home landscape and I find it very rich”
Who does Long take inspiration from in ‘A line made by walking’?
He has links to romanticism and takes inspiration from Capability Brown, who was Britain’s most famous landscape designer of the 18th century
Discuss the religious links to ‘A line made by walking’.
Walking has links to religious rituals
- Christianity: Pilgrims way
- Taoism: The Great Way
What did Richard Long say about his love for walking?
“I have the most sublime or profound feelings when I am walking, or touching materials in natural places”
What is written at the bottom of ‘A line made by walking’?
‘A line made by walking…England 1967’
