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Benjamin West's St. Paul Shaking the Viper from his Hand After the Shipwreck: Altarpiece of 1789 and Designs for Other Decorative Works in the Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul, The Royal Naval College, London
This thesis analyzes Benjamin West's altarpiece St. Paul Shaking the Viper from His Hand After the Shipwreck and his designs for thirty-three related artworks in the Royal Naval College Chapel, Greenwich, England, as a synthesis of the major influences in his life and as an example of both traditional and innovative themes in his artistic style of the late eighteenth century. This study examines West's life, the Greenwich Chapel history, altarpiece and decorative scheme, and concludes that the designs are an example of West's stylistic flexibility and are related thematically to his Windsor Royal Chapel commission.
Mark Di Suvero's Sculpture: From the Found-Object Sculpture of the Nineteen Sixties to the Monumental Sculpture of the Nineteen Eighties, A Study in Continuity
This thesis analyzes technical and stylistic aspects of Mark di Suvero's nineteen sixties found-object works, and his monumental I-beam sculptures of the nineteen seventies and eighties to demonstrate their consistency despite the apparent contrasts in form, materials, and process. Primary data, sculpture of Mark di Suvero. Secondary data obtained from major art periodicals, newspapers, and exhibition catalogs. The artist was interviewed by author at the retrospective exhibition in Nice, France, Septermber, 17, 1991. Examination of primary and secondary data reveals a strong continuity by the artist in his approach to his work despite obvious external changes in materials and process.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder's Apocalyptic Fortitude
This thesis examines Pieter Bruegel the Elder's Fortitude, 1560, a print from the Seven Virtues series. Fortitude stands out as an anomaly within the cycle because it contains several allusions to the Book of Revelation. The linkage of Fortitude to the writings of St. John is important because it challenges previous iconographic and iconological analyses of the composition. Analysis of Fortitude's compositional elements is provided, along with an examination of the virtue tradition. Additionally, an exploration of sixteenth-century apocalypticism is included, as well as an examination of the artistic influences that may have inspired Bruegel. This thesis concludes that Fortitude's apocalyptic allusions do not seem unusual for an artist familiar with St. John's prophecies, influenced by Hieronymus Bosch, and living in an age of apocalypticism.
Southern Genre Painting and Illustration from 1830 to 1890
The purpose of this thesis is to give a concise view of stylistic, iconographical, and iconological trends in Southern genre paintings and illustrations between 1830 and 1890 by native Southern artists and artists who lived at least ten years in the South. Exploration of artworks was accomplished by compiling as many artworks as possible per decade, separating each decade by dominant trends in subject matter, and researching to determine political and/or social implications associated with and affecting each image. Historical documents and the findings of other scholars revealed that many artworks carried political overtones reflecting the dominant thought of the white ruling class during the period while the significance and interpretation of other artworks was achieved by studying dominant personal beliefs and social practices.
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