SuMMER SCHOOL 2011
On the first day of the spring school we chose works of art to base our animations on. The Courtauld Gallery curators helped us find out about the paintings then we did research using books from the library and the internet. All the way through the course we were helped by our tutors, Esteban Gitton and Alice Odin.
These are the paintings we chose:
Claude Monet, Antibes, 1888
Cartoon Monet
Ismael and Patrick
We chose this painting because it had depth to it. We also liked this painting because it had lots of textures including the sand, the sea, the tree and the mountains. Also the vibrant colours used to emphasise the beautiful vision of the Mediterranean.
We found out the name was Cap d’Antibes, which in translation means ‘the edge of Antibes’. Antibes is on the edge of France so we knew we were looking at the Mediterranean, because of this we knew that the tree was a Mediterranean Pine Tree and the rocks are Pink Rocks. We also found out that when the painting was x-rayed it showed a more windy and less peaceful environment.
While researching we saw a photograph of Claude Monet and we wanted to make him into a cartoon character as he had very recognisable features like his beard. Before the Mediterranean was a sea it was just a patch of land, so we wanted to show this. Also, because Monet was one of the founders of Impressionism, he was one of the first to start painting outdoors, which before his time was unusual.
Our animation is about the growth of life, and about Monet finding the location of his masterpiece.
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Mariotto Albertinelli, Creation and Fall of Man, 1513 - 1514
The Creation & Fall of Man
Dwight,
Billy and
Domingos
We chose this work because of the character of nature in the painting and its interesting details. We really liked the background of the painting too.
While doing the research, we found out that this panel was probably part of two or maybe three other panels and made in a workshop in the Renaissance era in Italy.
There are three different parts in our animation, which correspond to three parts of the painting. We’ve also illustrated that the work was done in a workshop with different artists painting the panel as well as the background sound. Our animation relates the story of the painting, going from the left to the right of the panel.
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Edgar Degas, Two Dancers on a Stage, c. 1874
Two Dancers on a Stage
Antoanet and Kim
We liked the dancers and they made us think about music and movement. We liked the texture and the colours. We thought there was a lot of scope for experimenting with the angles and space. The composition shows action through the central focus at the side of the painting.
Degas was really fascinated about the ballet for around ten years, but he would always keep it open to the audience so they could use their imagination. He also witnessed them practising dancing, and sketched them, and made us feel like we were there.
Because of the sketching we thought we could incorporate that in the beginning of the animation. We looked at the movement of the ballerinas, which we researched to get a feeling of what Degas witnessed.
Our animation is about Degas’ process of drawing and painting, and how he saw them dancing. Also the harsh reality of dancing at that time.
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Peter Paul Rubens, Conversion of Saint Paul, 1610-12
The Conversion of St. Paul
Dominic and Kamila
We chose this painting because we liked the painting technique and the fine brush strokes, especially to highlight the lighting. We knew the story behind it so we were drawn to it.
We found out that this isn’t the only Conversion of Saint Paul by Rubens and there was a lot of controversy between his different pieces, but I felt this was the most powerful and successful piece. Also, we found out that the feature of Saint Paul with a person leaning over him was inspired by Michelangelo.
After reading more in depth about the story of the conversion of Saint Paul we came to see that this was a powerful and moving story so we used this as a template for our animation.
We followed the story and told it in our own way. Our main idea was to focus on Saint Paul and his companions on the road to Damascus with Jesus suddenly appearing causing a lot of chaos.
Paul Cezanne, The Card Players, 1892-1895
The Card Players
Billie and James
We chose this work because it was a very natural scene, it wasn’t posed. It stood out next to his other paintings, which were natural landscapes. We liked the way he made textures from layers of colours.
It was very interesting to see that Cezanne did five different compositions of the same theme, card players, although in our version there is a red splash of colour on the top of the painting, which you can’t see in other versions. We found out that the artist was old and grumpy, and the people in the painting were his workers.
Because the atmosphere is very peaceful, we had the players play a game of snap to contrast that. We gave the red splat a meaning by having it link in with one of the characters’ emotions. As the player on the left is losing the game, his anger grows and the red splodge spreads over the painting.
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Perino del Vaga, Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist, 1528-1537
The Creation of the Holy Family
Takima and Nazanin
We were drawn to this at first because we liked the contrast between the finished and unfinished parts. This made us think about the process of painting and made us wonder why the artist did not complete it.
The artist was not very well known but was influenced by Michelangelo. To depict the family in a more natural way rather than being too religious was a new thing in the sixteenth century. He focused on the mother and child relationship rather than being all about Jesus.
We tried to show the process of painting and how it would have looked in the beginning stages. But also how it would look if he took it further.
It is about the process people go through when creating art rather then telling a story. At first we wanted to create a story about why the artist did not finish the painting, but instead we explored different animation techniques and materials.
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Joshua Reynolds, Cupid and Psyche, c. 1789
124C41
Ludovic and Reuben
We chose this painting because we liked the warm tones that were contrasting against the dark ones. We really liked the way it portrays the myth of Cupid and Psyche, since it captures the moment before Cupid escapes through the window in the corner.
We researched the myth and found out that the story is a lot more complicated than it first seems. We also researched the artist, Reynolds, who was heavily inspired by Florentine painters. He specialised in commissioned portrait paintings, but this painting was a history painting, and he was the first president of the Royal Academy of Arts.
We understood that it would be difficult to depict the whole story, so we chose to have an external view of the painting. We tried to represent the mood of the painting in our animation.
Our animation shows segments of the painting, and the confusion of the story with the professor mumbling.
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Hans Eworth, Allegorical portrait of Sir John Luttrell, 1550
Allegorical portrait of Sir John Luttrell
Hadi and Binaca
We chose this painting because we liked the contrast between the peaceful part of the painting in the top left and the part where the battle is going on, on the right side of the painting. There’s a lot of detail to the painting and we liked that. For example, there are people in the sea and even writing in the bottom left.
We found out that Sir John Luttrell brought peace to Scotland and France during the 16th century and signed the treaty of Boulogne.
Our animation is about what happened before and after the portrait, and how Sir John Luttrell actually gets to this position. The animation starts with the shipwreck and him getting the olive branch from the goddess Diana (in the top left corner of the picture) and ends with him signing the treaty.
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