It All Depends On What You Mean By Art (recto) Art - Its Background (verso)

whole: The poster is double-sided. Side 1: the 11 images occupy the majority, set against a pink background. The title is partially integrated and placed in the upper quarter, in white and in pink. The text is separate and located under each image as a caption, in black. All set against a black background, and held within a pink 'picture frame' border. Side 2: the image occupies the majority. The title is separate and positioned in the top left corner, in white. The main text is partially integrated and located over the majority, in black, and in white. All set against a light blue and dark blue background. image 1: ten photographs of paintings, and one photograph of a sculpture, all by well-known artists from the 13th to 20th centuries. The majority are portraits of women; the last four are all depictions of the Madonna and child. image 2: a depiction of a tree, from the branches of which hang ten famous paintings. At the base of the tree is an Egyptian sarcophagus, a Roman bust, and a Greek statue of a discus thrower. text 1: ..it all depends on what you mean by Art Roumanian Blouse (Oil) MATISSE (French 20th cent.) Courtesy: The Viking Press When a lady, looking at pictures by Matisse, once protested - 'But surely the woman's limbs are crooked.' Matisse replied - 'Madam, that's not a woman, it is a painting.' Art is not nature, and it is a mistake to accept the illusion of so-called reality in painting as the best in art. Matisse, painting on flat surfaces, aims at two-dimensional design, using in this illustration the human figure as a motif. The Theatre Box (Oil) RENOIR (French 19th cent.) Renoir belongs to the Impressionist School of France - a group of painters which experimented with effects of brilliant positive colours to produce 'impressions', the invention of photography in the last century having, to a certain extent, relieved the artist from the mere task of copying. The delicately expressed atmosphere and tender feeling of this painting could not be achieved by direct photography. A Woman Bathing (Oil) REMBRANDT (Dutch 17th cent.) Rembrandt concentrated upon capturing the dramatic effects of light and shade, increasing the brilliancy of his highlights by loading them with thick paint. Earlier painting were usually coloured by glazing films of transparent pigment one over the other. Rembrandt's direct technique was later exploited by such important painters as Manet and Cezanne. Portrait of a Lady (Oil) BRAQUE (French 20th cent.) Symbolic and realistic phases of painting swing in pendulum fashion throughout the history of art. The last realistic extreme was reached in the Italian Renaissance four centuries ago, and symbolism is once again becoming the accepted form in art. Painters give full play to their imaginations, and attempt to represent rather than reproduce. Portrait (Pastel) MANET (French 19th cent.) By permission of Alex, Reid and Lefevre Ltd. Manet, an Impressionist, choosing and disregarding detail according to his sensitive requirements, suggests but does not explain. Photographers obtain similar effects by placing sitters slightly out of focus, producing so called 'art-photographs' which are still popular today. Portrait of a Lady (Oil) CAMPIN (Flemish 15th cent.) This masterpiece of immaculate portraiture leaves nothing unexplained. Apart from the delightful execution, the representation of form, arrangement of face, hands, and every fold in the headdress, makes the painting a thing of beauty in itself, enshrining the character of the sitter with an exactness which is typically Gothic. Portrait of a Lady (Tempera) DOMENICO VENEZIANO By permission of Dorien Leigh (Italian 15th cent.) Sensitive drawing and design relieve this portrait from mere statement of fact. Compare it with a popular 'pin-up' girl portrait of today. This painting does not depend upon the attractiveness of the woman to make it a beautiful picture. Madonna and Child HENRY MOORE (British 20th cent.) Appreciation of material by this leading British artist leaves the beholder in no doubt as to what he is seeing - a block of stone skilfully carved to convey an inspired idea. The figures do not appear as petrified human beings, but contain magnificent beauty and power of their own, the materialised thought of the artist. Madonna and Child (Oil) RAPHAEL (Italian 15th cent.) Raphael idealised his figures, striving for perfection of form and contour. There is no lack of human feeling about this lovely composition - the robust Child and beautiful Lady expressing dignified affection, carefully arranged in pyramid form to make the design geometrically stable, creating a feeling of Motherly security. Madonna and Child BENVENUTO DI GIOVANNI (Tempura) (Italian 14th cent.) The simple charm of early paintings immediately gains respect. The quiet atmosphere, reverent arrangement of Mother and Child, is not disturbed by the exquisite detail. Early works are akin to modern ones in their direct appeal and straightforward technical quality. Madonna and Child (Tempera) Pisan School (13th cent.) Although not classed as realistic, this painting, by its quaint symbolic sincerity, conveys an idea more realistically than many more advanced works. The artist has drawn inspiration from life, from nature, but only through his own emotional interpretation and imagination has he succeeded in making a true work of art. LAURENCE BRADBURY ARMY EDUCATION SCHEME VISUAL AID (No. 8) Produced by the Directorate of Army Education A5601 Wt.41587 1/47 7,000 Gp. 961 FOSH AND CROSS LTD., LONDON text 2: Italian Renaissance, 15th-16th century. This period marked the change from Romanesque to Classical in Life and Art, the rediscovery of Greco-Roman learning, and the reinterest in perspective and anatomy. The wealthy nobles began to rival the Church in its patronage of the Arts. Madonna and Child with St. John MICHELANGELO 1475-1564 Renaissance painting in the North. It was nearly a century later that the influence of the Italian Renaissance reached Northern Europe. Notable in this transitional period were the masters of the German School, Dürer, Grunewald, Lochner and Holbein. Self Portrait DÜRER 1471-1528 Dutch School. In the 17th century Protestant Holland, after the overthrow of Spain, became a centre of trade and developed a strong and wealthy middle class as seen in the paintings of Dutch home life by Jan Steen and De Hooch. But the supreme artist of this period was Rembrandt, an outstanding personality who, unlike others of his time, filled his works with his personal thoughts and feelings unfettered by convention. Margaretha Trip (Detail) REMBRANDT 1607-1669 In the 19th century there was in France a reaction to the current Romantic Period in art, which was brought about by the Impressionists. They attempted as their name implies to record everyday life in terms of the colours of the spectrum, abandoning as unnecessary much of the painstaking labour employed in painting since the Renaissance. Sunflowers VAN GOGH 1853-1890 The Parting of the Raiment EL GRECO 1541-1614 Spanish. Except for the early Moorish influence there was no really characteristic Spanish style until the 16th-century Baroque. The early stages of the Italian Renaissance had been almost totally ignored. St. Francis renounces his Heritage (Detail) SASSETTA 1392-1450 Early Italian. The 13th century in Europe has been termed the turning point ending the Dark Ages. Painting and decoration hitherto followed the old tradition of Byzantine Art which expressed religious subjects in awe-inspiring formalism; but the teachings of St. Francis inaugurated a freer and more humane aspect of life and art. Jan Arnolfini and his Wife VAN EYCK 1385-1441 Gothic. Art and Architecture in Northern Europe was based upon Byzantine and Romanesque styles until the 13th century when it broke away as Gothic. This period also saw a technical change in art with the introduction of oil painting by the Netherlands Master Van Eyck. Susanne Fourments RUBENS 1577-1640 Flemish School, 17th century. In contrast to Holland, Catholic Flanders developed a school influenced by the Italian masters and yet tempered with its own Flemish style. The leading figure, Peter Paul Rubens, is recognised as the classic example of the Baroque. This painter, apart from being the greatest artist of his time, was also a diplomat. Gilles and his Family WATTEAU 1684-1721 18th-century Art. This period produced the Romantic painters of the elegant Court of Versailles, the delicate melancholy works of Watteau and the art of Boucher. The contemporary Art in England was represented by the satirical paintings of Hogarth, the portraits by Gainsborough and Reynolds, and finally at the turn of the century by the landscapes of Constable. Still Life with Guitar PICASSO Born 1881 Before the second world war France was still the primary art centre of the world with the most important painters working in Paris. Movements and styles were divided by originators and critics into various 'isms' such as Cubism, Surrealism, Expressionism and Futurism. Although only passing phases, these experiments have influenced considerably contemporary art. Roman. The Romans borrowed to a very large extent their ideal in art and architecture from Greece. The demands of Imperial Rome, however, led to a loss of liberty which had been attained in Greece. Grecian. Early Greek Art developed very largely from the Egyptian. Later, free from the influence of priests and kings it acquired a character of its own, and attained complete freedom, with its emphasis on beauty, the creation of harmony and correct proportions. Egyptian. The oldest civilization to leave us an understandable art was Egyptian. Here one finds a civilization where art was based on fear, the need to protect the souls of the dead, and above all the majesty and power of the Pharaoh. To be used in conjunction with Curriculum Handbook, Art, Craft, Music and Drama. David Knight 46 ARMY EDUCATION SCHEME VISUAL AID (No. 8) Produced by the Directorate of Army Education A5601 Wt.41587 1/47 7,000 Gp. 961 FOSH AND CROSS LTD., LONDON

A5601. Wt.41587. 7,000. Gp. 961.

In the 1940s the British Army created poster-guides to educate and inform its soldiers of the importance of cultural heritage. Some, such as the 'Look Without Looting' poster, were designed to reinforce rules. Others, such as 'Art - Its Background', had a lighter tone and encouraged self improvement.