Ashley's first blog: A little about my life

 The painting,  Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez made in King Phillip IV's Alcázar palace in Madrid, Spain in 1656 portrays the Spanish royal family as its subject. This painting has been very popular over the years as it has many perspectives which can be puzzling and intriguing for the viewers' mind. Velázquez features himself as the artist within his own painting and the painting is composed of a very odd cast of characters such as a nun, a princess, a dwarf, the infanta, Margarita Teresa who was the five year old daughter of king Phillip IV, the ladies-in-waiting also known as the meninas, Doña Isabel de Velasco, Doña María Agustina Sarmiento de Sotomayor. among other characters. The five year old infanta is featured in the center of the painting and she's painted in a much fairer tone which renders her as the center of the art work. The influence of royalty is demonstrated through the painting's location, its' subject matter and the artists' inclusion. This b...

 Most people recognize Leonardo Da Vinci's renaissance painting, The Last Supper, painted in Europe in the late 1400s' . This painting is filled with symbolic references and it represents Jesus Christ's final meal with his apostles before Judas betrays him and identifies him to the authorities which ultimately leads to his arrest. Da Vinci explores and portrays the psychological reactions of the apostles after Christ's revelation. The composition of the painting is depicted by having Christ in the center and his body forming a triangle like shape at which his head is used as the vanishing point which demonstrates Da Vinci's use of one-point linear perspective, four sets of three apostles beside Christ which could represent the four Gospels in the bible and the holy trinity. You can see various true human emotions in the apostles such as sadness, anger/protest, shock and acceptance. These complex emotions by the apostles and Christ embody renaissance humanism. The pa...

 Culture has a huge impact and effect on many different paintings, sculptures and other works of art. It's fascinating to see how different cultures can be seen and felt through these works of art. The artwork below represents the culinary practice and cultural tradition of a community when making a very popular Mexican dish, tamales. The painting is based on her childhood growing up in the South Texas Mexican American community but it was created in San Francisco. It's so interesting how something as small as food can bring loved ones together, from different generations, to create beautiful memories and traditions. The painting created by Carmen Lomas Garza in 1990 is called Tamalada.  There are different details to each part of the painting:  On the left side, you can see the individuals in the family who know how to make the delicious tamales or those who are "in the know" while also including the kids that seek to learn the tradition. By the doorway, you can see ...