Research Paper

Philadelphia Museum of Art
At the Philadelphia Museum of Art, I was able to explore a wide variety of artwork. Of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s collections, the works of Claude Monet, Gustave Courbet, and Georgia O’Keeffe captured my attention the most. Each of these pieces of artwork was beautiful and interesting in its own way.
“Under the Pines, Evening” by Claude Monet was the first painting to catch my eye. I have always admired the Impressionist artist’s artwork, so that may be why this painting stood out to me. “Under the Pines, Evening” is a painting which is very typical of the 19th century artwork. Part of the reason is because Claude Monet himself is one of the main definers of this century. The Impressionist movement of artwork was started by Claude Monet. Impressionists rarely use black in their paintings, which can be recognized in this painting.
Claude Monet’s technique of painting with short strokes of bright pastel color can be clearly seen in the leaves, as well as in other areas, of this oil on canvas painting. Since Claude Monet enjoyed painting landscapes, it is no surprise that this painting features a landscape of trees during the evening. Similar to his “Boulevard des Capucines, Paris” piece, “Under the Pines, Evening” is another one of Claude Monet’s naturalistic works. It is very easy to picture the landscape that Monet painted. One of the first feelings that I had when seeing this painting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art was a bit of sadness. It is evening, and the sun is getting ready to set. The trees seem somewhat lonely because there are no people in the painting.
Although Claude Monet’s painting made me feel sad, Gustave Courbet’s painting called “Waves” is downright depressing. The painting has an incredibly gloomy feel to it, as it is a landscape of dark waves and clouds before a storm is about to hit. When I first saw this painting, my immediate response was that the artist who painted it either was depressed at the time or had suffered through some sort of hardship.
“A Burial at Ornans” is a painting that Courbet painted after being inspired by his grandfather’s funeral. At the time, his grandfather was still alive, however. The artwork of Realist painters was very similar to naturalists, but there was one major difference; their paintings conveyed a political or social message. In this painting, Courbet seems to be portraying the funeral experience as he viewed it; one of the interesting things that can be noticed in this painting is that the women mostly seem to be towards the right of the painting, whereas the men seem to be towards the left. In the background, there is also a Cross upon which Jesus is being crucified. It almost seems as though Gustave Courbet is implying that the person who is being buried in “A Burial at Ornans” is Jesus-like.
These two paintings by Gustave Courbet are very different, though there are a few similarities. It seems that in “A Burial at Ornans,” Courbet is trying to achieve that political or social message, whereas “Waves” just seems to be a landscape of the ocean. The moods in both of these paintings are very depressing, however. “Waves” is a very gloomy landscape, and the subject matter in “A Burial at Ornans” is not at all happy. The sky in “A Burial at Ornans” is also quite depressing.
In the Realist movement, artwork was generally used in order to convey that political or social message that Courbet achieves in “A Burial at Ornans.” Although there are some similarities between the two paintings, it does seem that “Waves” almost seems more representative of the Naturalist art movement. The painting is what is, and there really does not seem to be any type of social or political message.
“Two Calla Lilies on Pink” by Georgia O’Keeffe stuck out to me because it was one of the most feminine paintings in the Modern and Contemporary Art section of the museum. I have also always been very fond of Georgia O’Keeffe’s artwork. “Two Calla Lilies on Pink” is typical to O’Keeffe’s style of artwork, as she is most well known for floral paintings which consist mostly of light and feminine colors.
Georgia O’Keeffe’s interpretation of the flower in “Two Calla Lilies in Pink” is what makes the painting modern. To the average viewer, they are just lilies, but to O’Keeffe, they meant much more. Georgia O’Keeffe’s floral paintings often appear “gigantic and distorted through her use of camera-like close-up views, recall Surrealism in their suggestion of female sexuality” (548). In “Two Calla Lilies on Pink,” it is easy to see that O’Keeffe was trying to hint at female sexuality. The flowers appear to be representative of female genitalia. O’Keeffe’s color choice in this painting is very interesting. The two flowers are white, which could represent a woman’s purity. The backdrop behind the white flowers in the painting is pink, which is a color which is most representative of femininity. Perhaps the white flowers’ transition into the pink background is also trying to show that someone is no longer pure.
“Two Calla Lilies on Pink” does share something in common with both “Waves” and “Under the Pines, Evening.” All of these paintings consist of nature. Although O’Keeffe has painted a flower from a perspective in which it is much larger than it would appear in reality, all of these pieces of artwork seem to consist of how the artist views something from nature. The colors which Georgia O’Keeffe used to paint “Two Calla Lilies on Pink” are much lighter than those which were used by Courbet in “Waves.” The colors are much more similar to the pastels that were used in Monet’s painting.
Another one of Georgia O’Keeffe’s most well known paintings is “Ram’s Head.” In this piece of artwork, a ram’s skull appears to be floating in the middle of the painting. Next to the ram’s head is a white flower. The painting seems to give the allusion that the ram’s head is raging, as there is a black cloud over a hilly desert.
The skull in “Ram’s Head” seems to also be highly suggestive of sexuality, as it looks very similar to what you would see in an anatomy book of the female body. This would also explain why O’Keeffe strategically placed a white flower, which just like in “Two Calla Lilies on Pink,” may be representative of female purity. It feels as though George O’Keeffe may be trying to hint to men that they should not anger the women in their lives, or they may turn into raging rams. Like Gustave Courbet’s “A Burial at Ornans,” she seems to be making a social statement. Also, just like “A Burial at Ornans” and Courbet’s “Waves,” there is a black cloud in this painting.
Researching the paintings that I found at the Philadelphia Museum of Art has given me a new perspective on their meanings. Something as simple as a flower of a beach scene may have meant much more to the painter who created it. It is also interesting to see how such different artists could have so many similarities in their artwork, most of which you may not notice at first glance.

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