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Research Paper
Keith Beckford
Ms. Burakowski
Arts 800 Foundations of Art
Friday, December 23, 2016
Final Alternative Assessment
Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci

Ive always wondered why Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, and Leonardo da Vinci
were so famous. These renown artists are well-known for their most popular pieces of work, but
what makes their artwork so special? Each and everyone of these three artists have their own
ornate way of showing their emotion. These artists affect my view of art because I feel that they
are so inspirational through the meaning behind each and every art-piece. These artists shaped
art and visual culture by their own special way of showing what they feel into their work.
Pablo Picasso was an inspiration to many, due to his famous paintings known as The
Weeping Woman. Pablo Picasso lived from October 25, 1881 to April 8, 1973. He lived in
Mougins, France. Picasso became an artist through inspiration, watching other artists publishing
their work to other local artists and watching it get famous. What influenced him was his father,
who just happened to be an artist and drawing teacher. Picasso influenced people like Edvard
Munch, Henri Rousseau, Georges Braque, Henri Toulouse de Lautrec, and Paul Czanne.At this
time, Picassos father influenced not only his son, but dozens of people throughout France. Picasso would use oil paints, regular home paints, and sometimes a device called X-Ray

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Nanoprobe. Pablo Picassos work was one of a kind, because of the unique way he painted his
emotions.
One of Picassos pieces such as The Old Guitarist really sparks my interest. In this
painting, he shows and older-looking man sitting on the floor playing guitar. Picasso applied the
elements of art and the principals of design to create the composition by adding a lot of balance
between the colors he used, as well as the emphasis on the guitar. I feel that Picasso is trying to
tell the viewer that you should keep doing what you like until you grow old. This piece of art
influences my views of art because of the many characteristics of art he put into his painting.
The other artist I chose to do my report on is Leonardo da Vinci. He lived from April 15,
1452 to May 2, 1519. da Vinci spent most of his time located in Milan, Florence, Vinci and Amboise. He became an artist by being apprenticed to a man named Verocchio, who was a wellknown artist. Whilst witnessing others artwork, he felt drawn to the art profession. da Vinci
influenced thousands of people around the world, such as people in Florence, Vinci and Milan.
da Vinci would use oil paints, as well as a canvas for his artwork. His work, overall, is truly uncommon because of the way he expressed his feelings onto a canvas.
One of Leonardo da Vincis pieces called The Last Supper really interests me. In this
piece, you can see Jesus Christ serving his Apostles during The Last Supper. This artist applied
the elements of movement because your eye moves across the table, observing each individual.
He also applied emphasis on Jesus, who is the main focus of the supper. Simply, da Vinci is
showing the viewers what happened during The Last Supper, which was the breaking of bread
and pouring of wine. Jesus was sharing the body and blood of Christ to his apostles. da Vinci
uses one point perspective and places the vanishing point behind Jesuss head to add emphasis to

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Jesus himself. This influences my views on art because he used a lot of detail throughout his
painting.
My favorite artist I chose to include in this paper is the legendary Vincent van Gogh.
Vincent van Gogh lived from March 30, 1853 to July 29, 1890. van Gogh lived in Zundert,
which is a small town South of the Netherlands in the province of North Brabant. Vincent became an artist at the age of 27 by meeting many other artists, in which whom be became friends
with. van Gogh was influenced by Pissarro, Monet, Gaugin and Bernard. van Gogh not only
influenced his muses, but inspired other fans around the world to want to try art as well. Like the
others, he mainly stuck to oils for his paintings. His work in general was quite unique and set
apart from the others, because of the realistic feel his work gave off.
I enjoy The Starry Night by van Gogh because I feel that it is such a soothing and
pleasing painting to look at. Looking at the painting, we can see mountains and city lights below
as the moon gleams down from the sky. Vincent van Gogh applied elements such as movement
because your eye follows the brush strokes through the painting. This artist is trying to show his
viewers that even at dark times in life, there is still something to look forward to. This art-piece
influences my views on art because I really enjoy the brush strokes and characteristics of art that
he used throughout this painting.
As you can tell, these artists are famous for their many popular artworks. These artists
lives have affected their artwork drastically because many of their friends and families were already popular in the artwork industry. These artists have influenced not only other people, but
most likely have influenced each other. Picasso, van Gogh and da Vinci have all influenced me
to try my own artwork, in which has been inspired by them. Everything takes inspiration, pa-

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Research Paper

tience, and practice. If anyone has these qualities, they can be one of these inspirational, renown
artists.
Artwork Page
The Old Guitarist by Pablo Picasso

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci

The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh

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Research Paper
Bibliography

What Materials Did Pablo Picasso Use? Reference. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Dec. 2016
Pablo Picasso. Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 10 Dec. 2015. Web. 23
Dec. 2016
Leonardo Da Vinci - From Inspiration to Innovation. C. Wight. The British Library, 04
Mar. 2009. Web. 23 Dec. 2016