The essay about 'The Palette - John Borg Manduca'

John Borg Manduca was interested in Art as when he was a student at St.Edward`s College where his participation as a water colourist in the Gainsborough Commonwealth Competition. In this competition he came in the top ten and from there he starts his artistic career. From every painting he was being judged by different poetic and romantic artist. Basically he always paint when he had the mood and he inspired mostly from the French Impressionists, from Turner and most of all from the great Russian marine artist Ivan Aivazovsky.

In the Sixties Manduca had the first experience of looking at the beautiful and inspirational parts of Malta. He was inspired from many paintings and “The Malta Suite” that was published by Editions Electo.  Malta was discovered from different artists such as the British Artist Victor Pasmore, J.MW.Turner, Edward Lear and more. Manduca was also interested from Ian Hamilton Finlay, from the history of ideas and the first two subject titles that he did in the Palette Drawing were ‘Fishing Boat’ and ‘Oil Rigs’. He did several sketches that they were very modern and original. He didn`t used any colours or something but only black colour. The shading was brilliant as how he applied it and how he painted these boats and oil rigs were abstract.

This is a sketch that Manduca did of a boat.

A sketch of an oil rig.

If we look at Manduca`s canvasses were influenced from the Impressionist Movement and there are four particular artists that they were focused to form and build both the grammar and language. They are Cezanne, Monet, Renoir and Pissarro. Manduca seem to have interested from them from his land and seascape compositions, in both painting technique and handling of form and colour. He had another influential work that he was focusing on the neo-classic tradition mostly from transfigured war machines. These drawings were titled ‘Allegory and Metaphor, The Hamilton Finlay Collaboration, Drawings’. These drawings were also seen as a rendered war machines iconography and they were all blessed by Finlay`s verbal magic touches.

A sketch of a transfigured war machine that it is a canon.

Another Fascinating works were the ‘Landscapes of Memory, Sun-Lit Stones and Shadowed Streets’. Manduca`s paint strokes were marvellous and he produce a sensual tonal images that shows an artistic townscapes. He used light colours, faded painting, seen as an abstract and also shows a movement from the brush strokes. I like the fact that he shows a feeling of calm and also shows the different weather on the paintings. These paintings were also shown the interests on the geometric forms and shapes.

A view of a building near the boats.

Another view of a building near the nature.

A view of a church.

The last work that is shown on this book is very interesting and the subject was about ‘Waters of an Island, The Architecture of the Sea and The Dance of the Waves’. Manduca`s work that was about seas are not the subject he view, but he wants to make a personal translation of the vision of his mind`s eye that he creates an abstract compositions that were shown like a textured surfaces and woven colours. The mood was about seas and also from angry storms.

The wave.

A view of some waves and a boat.

Some other waves.

From now on John Borg Manduca did many other works and he says that he is tired but happy, doing other works because he always wanted to create or do something artistic paintings and drawings.

Impressionism

Impressionism was the art that when you look at it you will have different aspects and outcomes that also tell impressions of what you see. Impressionism began in the early 1860s by Manet, breaking away from traditions. In 1874 a group of artists that were Monet, Pissarro, Sisley, Degas and more, they organized an exhibition in Paris to make the move called Impressionism. From this move they continued till they did eight exhibitions more that took place until 1886. There was an important person in this art that who helped them by giving them the opportunity to make their own exhibition in his studio. This person was Nadar who was a famous photographer. If we look at the artists they have their own techniques but they prefer a lot to use bright colours. Many of them did not chose the thick golden varnish but using their own tone and the paintings were also vivid. They used vibrant shades too for example blue green and yellow that painters have never used before.

If we look at Monet`s work he had the iconic of impressionism that was lie freedom. The panting is ‘Impression Sunrise’ that was made in 1872. I like the fact of how he was using the effect of light and this technique displayed his interests and it is changing the effect on the colours. Basically he showed different feelings on different paintings for example you will notice from the brushstrokes. In my opinion he was rat in the pure unblended colours and also the emphasis on the effect of light. The colours that he used were white, greys and black.

The 'Impression Sunrise' painting that is made in 1872.

The other artist that fascinated me was Edouard Manet. Manet in 1874 did the painting called ‘boating’. It was a marvellous work and he showed bright colours, it was like cropped as a painting,  modernity in their form, their subject matter and he used very materials to paint them. This painting is also inspired from the Japanese. If you look closely on the clothes of the woman Manet used the technique of the brushstrokes that it came more eye-catchy.

Manet`s painting that is called 'Boating'.

Pissarro was another impressionism artist that he did several drawings that most of them were the renovated city, public gardens, wide boulevards and grand buildings. Sometimes he was focusing on the city scapes and the city`s inhabitants. Pissarro was the only person who had exhibited in the eight exhibitions that the impressionism artists had made. He was the eldest and he was a very good artist. The most work that I saw interesting was ‘The Garden of the Tuileries on a spring Morning' and it is made on the 1899. The most fascinated thing was that he used bright colours but he shows that the feeling was calm or because it was a normal view.

This is 'The Garden of the Tuileres on a spring Morning' painting.

Resource:

Samu.M.2004.Impressionism: Art and Modernity [online]

Available at < http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/imml/hd_imml.htm> 

Arts and Crafts movement

The Arts and crafts movement was a style that they wanted to create something traditional and creative. This type of style was handmade and they wanted to not use any machines. The characteristics of Arts and crafts movement looked at simplicity of forms, inspired from plants and nature to a more geometric, plain linear and abstract forms. This movement helped the craftsmen ship to take pride of his work and skill. Machinery works couldn`t produce beautiful designs opposed to the hand crafting skill. The conditions found in factories led to bad working conditions and where often brutalized, this movement took a step forward to create safer working places. This style was developed in England during the latter half of the 19^th Century.

This movement brought many artists which were inspired by the social reform such as Walter Crane and John Ruskin, together with the ideals of reformer and designer, William Morris. In this period, manufacture goods were often poor in design and quality. The works were produce beautiful objects that exhibited the result of fire craftsmen ship. The ideas came from different sources such as Medieval European and Islamic. In the early Art and crafts forms were also had ideas from Japanese.

This type of Art was spread around the countries such as California, Spanish architecture, Native American design et c.... If we look at John Ruskin`s work we can see his creation on the ancient building. This painting is called “John Ruskin in his study at Brentwood, 1881, but the proper painter that he painted him was W.G.Collingwood. He was fascinated and inspired from William Morris to found the society for the protection of Ancient Buildings. Ruskin was the one of the greatest figures of the Victorian age, poet, artist, critic, social revolutionary and conservationist. I was interested from his drawings and also from showing his importance on the art and crafts movement.

This is John Ruskin in his study at Brentwood,1881, by W.G.Collingwood.

Another interesting furniture manufacturer, design leader, publisher and the chief proselytizer for the American craftsman style and an extension of the British Arts and Crafts movement is Gustav Stickley. He showed his importance by trying to design decent look on furniture at affordable prize for the middle class consumers. He had opened ‘Stickley Company’. I also like the fact that he created and invented different design on furniture and the colour that he put on every place was brilliant and combined well. He was looking at the simpler, rectilinear American Art and Crafts form that was very eye-catchy.

This is the interior design on furniture by Gustav Stickley.

Resource:

Jirousek.C. 1995. The Arts and Crafts movement[online]. Available at

< char.txa.cornell.edu/art/decart/artcraft/artcraft.htm>