Stationary Figure (1973) by Philip Guston

Stationary Figure by Philip GustonStationary-Figure by Philip Guston

What makes Philip Guston’s painting Stationary Figure a masterpiece?

– Passage of time and imminent death
– A child’s drawing… of pooling blood
– Preposterous solidity in a puff of smoke

Bleu II 1961 – Joan Miro

bleu ii by Joan Miro

What makes Joan Miro’s painting Bleu II so groundbreaking in the art history canon?

– Miro breaks the Bourgeoisie’s guitar
– A red slash stops abstract traffic
– The vast, cobalt sky highlights our insignificance on Earth

Luncheon on the Grass – Édouard Manet

Luncheon on the grass by Edouard Manet

Why is Édouard Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass or Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe a masterpiece?

– A conformist rebellion
– Flâneur – a French Impressionist version of a dandy
– The insignificance of eating at lunch

Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1. – James Whistler

Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1. by James WhistlerArrangement in Grey and Black No. 1. by James Whistlerv

Why does James Whistler not even mention his mother in the painting title Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1. ?

– Rebellion in grey and black planes
– Whistler inherited her cold manner
– He only cared for form and composition