Woodcut: The woodcut shown here, Junges Madchen, is by Emile Nolde shows us the unique result that a woodcut can produce. As the text notes, a woodcut enables the artist to use the contrast between light and dark to give the piece a more dramatic effect and thus the blunt lines give this work a sense of anguish and despair. Nolde was a print maker and carver, thus showing us that he would naturally create art from his learned trade. He was also interested in Van Gogh and the admiration is reflected in his different floral pieces. Nolde was a member of Die Brucke, a group of German Expressionist artists formed in Dresden in 1905. In a nod to their heritage, the Die Brucke group used older forms of fine arts media, such as woodcut, which must have further pushed Nolde into creating woodcuts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Nolde
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Br%C3%BCcke
Etching: Here, The Three Crosses, by Rembrandt truly shows the viewer the ability to create such an elaborate and detailed picture using this medium. Unlike engraving, etching enables the artist to create prints in a similar way to the medium of drawing because the artist is using a tool to "sketch" on the ground before applying the acid. With a claim of hundreds of drawings and etches along with thousands of drawings, Rembrandt's work is various and expansive, but his main objectives in art were landscapes, portraits, and biblical narrative works. Rembrandt came from a family with money and was able to become an apprentice to painter Jacob Van Swanenburgh giving him the opportunity to learn that medium. Rembrandt lost 3 children with his first wife and she eventually died from tuberculosis. This could make one question his ability to add such emotion and drama to his works.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rembrandt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etchings
Encaustic: Jasper Johns is a contemporary artists who has successfully revived the medium of encaustic painting. This medium enables the artists to adhere other materials to the work and in the closer view of Flag from above shows us that is exactly what Johns did. We can see that there is newspaper included in this painting, but unless up close, it is not visible, but helps give the work a rough and rugged appeal. Johns is viewed as a Neo-Dadaist, giving the viewer popular and sometimes iconic images in his work, but using modern materials as well. Johns had wanted to become an artist since he was a child and his meanings in his work can be found in the process of the work itself.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/jasper-johns/about-the-painter/54/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasper_Johns
Oil Paint: Vincent Van Gogh created 860 oil paintings and this piece, Red Vineyard, shares a commonality with his work including beauty and bold colors. The text tells us that oil painting gave artists a versatile medium that allowed for different hues and plays with light created a realistic look to the works. Van Gogh's childhood home life was centered around art and religion and this undoubtedly led to his work. After not becoming a pastor Van Gogh had stated his mission in life was to serve God as an artist and said "to try to understand the real significance of what the great artists, the serious masters, tell us in their masterpieces, that leads to God; one man wrote or told it in a book; another in a picture."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etchings
Fresco: Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry, the North Wall is a modern fresco done at the Detroit Institute of Art and while it did receive much criticism at the time, Rivera's work captured the accomplishments of Detroit's auto-industry and showed the world what Detroit is built on, the workers, middle-class, factories, and industrial advancements. I personally believe the advantage of a Fresco is the ability to have large audiences view it and they can also do what this one did, represent populations and their achievements. Diego studied art from the age of ten and his communist ties helped lead to his controversial political works. His studies of Renaissance Fresco's gave him the idea to begin using this medium to capture the world around him and enable him to reach a large audience.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/diego-rivera/about-the-artist/64/
Watercolor: Charles Burchfield worked almost exclusively with watercolor and the painting here, with charcoal, is called Lightening and Thunder at Night. Watercolor is known as a medium that allows the artist to achieve expressive results. Burchfield's close friend, Edward Hopper, describes Burchfield's work and in his statement we can see why he used watercolors: "The work of Charles Burchfield is most decidedly founded, not on art, but on life, and the life that he knows and loves best." Watercolors clearly helped him convey his work to the audience.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Burchfield
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/arts/design/25burchfield.html?pagewanted=all
