Hoof of the Avatar 2: Obsidian Halloween

Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1, best known under its colloquial name Whistler's Mother (aka Mr. Bean painting), is a oil on canvas created by the American-born painter James McNeill Whistler in 1871. Anna McNeill Whistler posed for the painting while living in London with her son at Chelsea. 

It is exhibited in and held by the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, having been bought by the French state in 1891. The image has been repeatedly appropriated for commercial advertisements and parodies and is one of the most famous works by an American artist outside the United States. 

It has been variously described as an American icon and a Victorian Mona Lisa. For example, in 1934 the U.S. Post office issued a stamp engraved with a stylized image of Whistler's Mother, accompanied by the slogan "In Memory and In Honor of the Mothers of America".

This wave of Hoof of the Avatar is done. Bloody hugs with hooves and prepare yourselves for Halloween!

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Hoof of the Avatar 2: A Glitched Release

The Persistence of Memory (Spanish: La Persistencia de la Memoria) is a 1931 painting by surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, and is one of his most recognizable works. Some interpretations suggest that Dalí was incorporating an understanding of the world introduced by Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity.

It is possible to recognize a human figure in the middle of the composition, in the strange "monster" that Dalí used in several contemporary pieces to represent himself – the abstract form becoming something of a self-portrait, reappearing frequently in his work. The clocks may symbolize the passing of time as one experiences it in sleep or the persistence of time in the eyes of the dreamer. Dalí often used ants in his paintings as a symbol of decay.

Since 1934 the painting has been in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, which received it from an anonymous donor. It is widely recognized and frequently referenced in popular culture, and sometimes referred to by more descriptive (though incorrect) titles, such as "The Soft Watches" or "The Melting Watches".

And tomorrow we will have the last art of this wave!

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Hoof of the Avatar 2: Decay Day

The Scream (Norwegian: Skrik) is the popular name given to each of four versions of a composition, created as both paintings and pastels, by the Expressionist artist Edvard Munch between 1893 and 1910. Der Schrei der Natur (The Scream of Nature) is the title Munch gave to these works, all of which show a figure with an agonized expression against a landscape with a tumultuous orange sky. 

Among theories advanced to account for the reddish sky in the background is the artist's memory of the effects of the powerful volcanic eruption of Krakatoa, which deeply tinted sunset skies red. This explanation has been disputed by scholars. The imagery of The Scream has been compared to that which an individual suffering from depersonalization disorder experiences, a feeling of distortion of the environment and one's self, and also facial pain in the form of Trigeminal neuralgia.

Alternatively, it has been suggested that the proximity of both a slaughterhouse and a lunatic asylum to the site depicted in the painting may have offered some inspiration. Robert Rosenblum suggested that the strange, sexless creature in the foreground of the painting was inspired by a Peruvian mummy.

Arthur Lubow has described The Scream as "an icon of modern art, a Mona Lisa for our time".

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Hoof of the Avatar 2: The Girl and the Ancient Ring

Girl with a Pearl Earring (Dutch: Meisje met de parel)[1][2] is an oil painting by 17th-century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. The painting is a tronie that depicts a European girl wearing an exotic dress, an oriental turban, and a large pearl earring. It has been in the collection of the Mauritshuis in The Hague since 1902.

Vermeer worked slowly and with great care, and frequently used very expensive pigments. He is particularly renowned for his masterly treatment and use of light in his work. Vermeer's work was largely overlooked by art historians for two centuries after his death. 

Tracy Chevalier's novel Girl with a Pearl Earring (1999) and the film of the same name (2003) present a fictional account of Vermeer's creation of the famous painting and his relationship with the equally fictional model. The film was nominated for Oscars in cinematography, art direction, and costume design.

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Hoof of the Avatar 2: Grand Master Swordsmanship

David with the Head of Goliath (around 1607) in the Kunsthistorisches Museum Gemäldegalerie, Vienna, is a Baroque painting by the Italian artist Caravaggio. 

The painting can be compared with the David with the Head of Goliath in the Galleria Borghese, but the Vienna painting is less 'dark' in mood and the David more triumphan. The exact moment depicted appears to be that referred to in Samuel 17:57: "When David came back after killing the Philistine, Abner took him and presented him to Saul with the Philistine's head still in his hand." 

The pose is a usual one for the episode, showing David striding in triumph with the head in his hand. Death and decapitation were common themes in the Caravaggio paintings.

 

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Hoof of the Avatar 2: Indestructible Tools

American Gothic is a painting by Grant Wood in the Art Institute of Chicago. The painting shows a farmer standing beside a woman that has been interpreted to be either his wife or his daughter, "the kind of people I fancied should live in that house". His biographer noted that Wood "thought it a form of borrowed pretentiousness, a structural absurdity, to put a Gothic-style window in such a flimsy frame house."

The figures were modeled by the artist's sister and their dentist. The woman is dressed in a colonial print apron evoking 19th-century Americana, and the couple are in the traditional roles of men and women, the man's pitchfork symbolizing hard labor, and the flowers over the woman's right shoulder suggesting domesticity. The plants on the porchare mother-in-law's tongue and geranium, author recurrent icons.

It is one of the most familiar images in 20th-century American art, and has been widely parodied in American popular culture.

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Hoof of the Avatar 2: The Creative Backer

Las Meninas (The Maids of Honour) is a 1656 Baroque masterpiece by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age, in the Museo del Prado, Madrid. From the first quarter of the nineteenth century, Velázquez's artwork was a model for the realist and impressionist painters and widely tributed.

The work's complex and enigmatic composition raises questions about reality and illusion, and creates an uncertain relationship between the viewer and the figures depicted. Because of these complexities, it has been one of the most widely analyzed works in Western painting and has long been recognised as one of the most important paintings in Western art history.

The painting shows a large room in the Royal Alcazar of Madrid during the reign of King Philip IV of Spain, and presents several figures.The young Infanta Margaret Theresa is surrounded by her entourage, in the left corner Velázquez portrays himself working at a large canvas. In the background there is a mirror that reflects the upper bodies of the king and the queen, a chamberlain is next to a door. 

Velázquez received the honor of knighthood and we can see the Cross of Saint James on the breast of the painter.

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Hoof of the Avatar 2: The Second Fall

The Triumph of Death is an oil panel painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder painted around 1562, combining Northern woodcuts traditions with the Italian conception of the Triumph of Death. 

It has been in the Museo del Prado in Madrid since 1827.The painting shows a panorama of an army of skeletons wreaking havoc across a blackened, desolate landscape. Fires burn in the distance, and the sea is littered with shipwrecks.The living flee in terror or try in vain to fight back while the legions advance. 

The painting shows aspects of everyday life in the mid-sixteenth century. Clothes are clearly depicted, as are pastimes such as playing cards and backgammon. It shows objects such as musical instruments, an early mechanical clock, scenes including a funeral service, and various methods of execution, including the breaking wheel, the gallows, and the headsman. (Click to enlarge)

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Hoof of the Avatar 2: The Lord and the Ganker

The Last Supper (L'Ultima Cena) is a late 15th-century mural painting by Leonardo da Vinci and It is one of the world's most famous paintings, and one of the most studied, scrutinized, and satirized. It has also been the target of much speculation by writers and historical revisionists alike, usually centered on purported hidden messages or hints found within the painting

The painting represents the scene of The Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, as it is told in the Gospel of John, 13:21. Leonardo has depicted the consternation that occurred among the Twelve Disciples when Jesus announced that one of them would betray him. Judas is clutching a small bag.

Due to the methods used, and a variety of environmental factors, as well as intentional damage, very little of the original painting remains today, despite numerous restoration attempts, the last being completed in 1999. This restoration took 21 years. (Click to enlarge)

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Hoof of the Avatar 2: The Pre-alpha Collector

Shroud of the Avatar inside of art masterpieces... We are going to start this "Hoof of the Avatar" second session with one of the most classic and iconic paintings. Enjoy my supreme good taste! 

What Wikipedia says: La Gioconda is a half-length portrait of a woman by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci painted between 1503 and 1506, which has been acclaimed as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world". 

The subject's expression, which is frequently described as enigmatic, the monumentality of the composition, the subtle modeling of forms, and the atmospheric illusionism were novel qualities that have contributed to the continuing fascination and study of the work. There has been much speculation regarding the painting's model and landscape.

The painting, thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini and it has permanent display at the Louvre Museum in Paris since 1797.

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Hoof of the Avatar Session One compilation

I wish to launch this second age of the purple site with a new session of "Hoof of the Avatar", one of my favorite sections. Since we don't have too much recent Shroud of the Avatar pen-art I am going to make the opposite exercise this time: I will look for some (human) art masterpieces and I will put inside the paintings the universe of the shrouded avatars.

But first a little recap of the first session (uploaded in two waves):

3D Art Llama awards

Finally is the day! Let's take a look to the 3D Art Llama contest submissions and hail the winner!

Net was the first artist to send a photo to the contest. Here his glorious labyrinth of the R8.

Hoof of the Avatar #15: City of Tamers

And this is the last version of the new "Hoof of of the Avatar" serie. With my purple pleasure!

Original Version

Hoof of the Avatar #14: The Haunting Claw

Original Version

Hoof of the Avatar #13: The End of the Time

Original Version

Hoof of the Avatar #12: Gyros

Original Version

Hoof of the Avatar #11: Hunger Games

Portalarium has released some few new concept art pieces lately. That means that I should do the same with a new edition of "Hoof of the Avatar". Or maybe not, but I will do it anyway. :D

Original Version

3D Art Llama contest

In the past release we already started to see some great structures in 3D. For those that will not be all the time killing "noobs" in the R8 you have here a little new llama contest:

Hoof of the Avatar #10: Hecatomb

Original Version

Hoof of the Avatar #9: Hands of Fate

Original Version