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Did you ever wonder about How Works of Art Become Famous?

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Have you ever wondered why certain works of art are so famous? For instance, why does the Mona Lisa enjoy celebrity status, even though there have been scores of other well-painted portraits throughout history?

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is currently known as the most famous painting in the world, but in previous centuries, it was merely regarded as a well-executed portrait by one of the Renaissance’s greatest luminaries. It wasn’t until the 20th century that the painting skyrocketed to fame. It was stolen in 1911 and recovered in 1913 – two dramatic events that catapulted the painting into the limelight. Mechanical reproduction and commercialism further propelled the fame of the painting, with the image being sold on various types of merchandise as well as appearing in countless advertisements. By now, the Mona Lisa’s fame is self-perpetuating and her legend is well-established.

The Venus de Milo is another example of a work of art that became famous not just for its beauty. Although it is one of only a few extant sculptures from the Classical period, the Venus de Milo enjoys its particular fame due to the massive propaganda efforts put forth by the French in the early 19th century, in an attempt to proclaim that their Venus was a better work of art than an Italian version of the Goddess.

The relative fame of an artwork depends on far more than just skill or execution; factors such as the timing and location of the piece, the social and political atmosphere of when it was created, and the artist’s ability to create an emotional resonance between the artwork and the viewers all play a part in why some artworks are more coveted than others. In the end, a healthy dose of fate, luck or chance doesn’t hurt, either.

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The Woman Who Inspired Mona Lisa

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Arguably the most famous painting in the world, Mona Lisa is an iconic oil painting created by acclaimed artist Leonardo da Vinci in the 16th century. For centuries, the piece has been the subject of much fascination, scrutiny, and admiration.

One of the longest-running questions pertained to the identity of the woman depicted in the painting. Although many believed it to be the wife of an Italian businessman, Francesco del Giocondo, the artist left no record to confirm that, and there were several other obscure references that implied other possibilities.

But in 2005, the mystery was finally laid to rest. At the University of Heidelberg in Germany, a library researcher named Armin Schlechter discovered a note made in the margin of the works of Roman philosopher Cicero. In the note, a friend of da Vinci’s, Agostino Vespucci, confirmed the sitter’s identity to be Lisa del Giocondo. Shortly after the birth of their second son, her husband had commissioned the painting to display in their new home. The Italian title loosely translates to “Lady Lisa”.

Today, the original painting is displayed in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, and is widely renowned as a timeless symbol of enigmatic femininity.

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The Louvre Museum in Paris

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Did you know the Louvre Museum in Paris is the largest art museum in the world? It was also the residency to kings prior to the Palace of Versailles and is, to this day, a historic monument that represents most nations. Aside from numerous pieces of famous artwork and exhibits, it even houses a McDonalds! (Talk about an experience that crosses cultural divides.)

It is said that the museum is so large an individual who spends 4 seconds looking at each work of art would take 3 months to get through the entire institute. However, it’s hard to imagine how anyone could take only a glance at the famous masterpieces available in this setting — some of which include Leonardo da Vinci’s, “Mona Lisa” and Michelangelo’s Italian Renaissance sculpture, “The Rebellious Slave.”

Open to the public in 1793, the museum has spent the past 2 centuries securing its title as the “Museum among museums.” At the time, it was a home to France’s nobility, and throughout the ages has played a critical role in art history and world politics. Founded during the French Revolution the infamous infrastructure, like the country, was made to evolve, influence, and remain aware of all things new in Europe and throughout the world.

As kings took royal oaths and war raged, the Louvre never wavered under poor leadership or political stresses. She always remained a fortress. In fact, during World War I and II, the museum slowed acquisitions and removed most of the work, hiding them so they would not be taken by opposition forces. Such protective measures allowed the museum to remain the beacon of art history well into the 21st century.

To this day the Louvre advances itself as a “barrier-free” museum. It desires to attract all people within the nation of France as well as those outside the borders. Henry Loyrette, the current president and CEO of the Louvre notes how the museum continues to “play a major role in cultural diplomacy.” This is done through the intrinsic ability art has to dull the divides of contingencies and tensions. It also inspires dialogue between people of different cultures. Ultimately, art promotes respect and forges a common bond for all.

At the present time, the Louvre houses upwards of 380,000 pieces of art work and has 35,000 of these on display in eight different departments (Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings). The Louvre also exhibits archaeological finds as well. It is the most visited museum in the world and averages 15,000 visitors per day. Aside from being a setting of many movies, the museum was a point of interest in best selling book, The DaVinci Code and the 2006 film. From this filming alone the museum collected $2.5 million and got to showcase its most prominent galleries.

If you’ve had the opportunity to visit the Louvre Museum in Paris, Segmation would love to hear about your experience. Please share your highlights in the comment box below.

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Painting from Real Life vs. Painting from a Photograph

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Which is better: painting from real life, or painting from a photograph?

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Before the invention of photography, artists had to work from real life. How did that affect artists’ working habits?

The necessity of working from life meant that in order to paint a portrait, the sitter had to pose for hours, days, weeks, and sometimes months before the artist was finished. To paint a still life, the artist would have to make sure the set-up stayed the same day after day, and could only paint when the lighting conditions were the same as the previous day. For landscape painting, artists would have to finish as much as possible on-site and often complete the final painting in their studio, often surrounded by smaller studies that contained notes on which hues and values to place where.

The invention of photography – especially digital photography – has changed the way artists work. Thanks to the convenience of affordable digital cameras, artists can easily take a variety of high-quality pictures of whatever they want to paint, and then instead of working from real life, they can work from their photographs.

In many ways, this has made representational painting easier for artists. They no longer have to wait until weather and lighting conditions are just right for outdoor painting, and sitters no longer need to spend precious hours posing for a portrait. While many artists now embrace the use of reference photos as aids to creating paintings, others still prefer to work in the style of the old masters. Which way is better?

One drawback to painting from photographs is that the resulting artwork may appear “flat”, because the objects, scene, or person depicted in the painting was first translated into 2-D form via the camera. When an artist works from real life, she has to use her artistic skills to transform the 3-D view before her into 2-D form on her canvas. When working from a photograph, an artist may become too reliant on depicting the actual 2-D photo, as opposed to depicting the 3-D scene that the photograph itself depicts.

Even so, the use of reference photos has largely aided artists in their working process, although each artist has his or her own preference between working from photos or working from real life.

So artists, when it comes to working from real life vs. working from a photograph, which do you prefer, and why?

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Be my Valentine by www.segmation.com

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You’ll find in our SegPlayPC Be My Valentine pattern collection. This is a fun, off-beat set of great colorful digital patterns. We know you’ll enjoy coloring these great patterns! What a great stress reliever as well.

Gorgeous art painting patterns to color and relax with. You don’t have to be a professional artist to enjoy this. Join the fun today! Segmation.com

Valentine’s Day is celebrated around the world on February 14th. It’s a magical day where lovers express their love for one another in many traditional and untraditional ways. In today’s time, candy, chocolates, flowers, and heart filled cards are usually given as gifts in many cultures around the globe. Our set of Valentine themed patterns includes many illustrated graphics of the holiday including roses, candy, cupids with arrows, dragons and puppies in love, and couples in love. Happy Valentine’s Day to all!
This set contains 24 paintable patterns.

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Leonardo and Picasso: Artists of Their Times www.segmation.com

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Leonardo da Vinci and Pablo Picasso are two of the most famous painters in history (if not the most famous); one a Renaissance genius renowned for his skillful realism, the other a modern legend and co-founder of Cubism.

Did you know that even though Leonardo’s Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the world, he only produced less than 30 paintings in total? Even then, many of them were left unfinished. Picasso, on the other hand, created nearly 2000 paintings – plus sculptures, drawings, ceramics, and hand-pulled prints that combine to over 50,000 works of art! (To be fair though, Leonardo also left behind a substantial number of drawings, sketches, and pages full of notes.)

One reason for this vast difference in the number of paintings produced is that both artists were products of the times in which they lived. When Leonardo was alive, artists didn’t have the luxury of creating art for art’s sake. Instead they were commissioned by the church, guilds and wealthy patrons to create paintings and sculptures that were expected to depict certain themes. For this reason, Leonardo needed to find work where he could. During times of war, he had to work as a military architect and engineer, designing methods of defense. Making art took a backseat to the work necessary for survival.

By the time Picasso was born 362 years after Leonardo’s death, the world was a different place. Artists had more freedom than ever to paint what they wanted. Self-expression in art was more widely accepted and expected. Instead of being commission-based, most artwork was sold in galleries to private collectors, as money flowed more abundantly through society than it did during the Renaissance. By the 20th century, successful artists such as Picasso were able to sustain themselves from the sale of their artworks alone, and did not need to seek alternate forms of employment to make ends meet.

These factors may contribute to the reason why Picasso created so many more artworks than Leonardo, even though Leonardo is the creator of the most famous painting in the world. Who knows what more Leonardo could have accomplished if he’d been alive in modern times?

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Let it Snow!

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Let it Snow – All Ages can enjoy and have fun!

So relaxing and with no mess! What a brain teaser!

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Snow has an amazing and truly magical effect when added to natural scenes. The serene and peaceful beauty of snow can take your breath away. Trees, fields, and mountaintops look quite amazing when dusted with a bit of snow. In this spirit, our “Let it Snow” pattern set captures the beauty of snow adorned scenes. In these 21 patterns created from stunning photographs, you’ll find many pictures with a snowy theme. You’ll find snow on mountaintops, reflecting in water, adorning trees, on the top of fences, windmills, and roadways, on sunlit fields, and as backdrops to skiers and snowboarders.

This set contains 25 paintable patterns. We know you’ll enjoy coloring these great patterns!

Follow a number key to fill in sections of the picture and gradually, the image emerges in color segments. Paint-by-numbers meets modern technology in SegPlay® PC, a computerized paint-by-numbers program for Windows 7, 2000, XP, and Vista.

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Hanukkah, Christmas, Happy New Year’s – Season’s Greetings as Beautiful Art Paintings

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Season’s Greetings Art Painting – All Ages can enjoy and have fun!

So relaxing and with no mess! What a brain teaser!

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These greetings are often spoken with good intentions to friends, family, and strangers during the months of December and January. “Happy New Year”, “Merry Christmas”, “Happy Holidays”, “Happy Hanukkah”, “Peace on Earth”, and “Season’s Greetings” are shouted with joy during this time period. In other languages, you can say “Boas Festas”, “Bon Carnaval”, “Feliz Navidad”, “Glædelig jul”, “Hyvää joulua”, “Iyi Seneler”, “Nollaig Shona Duit”, “Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon”, and “Joyeuses Fêtes”. Our Season’s Greetings artwork has been provided by Puffy P who creates edgy and humorous properties for licensing, with a specialization in the teen/tween, Latin, and women’s markets. You find snowmen, menorahs, snowflakes, Christmas trees, confetti, champagne, and cookies among the greetings!

This set contains 25 paintable patterns. We know you’ll enjoy coloring these great patterns!

What our customers are saying about Segmation….

One of my minors in college was art so I am very familiar with a lot of the artists and their masterpieces. While I’m using your Segmation program I have a peace of mind while ironically feeling addicted to complete each work of art I begin. A big plus is I do not make a mess of my art room by bringing out all the paper, mediums, etc. to create my own works of art.*** I love SegPlay. I find myself using it as a fun mind challenge when I have nothing else to do. Years ago, I even told my mother about it when I set her up with a computer and she loves it too*** I have thoroughly enjoyed all the pattern sets that I have purchased from Segmation. Keep the pattern sets coming and know that we frustrated artists out here will keep buying them.*** My grandkids just love painting Segmation. Actually so do I. ***I am addicted to Segmation. My granddaughter is learning her numbers by using the simple paintings you offer. ***Thank you for coming up with such a fun.*** I love this Segplay game!!!!! I get so absorbed in it, that sometimes when I color a big spot, I wonder if I’ll have enough paint to cover it or finish the picture. ..I LOVE IT.***I enjoy my “Painting” so much.*** www.segmation.com

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