our favorite works of art from this year in ap art history
Class of 2015
There were countless works of art from this year that I really liked, but one of my ultimate favorites was Caillebotte's Paris: Rainy Day. I really love the comforting color palette of this painting, as well as its interesting composition and intricate detail. - Isabella Ko
My favorite painting would be Caillebotte's Rainy Day in Paris! As a lover of French culture, I can relate to this setting. When I look at this painting, it makes me feel like I am actually there, experiencing all of the lovely aspects of Paris: food, language, scenery, etc. Also I like the shiny glint of rain on the cobblestones. - Emily Drake
My favorite painting would be Caillebotte's Rainy Day in Paris! As a lover of French culture, I can relate to this setting. When I look at this painting, it makes me feel like I am actually there, experiencing all of the lovely aspects of Paris: food, language, scenery, etc. Also I like the shiny glint of rain on the cobblestones. - Emily Drake
I love this piece because it captures the simplicity of truly loving someone. - Reilly Bradford
I love the combination of patterns against the glittery gold background. - Mirabel Michelson
This is my favorite painting we've studied so far because I think that this piece was new and innovative for the time period without having to ask the question, "What is art" like you do when you look at pieces like The Fountain. I love that the male is characterized by harsher square lines and the woman has much more soft, feminine lines with floral patterns. The shimmery gold background reminds me of Byzantine works of art without being overly religious. I just love gold leaf in general and I think Klimt does it really well in this painting. - Emily Medendorp
The Kiss is my favorite piece because your eye is automatically drawn to every aspect of it. I love the way Klimt uses gold throughout the whole painting without it being overwhelming, and the way he brings in other bright colors with flowers and geometric shapes. In addition to how pretty the piece is, the expression on the woman's face allows the viewer to decide what is really happening. - Malone Laird
I love the combination of patterns against the glittery gold background. - Mirabel Michelson
This is my favorite painting we've studied so far because I think that this piece was new and innovative for the time period without having to ask the question, "What is art" like you do when you look at pieces like The Fountain. I love that the male is characterized by harsher square lines and the woman has much more soft, feminine lines with floral patterns. The shimmery gold background reminds me of Byzantine works of art without being overly religious. I just love gold leaf in general and I think Klimt does it really well in this painting. - Emily Medendorp
The Kiss is my favorite piece because your eye is automatically drawn to every aspect of it. I love the way Klimt uses gold throughout the whole painting without it being overwhelming, and the way he brings in other bright colors with flowers and geometric shapes. In addition to how pretty the piece is, the expression on the woman's face allows the viewer to decide what is really happening. - Malone Laird
My favorite work of art is Olympia by Manet because it represents the defiance of Victorine and her representation of how a woman is not just a sex toy that men can manipulate. Her assertive and confident posture shows her strong presence in the painting. - Rachel Wong
Turner, The Slave Ship, 1840
Frankly, this is my favorite image because this is one of the few paintings I could imagine hanging in my living room. Turner's painting incites a deep emotional response for me; I feel like I am almost being pulled into the water and splashed by the chaotic waves. This painting never gets boring; the energetic brushstrokes of reds and blues draw the eye to each corner of the image. Moreover, I like this painting because of the feeling that there is light at the end of the tunnel - the sun shines through the clouds as if good is ahead. Turner's piece is beautiful and mystifying.
- Mary Win Anderson
This is by far the coolest piece of art I have seen this year. Turner makes the viewer's eyes move across the whole painting because of the color. The sun in the background is incredible. - Rhodes Denny
Frankly, this is my favorite image because this is one of the few paintings I could imagine hanging in my living room. Turner's painting incites a deep emotional response for me; I feel like I am almost being pulled into the water and splashed by the chaotic waves. This painting never gets boring; the energetic brushstrokes of reds and blues draw the eye to each corner of the image. Moreover, I like this painting because of the feeling that there is light at the end of the tunnel - the sun shines through the clouds as if good is ahead. Turner's piece is beautiful and mystifying.
- Mary Win Anderson
This is by far the coolest piece of art I have seen this year. Turner makes the viewer's eyes move across the whole painting because of the color. The sun in the background is incredible. - Rhodes Denny
The sculpture, Laocoon, was my favorite image because of the story it told, and the emotion in each figure’s face as they are bitten by the serpent. - Mallory Wilkerson
My favorite piece is At The Moulin Rouge by Lautrec. I like this piece because of the different angles and the use of colors. The colors and the lighting draw the viewer in and give the piece an "otherworldly" feel. - Max Hart
Hunters in the Snow is my favorite piece because it appears that everything is well in this small snowy village when in reality, the artist hid some disasters in the layout of the painting. - Hardie Jackson
My favorite painting is Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist). I love this painting because it incites a strong emotion in the viewer. The variety of colors, from black to white to purple, within the extremely large canvas overwhelms the viewer. I love the freedom that the painting implies. The artist lets the painting flow on the canvas and take its own form, rather than forcing the paint to embody a certain picture. - Sarah Carpenter
My favorite artwork from this year is Jackson Pollock's Lavender Mist. It is such a simple piece of art and thats why I love it. The fact that he could create this piece by using a stick to drip paint on a canvas was incredible. I also love how if you look up close you can see cigarette butts and other things that fell onto it since he painted it on the floor. It really brings the artist into the painting. - Ella McIntyre
My favorite artwork from this year is Jackson Pollock's Lavender Mist. It is such a simple piece of art and thats why I love it. The fact that he could create this piece by using a stick to drip paint on a canvas was incredible. I also love how if you look up close you can see cigarette butts and other things that fell onto it since he painted it on the floor. It really brings the artist into the painting. - Ella McIntyre
My favorite painting is probably Monet's Impression: Sunrise. This is my favorite because the colors come together to create the scene rather than having a scene with colors. It is a beautiful color scheme of pastel pinks, oranges, yellows, and blues, which come together to create a beautiful sunrise, while subtly also highlighting the Industrial Revolution. - Bryn McCarthy
The Third of May, 1808 is one of my favorite paintings that we have studied because it has many different layers of meaning and a lot of symbolism that adds to the impact of Goya's work during the French conquest of Spain. His depiction of the cruelty of war and relation of the heroic Spanish martyr to Christ on the cross are powerful images portraying the horrific event that he lived through. - Isabelle Leonaitis
My favorite image is probably The Swing by Fragonard, because it's highly detailed and realistic, but it's a little promiscuous too. - Hollis Rhodes
The Swing by Fragonard is my favorite painting we have studied this year. I love the landscape, colors and story behind it. The painting is flirtatious and fun, and that is why I like it so much. - Katie Lathi
The Swing by Fragonard is my favorite painting we have studied this year. I love the landscape, colors and story behind it. The painting is flirtatious and fun, and that is why I like it so much. - Katie Lathi
My favorite piece of artwork from this section was The Black Square, created by Malevich in 1915. I like this piece because it is controversial. It seems simple and easy to create but the unique part about is it that no one else thought to create it, which makes it so special and interesting. - Gracie Letter
Of all of the art we have studied this year my favorite, by far, has been The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch. I love the chaotic nature of the triptych. It has so many weird and confusing components that it could never be called boring. Bosch's use of intricate detail, and his mastery of light in the Hell portion are what I find most impressive about this work. It reminds me of an iSpy book, in that every time you look closely at the image you can find something new and interesting to try and decipher. - Dorothy Rau
My favorite piece that we've looked at is Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights. Not only is it the pinnacle of realistic detail in perhaps all of art history, but the shear amount of scenes all contained in the work means that one could stare at the painting for hours without seeing the whole thing. While I enjoy its social significance (see the pig dressed as a nun in the bottom right), what truly amazes me is the top right scene, and Bosch's incredible ability to capture light in a completely fictional scene. Artists like Vermeer or even modern ones are capable of the same level of accuracy, but only by looking directly at a real scene or a series of photographs. To think that Bosch could create that in his head is astounding. - James Kolsby
My favorite piece that we've looked at is Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights. Not only is it the pinnacle of realistic detail in perhaps all of art history, but the shear amount of scenes all contained in the work means that one could stare at the painting for hours without seeing the whole thing. While I enjoy its social significance (see the pig dressed as a nun in the bottom right), what truly amazes me is the top right scene, and Bosch's incredible ability to capture light in a completely fictional scene. Artists like Vermeer or even modern ones are capable of the same level of accuracy, but only by looking directly at a real scene or a series of photographs. To think that Bosch could create that in his head is astounding. - James Kolsby
Tomb of Ramses II - This one is my favorite because it simply blows my mind. The figures are colossal. The fact that the Egyptians had this sort of resources and ability to create this is amazing. - Haley Tucker
My favorite art piece we studied this year was the Lamassu, not solely because it was your favorite piece but also because I loved the sculptures we studied other than the human form. Also the fact that it was destroyed over the course of our class (by ISIS) is incredibly surreal and sobering. - Lindsey Watson
I like this one a lot (even though it wasn't on the slidesheet) because it's really patriotic but doesn't look like your average American flag painting. The 3D aspect is really cool and I like how you can see the brushstrokes, but it also has a really clean look. - Steffi Bolton
Degas's Ballet Rehearsal is my favorite artwork from this year. I like the interesting perspective and the lines that run throughout the image (diagonals going from front left to back right and the weird staircase on the left that impedes the image but also adds to it). I also like the muted palette and it reminds me of my childhood when I used to dance ballet. He captured the light of a ballet studio exactly right and that's why I love it. - Caroline Blackmon
Masaccio was one of my favorite artists after I saw Tribute Money. I didn't like Holy Trinity, but I love the colors in this work of art. I love the stormy background as well. - Camille Ward
My favorite piece of art from this year is The Abbey in The Oakwood by Casper David Friedrich. I like the muted color palette and the eerie scene of death. The Gothic window adds a little touch of beauty to its fading surroundings. - Adrienne Berry
My favorite work from this year was studying the Giza complex because I love the history behind the relation to the Gods and the Pharaohs of Egypt that went behind building these monuments. - Di Law
Raphael Sanzio's The School of Athens fresco of 1510 is my favorite piece of art we have studied all year. I love how it connects the classics to its modern day Italian Renaissance. These two eras were my favorite to look at and study because it connected with Latin and the fact that I had seen some of the pieces in real life. I also like the architecture inside the fresco of the marble statues of Apollo and Athena with barrel vaults and Venetian skies in the background. - Kate Marino
The Seated Boxer is one of my favorite works from this year because it shows so much emotion but it is up the viewer to decide the story behind it. - McRae Mayfield
It's totally cliche but one of my favorites that we learned about this year is Starry Night. I like it because it was painted from a view of an asylum. I also like it because it is a mystical, fantastical, and almost tragic painting. - Berkeley McDonough