Caravaggio, Vincent van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse, Georges de la Tour Essay

Caravaggio, Vincent van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse, Georges de la Tour - Essay Example The essay "Caravaggio, Vincent van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse, Georges de la Tour" examines the history of art and focuses on such important artists as Georges de la Tour, Caravaggio, Vincent van Gogh, Picasso and Matisse. The paintings of La Tour's maturity are marked by a startling geometric simplification of the human form and by the depiction of interior scenes lit only by the glare of candles or torches. His religious paintings done in this manner have a monumental simplicity and a stillness that expresses both contemplative quiet and wonder. The chronology and authenticity of some works attributed to him are still debated. Georges de la Tour used two kinds of lighting in his pictures. One was natural lighting, where people were illuminated from above with cool white light--like the painting reproduced with this article. The other kind of lighting he used was for nighttime pictures. They were called "nocturnes." The light for these pictures came from a single source, such as a fire or a candle. Georges de la Tour is considered to be a follower of Caravaggio due to his dependency on specific elements of the Caravaggesque style. Most notably the use of chiaroscuro and tenebristic techniques. In his interpretation of those certain stylistic qualties, however, Georges was unique in his design and composition, and presented an entirely new way of looking at common realistic works of art. Georges de la Tour is classed as a realist. Realist he is in that his subjects, predominantly if not exclusively religious. , are represented in terms of "real" life, often the life of his own country-town and surroundings in Lorraine. But he avoided naturalism; rather, he chose to simplify, modelling his forms by marked contrasts of light and shade, and using large volumes and severe lines, with great selective economy of detail" (Furness 70, 1996). 2 George de la Tour's attention to mood is a predominant quality that pervades his works. The paintings, especially the night scenes, have an almost meditative or pensive quality about them. Though the subject matter may, at times, be rather ambiguous, the spirituality communicated through the mood diminishes the importance of deciphering what scene we're looking at. Rather, the focus is on the way the painting makes us, as the viewer, feel through simple observation. A visual element that helps the viewer to focus on the scene before them is achieved through the absence of a background in the scenes. George De La Tour's sparsely populated pictures almost always represent scenes that take place nowhere, if they are judged by the almost complete absence of scenery. The boundaries of the settings are, nevertheless, delineated. There appear to be walls, but they have no texture and the colour is not descriptive. Georges de la Tour's works can be distinguished most especially through the unique use of lighting in his nocturnal scenes. The paintings are lit with a candle, a nightlight, or a torch, which are sometimes visible or are, at other times, hidden behind a figure's hand or another object. As for his less numerous and less popular daylight scenes, the figures are rendered with an acute eye to detail and a simplicity within the scene that is not found in the works of any other artist at the time. In examining various

Aspects of Policing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Aspects of Policing - Research Paper Example In essence, the same words, "to serve and protect," might be on many police departments' patrol cars, but interpretation is left wide open to the many analysts engaged in the field. Body Traditionally, police officers have been viewed as soldiers engaged in a war on crime. This view has had the detrimental effect of focusing on ineffective strategies for crime control while resulting in a major cause of police violence and civil rights violations. The "war model" inaccurately portrays a ‘search and destroy’ mentality to banish crime, disorder, and the scourge of drugs (Byrne & Pease, 2008). According to DeParis (2000) it does not help that many police departments continue to use a bureaucratic, closed-system approach in an ever-changing and intrusive external environment. Such an environment results in an unstable situation (p. 108). Nevertheless, noteworthy changes in the policing philosophy have resulted in the movement towards community policing. Many feel that this m ovement is the result of police that have not been accountable to the community, but have served status quo interests. Researchers declare that the conversion from traditional policing to a community-oriented approach will be one of the most significant challenges affecting police organizations today (Gilling, 2007). With the help of responsible citizens and progressive police administrators there have been tremendous accomplishments in developing a form of policing that better meets the needs of the community. But Goldstein (2000) complains that the term "community policing" tends to be used indiscriminately to encompass the most ambitious project in policing to the most mundane, without regard for its true meaning. Politicians, administrators and police executives exacerbate the problem by misleading citizens into expectations that community policing will provide instant solutions not only for the problems of crime, disorder, and racial tension but for many of the other acute prob lems that plague the community as well. Of course, the failure of superficial programs with the community-policing label then adds to the frustration of not only the community, but also the police officers involved (Jean, 2007), One reaction in the law enforcement community has been to attempt definition and simplification of the community policing model. This presents a problem for such a complex process as policing. In fact, Goldstein (2000) argues, the field already suffers because so much in policing is oversimplified (p. 72). The criminal justice system has traditionally categorized and defined crime, violence, and disorder into simple convenient terms that act to disguise amorphous, complex problems. Oversimplification places a heavy burden on the police and complicates the police task. Goldstein (2000) explains that the police respond with such equally simplistic terms as "enforcement" and "patrol" in which the community is familiar but does not understand the methods they em brace or their value. Goldstein (2000) is concerned that if community policing is used as just another generic response or simplistic characterization of the police function this truly innovative approach will quickly lose credibility (p. 72) Another concern for police executives making the transition to community policin