Activity #11: Write About It!! Period and Culture

In 1655, Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn created “Abraham’s Sacrifice,” an etching and drypoint on paper. All artworks come from a period and culture. The period of an artwork is defined by the time in history when the work was made. Culture refers to the behavior and belief characteristics of a particular social or ethnic group. “Abraham’s Sacrifice” was made in 1655 which places it in the Baroque Era (1600s-1700s) (Getlein, 421). Unlike the Renaissance period which stressed calm and reason, Baroque art contains vivid emotion, energy, and movement as well as vibrant colors that differ drastically between colors and value (421). As Rembrandt is Dutch, the piece to, comes from the Dutch culture.

In 1943, M.C. Escher created an interesting lithograph on paper known as “Reptiles.” The period of an artwork is defined by the time in history when the work was made while culture refers to the behavior and belief characteristics of a particular social or ethnic group. “Reptiles” falls into the Modern Period. The Modern Period is characterized by rapid change and ranges from early 19th century to the middle of the 20th century (1800-1945). Like Rembrandt’s “Abraham’s Sacrifice,” “Reptiles” comes from the Dutch culture. During the 20th century, Dutch painting was strongly influenced by expressionism, characterized by the distortion of visual appearances in order to express psychological or emotional states (583). As you can see in the work, the lizards seem break away form their captivity only to return to it which could reflect an emotion that Escher was feeling at the time of its creation.