Skip to main content

Tony Toscani

 

Tony Toscani, The Observer, 2019

CONTEXT CLUES:

Tony Toscani is a contemporary artist, meaning he is still alive and creating art.

His figures are detailed and shaded, but the proportions are not completely realistic. Toscani said, “I am simply painting what it is like to be all of us. The heads are smaller because they are no longer of any use. Limbs continue to grow because their functions are still needed in order to survive.” Why do you think he feels this way? The only other object in the painting is a phone, but he's not using it - what do you think that means?

Look at Toscani's paintings. How do you feel? What choices did the artist make to create that feeling?

Other (NOT self-portrait) artwork by Toscani:










Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Self Portrait Gallery

Look through the gallery and choose 3 self-portraits that you personally find interesting. Click on the photos for more information about them.

Pablo Picasso

  LEFT PHOTO: Pablo Picasso, Self Portrait , 1896 (age 15) RIGHT PHOTO: Pablo Picasso,  Self Portrait Facing Death, 1972 (age 90) CONTEXT CLUES: Picasso was taught to draw from a very young age and was allowed to start taking classes at an art college at the age of only 13. However, at age 16 he dropped out of art school to pursue his own ideas about art. His paintings became increasingly unique and abstract. Self Portrait Facing Death  was painted less than a year before Picasso died. He drew himself with huge, wide eyes facing forward and a blue-green skin color. How do you think he was feeling when he made this artwork? More self-portraits by Picasso, in the order they were made:

Jean Michel Basquiat

    LEFT PHOTO: Jean Michel Basquiat,  Self Portrait as a Heel , 1982 RIGHT PHOTO: Jean Michel Basquiat,  Self Portrait as a Heel (Part 2) , 1982 CONTEXT CLUES: A "heel" is slang for a person who is self-centered or untrustworthy; someone with no sense of loyalty or honor. Why do you think Basquiat would choose to describe himself this way? Jean-Michel Basquiat is considered to be one of the most influential Black American artists of the late twentieth century. Basquiat did not have an easy life - his mother had severe depression and went to live in a mental hospital when he was 13 and a disagreement with his father left Basquiat homeless for a while as a teenager. As an artist, his focus was on equality in the society, racial segregation and livelihood, especially in America.      Source:  Jean-Michel Basquiat Biography More self-portraits by Basquiat: