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Lilacs in a Window by Mary Cassatt
This work of fine art painting by Mary Cassatt is a great example of how signature form can trigger an emotional response. The pleasing colors and details are such that one can almost smell the lilacs, bringing forth a moment of tranquility. [https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/13758] -
1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky
While this piece was commissioned as a nationalist piece, it has become universal. To this day, this piece is performed in concert bands and celebrations across the globe. The ideas of the “calm before the storm” before a war, the tragedy of the war, & the peace that comes after victory, are all ideas that can be understood by many nations. Tchaikovsky used techniques such as tempo changes, key changes, and specific instruments to bring forth different emotions.
*Photo from Google search. -
Little Dancer of Fourteen Years by Edgar Degas
This mixed media sculpture by Degas depicts a real 14 year old working-class dancer of the Paris Opera Ballet. Without using words, this one sculpture speaks volumes to us about the hardship but determination of the young working girls of the time. She holds her head up high, and we can’t help but feel emotional. [https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.110292.html] -
The Kiss by Rodin
This marble sculpture by Auguste Rodin shows lovers embraced in a kiss. The lovers were said to be Paolo and Francesca from Dante's Divine Comedy. This sculpture is pleasing to look at it, with the bodies spiraling around each other. This piece is magnificent because it is universal and timeless. https://www.musee-rodin.fr/en/musee/collections/oeuvres/kiss -
Late October by Grimshaw
John Atkinson Grimshaw was able to paint with such skill and imagination that the viewer can almost tell what the weather and time of day was just by observing Grimshaw's colors and portrayal of light. *Photo from Google Search -
The Cliff Walk at Pourville by Monet
Claude Monet, one of the founders of the impressionism style, created this lovely artwork after a visit to the town of Pourville. He found his surroundings so wonderful that he wanted to share it. The girls in the photo are painted in a way that they are there but not the main focus. The quick, whimsical brushstrokes give the feeling of the light and the wind adding to the beauty outside. https://www.artic.edu/artworks/14620/cliff-walk-at-pourville -
Transit of Venus March by Sousa
John Philip Sousa created this brass band march after being inspired by the transit of Venus between the Sun and a Superior Planet, which only happens every 243 years and Sousa witnessed in 1882. Sousa was fascinated by astronomy and his imagination and creativity reflects this in this majestic march. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080610083907/http://www.transitofvenus.org/sousa.htm] -
The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus
This poem by Emma Lazarus was written to celebrate the Statue of Liberty, but makes reference to the Greek Colossus. The poem has universal appeal, and parts of her poem have been used in numerous songs, movies, and books ... “Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46550/the-new-colossus] -
Symphony in F Minor by Strauss
Still played in concert halls across the world, This symphony by Strauss uses all of the right methods to stir up emotions.
*Photo from Google -
The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant
Guy de Maupassant was considered to be a master of the short story genre. His works have been read in high schools and college literature classes for many years, and this is perhaps one of his most popular. He became skilled to hook his readers into the story, and then shock them with a twisted ending.
*Photo from Google Search -
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Mark Twain penned such detail into his characters in this novel, that they seemed real. So real, that it painted a story that many did not want to hear. This book has been everything from a mandatory reading and bestseller to a banned book. This shows the power of words that Mark Twain used and the quality of his work.
*Photo from Google Search -
A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
This volume of 64 poems for children, but enjoyed by all, has been reprinted many times and even made into songs. The poems were written from the viewpoint of children, who often use their imagination. But, children grow up and tend to leave that behind "For, long ago, truth to say, He has grown up and gone away,
And it is but a child of air That lingers in the garden there."
[http://robert-louis-stevenson.org/works/a-childs-garden-of-verses-1885/] -
L'Estaque With Red Roofs by Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne painted more than a dozen different views of the village of L'Estaque. He loved the red roofs and how colorful they were against the background of the blue sea. The signature form of this painting gives an aesthetic emotional response.
[https://www.wikiart.org/en/paul-cezanne/l-estaque-with-red-roofs-1885] -
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat
Georges Seurat used a pointillism approach to paint this beautiful picture of many people enjoying an afternoon by the river Seine. The technique in which he was able to use tiny dots of paint, but still capture light and shadows, is of a truly aesthetic quality. [https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437658] -
Comblat-le-Château. Le Pré. by Paul Signac
Paul Signac, with an incredible skill and talent, used pointillism to create this beautiful landscape of a meadow in the village of Comblat-le-Château in France. Even without blending the thousands of tiny dots of paint, Signac was able to capture wonderful light and shadows and even create a textured look to the trees and bushes.
[https://collections.dma.org/artwork/5333314] -
Statue of Liberty by Bartholdi
This sculpture, located in the New York Harbour, is one of the most recognized sculptures in the world. While it was designed by Bartholdi to be a gift between two nations, it has universal love and beauty.
[http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/sculpture/bartholdi.htm] -
Ponce de Leon Hotel in St Augustine, FL
Now part of Flagler College, this gorgeous example of Spanish Colonial architecture was once a hotel that was a popular visiting spot of many famous writers and artists.
[https://www.flagler.edu/about-flagler/history/hotel-ponce-de-leon/] -
Martinique Landscape by Paul Gaugin
Paul Gaugin spent some time in this Caribbean island and loved escaping city life to be in nature. The multiple colors give a pleasing form, and no one object in the painting takes key focus. Instead, the eyes see the whole picture of beauty. [https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/4941/martinique-landscape] -
Otello by Giuseppe Verdi
This four-act opera was the creation of Giuseppe Verdi based on the work of Shakespeare's Othello. Verdi skillfully uses key changes, tempo changes, and features different instruments in order to create an emotional effect that matches the drama of the story.
[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126806626]
*Photo from Google Image Search -
Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque in Shiraz, Iran
This beautiful mosque, often called the "pink mosque", has numerous stained glass windows that create a gorgeous interior view as well when the sun shines through.
[https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/nasir-al-mulk-mosque] -
Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh
Van Gogh's paintings of sunflowers are among his most popular works of art. The shades of yellow and green are aesthetically pleasing in form. For van Gogh, he found deeper meaning in them, in that he saw them as a way of expressing gratitude.
[https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0031v1962] -
Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
This magnificent structure is over 1000 ft to the tip. It is so universally beloved that people from all over the world travel to Paris to visit it. Over 7 million visitors each year pay to visit this glorious piece of architecture.
[https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/tour-eiffel] -
Down by the Salley Gardens by Yeats
This beautiful poem by William Butler Yeats is one that expresses deep emotion. This poem has been used multiple times by musicians of many countries.
" In a field by the river my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand.
She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears."
[https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50311/down-by-the-salley-gardens] *Photo from Google Search