David Allan's artistic career may be divided into two major periods. Having first attended the Foulis Academy, he spent at least a decade in Italy, finally returning to Scotland in 1779, his home for the next seventeen years. The pictures which he executed during this second period form the basis of the present study. Since the emphasis of this study is thematic rather than biographical, some distortion of chronology is inevitable, though it is not uncomfortably obvious. At the same time, some element of biography is indispensable. This is particuarly true of the first chapter, a necessary setting of the scene which highlights Allan's training in the arts, his collection of prints, copies, original drawings and plaster casts, and the most important works from his years abroad. That part of this biographical account which deals with his Scottish career is devoted largely to Allan's work as Master of the Trustees' Academy, since the pictures with which he was occupied at this time - portraits, Conversation pieces, literary illustrations, Historical paintings and Genre scenes - are taken in groups and discussed in greater depth in the chapters which follow. Before the first chapter concerned with Allan's work in any of these genres, however, there stands a chapter dealing with the wider context of narrative painting in Britain at the time and introducing a number of themes traced throughout later chapters, where they are more fully and particularly discussed.

The Thesis examines the symbolism, and the sources of that symbolism, in the poetry and painting of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Chapter 1 considers the significance of the title of Rossetti's sonnet-sequence The House of Life. Chapter 2 looks at the opening sonnets of that sequence. Chapter 3 scrutinises the sonnet quartet of the Willow-wood sequence. Chapter 4 evaluates the influence of Platonism and Neoplatonism in Rossetti's art. Chapter 5 is concerned with Rossetti's use of allegory. Chapter 6 surveys the influence of Rosicrucianism on Rossetti and his immediate circle of the pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and on the Aesthetic School that succeeded it. This chapter closely examines the symbolic motifs of Rosicrucianism, and how these may be traced in the paintings of these artists. Chapter 7 explores the Rosicrucian influence in Rossetti's poetry. Chapter 8 further traces these influences in Rossetti's painting. Chapter 9 investigates the Goddess figure within Rossetti's later paintings.

This thesis examines several works of religious content produced by the Brescian painters Gerolamo Romano, 11 Romanino (148487-15'59) and Alessandro Bonvicino, 11 Moretto (1498-1554), produced for patrons and locations in Brescia between 15 10 and 1550. This enquiry has drawn on little used historical material in order to integrate the discussion of the images into a wider social and historical context. The key aim of this study is to establish how Romanino and Moretto defined a Brescian identity in art. This will be argued by using two different approaches in order to examine the existence, and the manifestations, of such a local identity One approach taken in this study is to look at groups of corporate patrons and to consider the works executed for them in terms of similarities of content. Chapters 2 and 3 in turn consider the works executed by Romanino and Moretto for the Congregations of Santa Giustina of Padua, and of San Giorgio in Alga. The second approach adopted for the purposes of examination of strategies for the establishment of a Brescian visual identity employed in this study is to focus on representations of the Eucharist. It will be shown that Moretto developed a new visual motif of the 'Eucharistic Christ' in response to the growing popularity of the Forty Hours devotion in Brescia.

Piet Mondrian in his essays, the majority of which were published in De Stijl, stressed the importance of a conscious understanding of the concept of evolution, both as a conception of man's spiritual and biolgical evolution. This study of his life's work examines the development of his ever growing cognizance of this concept as a 'unity in duality', and in addition his awareness of the implications of this conception. The consideration of Mondrian's life's work from the premises set by a study involved with the evolutionary nature of his work has brought into sharp focus the dialectical relationship that his latter work has to his earlier work. But in addition research conducted for this study has shown that the entirety of Mondrian's work does not exist as an isolated individual incident but as a consciously, thus dialectically related part of the History of Philosophy of Art. The methods used in the course of this study were developed from the implications of the original premises 'to consider the relationships between Mondrian's theories and practice'. To begin with, a basic philosophic background was established against which Mondrian's theories could be studied. This was followed by a careful study of his early work against the background of 19th century European Art and the theories that influenced the art of that period. A form of 'bibliography', was constructed which embraced both paintings and literature with which Mondrian could have concerned himself and been influenced by. For example, the collection of paintings in the Mesdag Museum and Dr. Schoenmaekers two books. The problem of visualizing Mondrian's lice as an evolutionary process became an early and difficult question. It was resolved through the construction of two statistical graphs, the second of which was drawn with the aid of a computer. At every stage of the close study of individual works, made by Mondrian and other artists, whose work was used for comparative purposes, analytic diagrams were constructed. They have proved themselves to be invaluable in gaining a clarification and cognizance of the evolution of Mondrian's concept of 'unity in duality', in his visual work. The major divisions of this study are concerned with the stylistic and theoretical changes that make up the parts of Mondrian's transition from an art based in the perceptual cognizance and expression of reality to the conscious manifestation of an art that was in its essential form rooted in a pure conception of reality. In realizing this form of art Mondrian also found answers to the ontological questions that had beset him in his early years and had consequently acted as a powerful motivating force to his artistic evolution. The conclusions drawn from this study of Mondrian's life's work are that his work in all its manifold aspects was, throughout his life an ever evolving expression of man's desire to understand and to manifest his understanding of the universe and as such his work was in complete concordance with his theories.

This paper explores what kinds of paintings do children of a particular locale really like and what are some of the reasons for their choices. This information could be of use in planning methods of developing and nurturing aesthetic experiences through more wisely chosen reproductions of masterpieces of paintings.

The purpose of this thesis was to follow a given subject from its inception on a rectangular surface through a series of paintings to a point where the shapes and forms of the original painting culminated in a shaped surface. Each painting except the first one in the series would contain less of the subject than the preceding.

This paper is to present a study of ultrastructured elements of the microcosm as a stimulus for painting.

The human figure, allegory, myth, and the appropriation of other artist’s compositions are elements in my work. I aim to update traditional stories to conform to contemporary times and culture. In addition, I am striving to create a new method to visually express figurative storytelling. Breaking from the traditional flat painting surface, I use multiple shaped panels. The surface is broken into different shaped panels at varying distances from each other and from the wall. This allows for more exploration into shape and negative space while depicting the dramatic height of a story. As part of this method, my paintings explore the discrete nature of human vision, or how we focus on individual parts of a scene while the brain filters the gestalt.

Artist Statement I am fascinated with colors in nature and how it affects our moods. The colors of a sunset and moonlit sky; the feeling of a brewing storm; the laziness of a cold, gray day; the roar of an ocean; and the feel of sand on your feet are elements that I want to capture in my drawings and paintings. In addition to the natural environment, animals are an integral part of nature that I incorporate in my work. Pets are the unspoken blessings that bring joy and laughter to my life. Pets, especially dogs, are proven to relieve stress, to brighten emotions, to contribute to healing, to be forgiving, and to be loyal. Finally, my family features prominently in my work. The best times in my life have all been a result of relationships and special moments with them.

My artwork is inspired by philosophical questions and personal experiences that are prompted from the colors and textures of weathered and worn metal, the changing scenery of the landscape, or from the recollections of childhood memories. The sum of these inspirations are unified by the concepts of growth and change, my own and that of the body of work. The translation of my experiences provides the opportunity to discover new variations in theme, process, and media. For example, monotype printmaking allows me to present the often overlooked beauty of metal eroding, revealing its story layer by layer. Digital photography encourages me to revisit the places of my childhood and consider the effects of the passing years. Painting provides a playground for the exploration of line, shape, texture, and color in a symbolic and nonobjective manner.