Painting And Miscarriage

Light and color are intertwined. The cone cells in the retina react to wavelengths of light that the brain perceives as colors, Throughout history artists used colors but in the Post-Renaissance period they neglected painting with vivid pigments. Instead, they stressed the importance of skillful perspective, composition, line and displaying an interesting subject. A radical change occurred regarding the status of color in art in the 19th century. with the rise of Impressionism and Fauvism. These trends emancipated color in art with a bold declaration of color's independence. At the Salon d'Autumne of 1905. an exhibition held in Paris with the participation of such artists as Andre Derain, Henri Matisse, and Maurice Vlaminck, the show room was filled with paintings that seemed to be like festive fireworks. The canvases displayed on the walls appeared flaming in an orgy of stunningly wild, ebullient and sparkling colors. Critics and viewers alike were amazed and shocked. One art critic even warned pregnant women to stay away from the show because, as he said, the art works were so disorienting and upsetting that they could possibly cause a miscarriage.