The Art Renewal Centre is one of my favourite online galleries. It promotes and provides examples of art which features epic themes and in a classical style. It avoids modern or new art which is abstract, in form and nature. Whilst some of you may not agree with their philosophy, you will doubtless enjoy many of the classic pieces of art found on this site. The following 12 points from this mission statement, accurately communicates their philosophy and goals.
1. To create the largest on-line Museum on the internet, with hundreds of thousands of oversized high quality images of all the known works of the greatest painters and sculptors in human history, cross referenced to the largest encyclopedic online art reference library of historical texts, essays, biographies and articles.
2. To promote a return of training, standards and excellence in the visual arts.
3. To provide responsible views opposing those of the current art establishment when warranted, especially as expressed in critiques of current art exhibitions, and in aesthetic philosophy.
4. To disseminate the rich artistic heritage of 2500 years of accumulated knowledge in creating traditional, realistic images touching upon universal and timeless themes.
5. To advance the understanding that Great Art begins with great themes and expresses them poetically through mastery of all aspects of technique.
6. To repudiate the idea that development in art requires destruction of boundaries and standards, pointless emphasis on ‘newness,’ or pursuit of the bizarre and ugly as ends in themselves, and to expose as artistic fraud those works conceived only to elicit outrage.
7. To provide a technical and historical resource for artistic information, including referrals to experts.
8. To provide a forum for dialogue and exchange of expert information among educators scholars, curators, collectors and artists.
9. To promote scholarship and research on the artists of the past and the rediscovery and preservation of their techniques and methods.
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10. To establish basic visual literacy standards across the world. Drawing must be introduced as part of the core curricula in K-12 and developed progressively until high school and beyond.
11. To provide impetus for the reestablishment of high standards of performance in the visual arts of painting, drawing, and sculpture, and to promote the concept of recognizable quality as a primary criterion for the judgment of Fine Art.
12. To offer a platform for discussion – both scholarly and informal – on art history, aesthetics, technical considerations, art education and other related issues, and to maintain honesty and frankness in our interaction with everyone, regardless of predisposition.
Based upon these goals they obviously have strong views on the nature of art. I enjoy the art on this site and can honestly say, I’ve spent many hours looking and reading the materials here Enjoy…