Art Analysis of the Luncheon of the Boating Party and a Sunday on La Grande Janette
The Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir is a piece full of rich colours that reflect both the time period and the artist's impressionist style. This composition not only conveys a leisurely gathering of people, but also expresses the changing French social structure of the time due to the industrial revolution. To portray these themes Renoir uses, shape, space, colour and texture. Shape is seen in the modeled figures and bottles, and space is created by overlapping of the bodies, but it does not give a realistic illusion of depth. Colour is most evident in the painting by the deep blue and green contrasted by the vibrant red and greens making it very rich in colour. Texture is also evident in the clothing which was emphasized by the artist's impressionist brushstroke style. Renoir also used principals of design to make his composition more effective like balance, movement, repetition and unity. A symmetrical balance is evident because most of the subjects in the painting are on the right side. Movement is achieved in this painting by the gesture and expression of the subjects as well as the drapery on the table and the gazebo cover. Repetition can be seen in the curves of the gazebo cover, the stripes and the posts in the railing. All these elements and principals of design unify this piece and make it very pleasing to the eye. Renoir reflects the theme is this painting because the impressionist style was new to the art field, just as the advances from the industrial revolution were new to the people of the world. A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat is a vibrant piece, that reflects his pointillism style. This painting displays elegant, emotionless people taking a leisurely walk on a nice Sunday afternoon. Seurat uses space, texture and colour to show ordinary people in the park in an artistic way. In this piece, the illusion of space is created through the use of the foreground and overlapping.