While the theories on the artist intent are of plenty, there is no mistaking that this piece provokes deeper contemplation on the depiction of beauty and the power of “ugly” imagery in this painting. One can argue that over vast time periods and amongst culture the defined interpretation of beauty has seen many profound depictions and interpretations displayed in infinite works of “beautiful” art. We must ask ourselves, can only works of “beauty” be aesthetically pleasing to the eye or can we find it in a variety of work through…
Van der Weyden compresses in this painting the most important story of the humanity with a maximum amount of human emotions and suffering. The Deposition is among the outstanding masterpieces of Netherlands' art, and one of the mainstays of Rogier's fame. As the work of a painter aged 35 to 40, it can hardly be described as a youthful production, yet only with this painting can we begin to see Rogier more clearly as an artistic personality. Most important of all, the picture shows unmistakable similarities with some of his major work…
The painting consists of a very blue color scheme throughout. This is, in most cases, associated with coldness and sometimes death. The dark blue background also, as mentioned above, provided almost an extreme contrast. In addition to the background, her hair also dark. Had he chosen blonde hair, the contrast would dulled. Most importantly, the girl’s eyeliner very much brings out her eyes. It is strategically placed on her waterlines rather than lids to accentuate her eyeballs and provide incredibly sharp corners to her eyes. The coldness and “deathly” tone of the painting manifests an eerie and dangerous theme. The contrast and accentuation of the girl and her eyes inclines the audience to be intrigued by the girls fearlessness in a cold and deathly…
The piece St. Luke Drawing the Virgin, c. 1435-40 by Flemish painter Rogier van der Weyden is an oil and tempera painting presented at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Its narrative is a popular theme in art, showing St. Luke painting the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus. Such paintings were often painted for chapels of Saint Luke (saint patron of artists) in European churches during the Renaissance. Fifteenth century Flemish painting in general and this particular piece are characterized by oil painted human figures and objects featured realistically and with meticulous attention to detail. Many Flemish paintings including Van der Weyden’s St. Luke Drawing the Virgin are based on biblical narratives but happen in a contemporary 15th century Flemish setting. In those paintings, there are many symbols and motives presented intentionally to convey different moral, philosophical and mostly religious messages. Through studying and comparing different 15th century Flemish paintings as well as 14th century Italian paintings, one can really learn about the characteristics, expand their knowledge and therefore enjoy the beauty of paintings of that era and St. Luke Drawing the Virgin in particular which is among the most important northern European paintings in the United States.…
Nanette Salomon, a very well known feminist writer, wrote the article, “Judging Artemisia: A Baroque Woman in Modern Art History.” The article opens up with a discussion about the 2001-2 exhibition of Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi: Father and Daughter Painters in Baroque Italy. The author explains that three things are unusual here: the fact that two famous artists were presented at the same time, that they were related as father and daughter, and the fact that the woman was better known than the man. Her intent in this article is to look at the effects of this trope (figure of speech) in the past and in the present.…
Painting in the 16th Century Venice was still caught up in a regional debate which pitted the idea of colore against the much more formal emphasis on disegno. This held sway in the rival Florence. By exploring this philosophical and provincial debate, I have drawn contrasts between the use of colour and outline in selected works by Michelangelo and Titian. I have also looked at to what extent are these attitudes to materials reflective of the social and spatial conditions in the two cities.…
On first look at the painting, we give our attention to the isolated woman in the middle of the work. The woman is the largest feature of the painting and is the focal point of all other elements found in the painting. The woman is portrayed as someone of great importance. The woman is clothed in a flowing white…
In this essay I intend to discuss three aspects of the work. The first will be the subject matter of the painting the second will be the composition and finally the style and colours in which it was painted.…
Francia uses contrast between the dark blue and green values of Madonna’s clothes and the light flesh tones of the skin. Movement is used as the eye begins at the halo and travels down slowly to Madonna taking in all the detail then glances at the two angels in the middle ground. The eye is meant to move slowly throughout this piece to find all the small details Francia painted. Francia puts emphasis on Madonna by putting a bright gold halo behind her head. He put emphasis on Madonna because she is incredibly important and holy. Putting blue values throughout the whole painting shows harmony. There is blue in Madonna’s clothes, the angel’s wings, and in the sky. By using blue throughout the whole painting it keeps the eye moving and gives the work a sense of…
Cézanne’s painting has no illusion of reality due to the easily detected brushwork, little sense of depth, and delineation of form. There is almost no three-dimensionality, an element crucial to the creation of illusion, whereas in Vecchio’s there are several elements that create an idea of reality, an idea that the scene before us is indeed happening: the strong light sources that apparently model the figures and other objects, the traceable vanishing point, which is almost impossible to detect in Cézanne’s Bathers, and the significant contrast between the darker and lighter areas. The density of the brushstrokes and the absence of details in Cézanne’s painting break the illusion of the visual effect created by the harmony of colours, whereas in the Bathing Nymphs there is no apparent trace of the brushwork.…
A well known photograph by Floria Sigismondi, titled “self portrait with cat” symbolises her Italian heritage and features many aspects of Leonardo da Vinci’s oil painting “Lady with Ermine”. The photograph has many features such as a “style of pose” which symbolises a similar pose to Leonardo’s painting, while including an animal used for symbolic reasons also a technique used in Leonardo’s painting. The photograph is set in a post modern context and features “coloured and textured garments” a simple technique that was also used in the “Lady with Ermine” artwork.…
Furthermore, the background of this painting is a plain red silk drapery that opens in the middle, hinting that the setting is inside a chamber. Specifically, the red drapery extends from the top to the bottom corner of the painting yet, the middle area is surrounded by darkness. The contrast of the light values of the three figures with the dark values of the background gives emphasis to the main figures. The lack…
Venice had many achievements by the 15th Century, mainly, building a maritime empire, social transformation and also economic prosperity. The most significant achievement, would be building a maritime empire, followed by social transformation and economic prosperity.…
Art is one aspect of the past that has carried on for decades. Art in any form may it be poetry, novels, and playwright, sculpting as well as painting, has been an outlet for generations and continues to be an outlet and a means for expression. This paper will discuss “ The Mona Lisa” one of Da Vinci’s most famous paintings, as well as another great painting, Antonio Veneziano’s “Virgin and Child”(c. 1380). Both paintings focus on the human form and exhibit many variations of styles from lines, shading, color and possible meanings behind the work.…
The two paintings show that, during the Renaissance, a man’s view of man was changing by painting more realistic and being more colorful.…