set of style, form, and technique to bring a different meaning to two very similar images. An interplay between space and lines can give presence and movement to an otherwise stable composition, as exemplified by Cezanne’s painting, or remove depth and flatten a space, as exhibited in Degas’ painting. In art, space can be used to refer to as a feeling of depth or as the artist’s use of the areas on the canvas. The relationship between positive and negative space, or the space occupied by the image’s primary object and the space surrounding the primary object, is often used to accentuate or disguise certain features. For example, in The Convalescent, the blurry and indefinite edges of the woman within the background removes the illusion of …show more content…
The illusion of depth is present as the viewer can clearly distinguish that there exists some sort of space between her and the back; however, no other information is given to help determine how far away the wall is, if the tabletop is flat underneath the cloth, and nor whether she is standing or sitting. Theses unknown questions raise tension and give movement to the painting. Movement is created similarly like in Degas’ painting- the viewer’s eyes is directed along the combination of curved and straight lines through the work of art. As opposed to the curved lines in Degas’s painting, three straight lines arranged in a x-y-z plane manner is responsible for directing the viewer’s gaze to the focal point of this composition- the woman’s face. Emphasis to her face reveal a thoughtful and grim expression on a rosy and bright complexion, which suggest that the root of her despondent mood is not due to some internal suffering, but rather provoked by some external factor. Like Degas, Cézanne slices off the lower body of the woman to emphasize proximity and intimacy from the viewer to the woman. Both works incorporated the art elements of lines and space to draw the viewer’s attention to the woman, specifically her facial expression, but Degas and Cézanne each had their own …show more content…
While The Convalescent uses color hues of mostly browns, greys, and whites to convey a symbolic sense of mystery and mourning from the woman, the Young Italian Woman uses variations of color to establish a bright ambience and to give vividness to the environment in which the woman exists in. In The Convalescent, the muted brown color of her robe blends directly into the brown background so much that it transforms the tone of the canvas to mainly brown and converts the space into an asymmetrical arrangement- the brown background becomes a continuous entity with her robe and offsets the grey-white background on her left. Her dark colored clothing paired with her sickly pale complexion forebode that she might be suffering of some internal illness and is in some sort of grief. In the Young Italian Woman, the bold and bright colors of her dress and the table she rests her elbow upon creates an almost uplifting atmosphere that contrasts the sad expression on the woman’s face. This pairing of light and dark, of warm and cool tones, and of plain and patterned surface, serve to allude that the cause of the woman’s sad and pensive expression is not due to some internal suffering but rather an external issue. Her rosier complexion suggest
Contextual Theory: This painting depicts a portrait of life during the late 1800’s. The women’s clothing and hair style represent that era. Gorgeous landscape and a leisurely moment are captured by the artist in this work of
Since the painting focuses on depth, the picture is read near to far, starting with the obvious painstaking details in the foreground, and ending with the massive background.
The work depicts a family in plain clothing enclosed in a simple solitary room with a fading fire amidst the dark shadows of the background and another light source that extends from beyond the scope of the canvas. At first glance the influences of Caravaggio and Rembrandt are apparent. Their faces are neither, sad, sullen, angry, or joyful, but rather their emotional expression is plain and uncomplicated, adding a sense of timelessness to the painting. As in the description (20-34) of the piece which states; “It reflects 17th Century social theory, which celebrated the natural virtue of those that worked the soil”, (p. 609). The idea of portraying a classic simple lifestyle is a refreshing one and a concept which will reoccur in other works of the Baroque period.
... study for the overall concept they appear rather as abstract patterns. The shadows of the figures were very carefully modeled. The light- dark contrasts of the shadows make them seem actually real. The spatial quality is only established through the relations between the sizes of the objects. The painting is not based on a geometrical, box like space. The perspective centre is on the right, despite the fact that the composition is laid in rows parallel to the picture frame. At the same time a paradoxical foreshortening from right to left is evident. The girl fishing with the orange dress and her mother are on the same level, that is, actually at equal distance. In its spatial contruction, the painting is also a successful construction, the groups of people sitting in the shade, and who should really be seen from above, are all shown directly from the side. The ideal eye level would actually be on different horizontal lines; first at head height of the standing figures, then of those seated. Seurats methods of combing observations which he collected over two years, corresponds, in its self invented techniques, to a modern lifelike painting rather than an academic history painting.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the depiction of family life in art began to change as modernism and capitalist culture was introduced to French society. Edgar Degas, a French Impressionist painter,
Furthermore, resonation can be found in Preziosi exploration of the establishment of female identification through aesthetics. Within Preziosi chapter on aesthetics he addresses main issues including “Kant’s Critique of Judgment, judgment about beauty, and perception of perfection.” Aesthetics was addressed in the perception of how the female body is formed and encased while a male looks at the female body. In this case the male would be Degas gazing at his ballerina while either sketching his model or doing a sculpture of the ballerina. Preziosi states that “there should be two kinds of theory or sciences of knowledge corresponding to each logic and aesthetics.” This concept of two kinds of theory made more apparent as every sculptor Degas made is presented as a different theory, yet the two theories are different, Degas’s artwork deals with both logic and aesthetics. Logic can be applied to Degas’s____, works of art. Where as aesthetics deals with____. Later on in Preziosi chapter on aesthetics, he brings up the issue of “the idea that sensory knowledge could have its own perfection-and, further, that an aesthetic judgment about beauty or beautiful objects.” When viewing Degas’s sculptor the
Upon viewing the works of famous French artist Edgar Germaine Hilaire Degas, I noticed a similar theme. No matter the scene conveyed, his works appear mysterious and ominous. Why are his works depicted in this way? Why are the women in his works not portrayed in such a fashion as other artists of the time? Degas admired Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, even though their works contrasted immensely. This is due to the obscurity inside of Degas’ mind. It was said that you would never want to meet Degas the person, but Degas the artist is incredible. What could have caused such a conflict in how he perceived women?
Though most works of art have some underlying, deeper meaning attached to them, our first impression of their significance comes through our initial visual interpretation. When we first view a painting or a statue or other piece of art, we notice first the visual details – its size, its medium, its color, and its condition, for example – before we begin to ponder its greater significance. Indeed, these visual clues are just as important as any other interpretation or meaning of a work, for they allow us to understand just what that deeper meaning is. The expression on a statue’s face tells us the emotion and message that the artist is trying to convey. Its color, too, can provide clues: darker or lighter colors can play a role in how we judge a piece of art. The type of lines used in a piece can send different messages. A sculpture, for example, may have been carved with hard, rough lines or it may have been carved with smoother, more flowing lines that portray a kind of gentleness.
...retation of the painting some aspects were surprising to how dark and heavy hearted she could speak, she took an interesting perspective. However in her interpretative poem she found a perspective of the painting that connected with her. As she used every stroke of darkness painted into the canvas an opportunity to have it symbolize this darkness and evil that resides in the world. It told her story and her experience of a starry night. Similarly Van Gogh had used every stroke of light painted into the canvas to be a symbol of beauty, and a symbol of his fascination of the night sky and its illuminating lights. He uses swift movements of his brush to depict a sky that seem to be able to sweep the mind away from the frustrations of this world in to the dreamy night light. A single painting worth a million words tells many stories through every perspective.
The face of the portrait is detailed, and more naturally painted than the rest of the composition. However, the left iris exceeds her eye and extends past the normal outline. The viewer can see every single brush stroke resulting in a unique approach to the capturing human emotion. The streaky texture combines with the smoothness flow of the artist’s hand creating contrast between the hair and the face. The woman’s hair is painted with thick and chunky globs of paint. The viewer can physically see the paint rising from the canvas and flowing into the movement of the waves of hair. Throughout the hair as well as the rest of the portrait Neel abandons basic painting studies and doesn’t clean her brush before applying the next color. Because of the deliberate choice to entangle the colors on the brush it creates a new muddy palate skewed throughout the canvas. Moving from the thick waves of hair, Neel abandons the thick painting style of the physical portrait and moves to a looser more abstract technique to paint the background. Despite the lack of linear perspective, Neel uses a dry brush technique for the colorful streaks in the background creating a messy illusion of a wall and a sense of space. The painting is not clean, precise, or complete; there are intentional empty spaces, allowing the canvas to pear through wide places in the portrait. Again, Neel abandons
When first approaching this work, one feels immediately attracted to its sense of wonder and awe. The bright colors used in the sun draws a viewer in, but the astonishment, fascination, and emotion depicted in the expression on the young woman keeps them intrigued in the painting. It reaches out to those who have worked hard in their life and who look forward to a better future. Even a small event such as a song of a lark gives them hope that there will be a better tomorrow, a thought that can be seen though the countenance by this girl. Although just a collection of oils on a canvas, she is someone who reaches out to people and inspires them to appreciate the small things that, even if only for a short moment, can make the road ahead seem brighter.
The painting is organized simply. The background of the painting is painted in an Impressionist style. The blurring of edges, however, starkly contrasts with the sharp and hard contours of the figure in the foreground. The female figure is very sharp and clear compared to the background. The background paint is thick compared to the thin lines used to paint the figures in the foreground. The thick paint adds to the reduction of detail for the background. The colors used to paint the foreground figures are vibrant, as opposed to the whitened colors of the Impressionist background. The painting is mostly comprised of cool colors but there is a range of dark and light colors. The light colors are predominantly in the background and the darker colors are in the foreground. The vivid color of the robe contrasts with the muted colors of the background, resulting in an emphasis of the robe color. This emphasis leads the viewer's gaze to the focal part of the painting: the figures in the foreground. The female and baby in the foreground take up most of the canvas. The background was not painted as the artist saw it, but rather the impression t...
This painting consists of regular lines as well as implied lines. Some of the regular lines that have been included are flowing, curved lines, such as the Earth that the woman is sitting on top of. Additionally, the background is made of small scenes that have been outlined by a dotted line, which places emphasis on the scenes. Besides regular and visible lines, there are a few implied lines in this painting. For instance, the woman's eyes are looking forward, so there is an implied line to the audience. Additionally, another implied line would be the woman's right arm, which is pointed towards her headpiece, while her left arm is pointed towards the earth. Nonetheless, this painting is not intense; although it does have splashes of color, this painting does not have a bright saturation. Instead, this painting is slightly dull, which makes this painting appear vintage. Additionally, since this background is a dark color, it makes the rest of painting, especially the headpiece, stand out. Besides colors and lines, even though this is a painting and there is no physical texture, there is invented texture. Upon viewing this painting, underneath the earth where the woman is sitting on, there are roots as well as grass, which give texture and feeling to the painting. In the end, this painting consists of several elements of composition, which Heffernan has done a wonderful job
The artwork that I am choosing to write about is Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World, done in 1948 with Tempera on panel. The use of color in this picture creates a sense of hopelessness in a way. It is not a very bright or sunny picture, so the feeling I get from it is sorrow. In this piece of artwork, it shows what appears to be a woman lying in the dead grass looking towards what I would assume to be her house. The woman lying in the field of grass that is not very vibrant and the house is a shade of grey, and also the woman is very skinny. Also the title of Christina’s World, could hit towards her life not being very perfect, and that she is kind of lost in her own world at the moment. She might be in a slump in her life, so her world is
The gestural and heavy working of the paint and the contrasting colors make the painting appear active yet are arduous to follow. The defining element of Woman and Bicycle is the presence of the black lines that do most of the work in terms of identifying the figure. Through the wild nature of the brushwork, color, and composition of the painting, it can be implied that the artist is making an implication towards the wild nature of even the most proper of women.