Coming from a Mexican background, I was especially fascinated by the Latin American floor of the Denver Art Museum. Immediately, the painting "Allegory of the Holy Sacrament" by Juan Correa from the late 1600s, caught my attention. It is a relatively large painting, measuring 6412 4158 inches, so it is not hard to miss. However, the intricate interplay of religious symbolism and artistic mastery compelled me to delve deeper into its rich layers of meaning and significance. This paper will provide a formal analysis and contextual background to shed light on its enduring relevance and impact on Latin American artistic expression. As previously mentioned, "Allegory of the Holy Sacrament" is a painting by Juan Correa, a Mexican artist who lived …show more content…
The frontal perspective also creates a sense of immediacy and engagement with the subjects, including Christ. The painting's color palette is vibrant, characterized by warm, earthy tones like deep reds, golden yellows, and rich browns. These colors work harmoniously to create a visually inviting atmosphere, immersing the viewer in the sacred space depicted in the artwork. Additionally, a consistent shade of blue is featured throughout the painting, appearing on the sphere that Christ kneels upon, the pope's robe, and the sky, which creates contrast and visual interest. Symbolically, using blue in religious art can carry various interpretations, often representing themes of divinity, spirituality, and the heavenly realm. Correa uses Chiaroscuro to accentuate the depth and dimensionality of the composition. This technique is particularly evident in the contrast between the area behind Christ's feet and the front part of his body. The light source appears to come from the left side, illuminating Christ's face and hands, further emphasizing his divine presence within the
The central focus on the table, in the painting, is what it appears to look like a book of Sor Juana. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, is a huge Mexican, feminist icon. During the seventeenth century, while the Spanish still occupied mexican territory, The catholic church had a significant amount of power. Sor Juana challenged the church by being a controversial figure at the time by her being a well-educated woman, nun, and poet/writer, during a time where men were
I found the photography piece “From the Road to Tepeyac,” by Alinka Echeverria intriguing. This photography piece was a man kneeling down with a sculpture tied to his back. The woman in the statue had a green flag with multiple stars draped around her. This woman appeared to be the Virgin Mary. Underneath the Virgin Mary was an angel with green, white and red wings. The colors on the flag around the Virgin Mary and the angel’s wings represent Mexico. Also, the stars on the flag present the repetition constructed in this photography piece. There is no physical line for the foreground; however, this piece directs the eye from one point to another by implication. When I first saw this photography piece, I questioned why the statue of the Virgin Mary and an angel were on the man’s back. I realized the Virgin Mary and ...
...is the focal point with the orthogonal of the gestures of the apostles lining up towards it. Masaccio makes good use of chiaroscuro, since his figures have soft, round edges and their bodies are apparent under their drapery. The drapery shows creases and edges which allow for that to happen. Masaccio also employs directed lighting in which the sun comes from the right and all the figures’ shadows are to the left, which is what would happen in real life. Furthermore, Masaccio uses soft, subdued colors, such as green, blue, and pink. The mood of Massacio’s painting is static with all the figures standing in contrapposto with their one knee sticking out and the individuals in Classical and naturalistic proportions. Masaccio placed his scene in the recognizable Arno Valley. Also, Masaccio’s story has no disguised symbolism and rather depicts a straightforward story.
The painting entitled `Zapata con el caballo de Cortés` was painted in 1931, eleven years after the end of The Mexican Revolution, by the Mexican muralist – Diego Rivera. It represents the social economic and political revolution in Mexico led by peasants under the conduct of Emiliano Zapata against the authoritarian regime of the former president - Portfolio Diaz. In this analysis I will focus on the characters, the setting, the colours and the way they communicate in the painting.
He initially compares God’s eye to frost, and his hand to new enemy suggesting reluctance to take God’s hand, to fully believe. The progression continues as God’s feet and ideas are compared to pigeons that are more and more prevalent conquering the whispers of doubts; The speaker’s notion of God is becoming more resilient to the test of doubt. Furthermore Larew applies the use of symbolism in “the wide blue frame” to solidify the conviction in God in a ephemeral sense. The word wide also means to the full extent while the color blue is often used in Christian art on the Virgin Mary, symbolizing her connection with the divine. Blue also provides a sense of relaxation, peace and tranquility. Thus, “wide blue frame” symbolizes the feeling of support, peace, and tranquility in the full extent as result of conviction in God. In the end, against all those doubts, the speaker has finally found his or her conviction in
The study of religion is often a rigorous process because the central tenets of the subject: image, ritual, and myth are often copious in their complexity. For example, consider the multiple meanings that are inherent in the image of a crucifix. Some Christians might view it as an image of suffering, whilst others would reject that notion and instead perceive it to be one of love. These differences may seem inconsequential at first, but they can overtime shape the beliefs of an individual and by extension a community. To understand this dynamic better one only has to analyze the Christo Aparecido (Christ Appeared), an authentic Mexican crucifix with a fascinating history from the colonial era to the present. This history is made known by the text, Biography of a Mexican Crucifix: Lived Religion and Local Faith from the Conquest to the Present by Jennifer Hughes, from which I contend that over the life of the Christo Aparecido there continues to be an understanding among devotees that this crucifix is sacred because it displays animus while being a vestige for the sacred to occupy. To support my position I will attempt to relate the moments where the Christo Aparecido is said to show signs of life, in particular his stay in Mexico City during the colonial era and his role in more modern times with rival groups clashing over its efficacy in the village of Totolapan.
The Aztec Calendar stone has become one Mexico’s national symbols. After decades of Latin American Art being degraded, underappreciated, forgotten, and abused, it has become one of Mexico’s most national treasures. After years of research from the Codex Mendoza, the Calendar, and documents by the Spanish conquistadors, it has gradually become clear as to how the Aztecs truly lived and how art played such a huge role in their society. It has not only given researchers insight to the Aztec culture and religion and has also given influence to modern and the mainstream media today such as fashion and graphic design.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. However, what words are being told in the Codex Mensoza 1964, Lám (Brumfiel 1991: 224) and more importantly what influential role did the Spanish heritage have in the artifacts? These credentials were offered as form of resolute of Aztec women’s productive activities in Mexico. Nevertheless, Bromfiel paint a different picture of the Aztec women. In these sketches, Brumfiel draws our attention to the background in which the women are performing their “productive activities.” (Brumfiel 1991: 224) At first glance, these images are portraying Aztec women. However, after careful scrutiny of the photos, I noticed several an uncanny discoveries. In the first two portraits, both of the weaving instruments appear to be bound to Roman and/or Spanish columns (to my untrained eye). In the last two illustrations, I observed “productive activities” (Brumfiel 1991: 224) of cooking being performed, in what appears to be in a non-traditional work environment that does not correspond with the “productive activities” (Brumfiel 1991: 224) of the women in that era. One appears to be working in luxury room while the other seems to be overlooking the mountains from a balcony. Although these duties were performed in a residential setting, the pictures fail to emphasi...
Color is used to draw attention to important characters and objects in the painting. The red of Mary’s shirt emphasizes her place as the main figure. A bright, yellow cloud floating above the room symbolizes the joy of the angelic figures. De Zurbaran uses warm colors in the foreground. The room, used as the background for the scene, is painted in dark colors utilizing different hues of gray and brown.
A distinction of colors exists within the painting: there is dreary dark blue background contrasted by the intense shades of red and white worn by the figures. A specific example of this the women flanking the Virgin Mary. The woman to the right of Mary attracts the most light and is the brightest in color. The Virgin Mary herself is dark, dull, and shadowed. The woman behind Mary, similar to the other woman, is wearing red and bright. In reality, the lighting of these figures do not make logical sense. If Rosso’s mission was the depict reality than the women would be shaded evenly from light to dark. Due to the overall lack of a single swath of colors, the eye is forced to look all over the painting rather than focus on one main
The two focal figures are illustrated with complementary colors, the woman 's dress being orange, and the man’s pants being blue. Benton uses these colors to bring life into the painting. The background is made up mostly of earthy colors like, greens, browns, and greys and a light blue for the sky. Benton seems to add white to every color he uses, which gives the painting an opaque look. The deepest hues found in this painting are the blue one the man’s pants and the orange on the woman’s dress, everything else around them looks washed out and Benton does this to emphasize his focal points
My friends, after traveling through the Asian continent and Japan, I continued on to the Americas. The art in the Americas has three regions, North America, Central America, and South America. Each region has a very distinct aspect to their forms of art. All cultures have some kind of art. Being curious about art, I have collected samples from five different areas. The following works of art are very different from European art, but there are still some similarities. The similarities of the human spirit are evident in the following images.
Caravaggio’s painting is unique due to its wonderful use of chiaroscuro, which is the contrast between light and dark. For example, the painting “Supper at Emmaus (1602)” illustrates Jesus and his disciples in bright colors and uses a dark tint for the background (Miller, Vandome, & McBrewster, 2010).
The theme can be generally recognized in this piece through color, space, and especially through use of light. The colors used in this piece are mostly calm toned, whereas the robes and shawls worn are pale blues, corals, and beiges. There are however, some harsh colored objects such as Mary’s navy blue shaul and deep coral gown, as well as Christ’s coral necklace that stand out from the rest of the colors. Mary’s veil and the angel on the lefts’ hair are translucent in certain streams of light coming from the windows throughout the room. The artists suggests that the light is dedicated not to represent the divine but to rather represent a more natural juxtaposition on the piece. The space that the characters stand in is fully used by the subjects but also has a very interesting doorway with heightened perspecti...
In 1988, my last year of high school, twelve years before the start of the new century, some genius in L.A.U.S.D. thought it would be a grand idea to dress all the kindergarten students in Graduation outfits with 2000 streaming across their chest. And have them presented to the rest of the students as the future graduating class of the year 2000. The students, some gazing off into space, others fidgeting with their cap and gown, a few looking a bit lost and confused, were to be trumpeted that day and given cookies at the end of the assembly. So I was informed by one of the honorees sitting next to me on top of the stage. Cookies were on a lot of these future Twenty-First-Century minds. The little guy next to me couldn't wait for this "stuff" to end so he could get the cookies he was promised for wearing his cap and gown. He wondered aloud if I was going to get any cookies. He was entering twelve years of schooling, and I was finishing twelve years of schooling. The beginning meets the end. I wanted those cookies too. I began to imagine him remembering this day twelve years from now on his "real" graduation. Will he be this excited about graduating high school as he is about the cookies, or will he look forward to pizza afterwards with the family and some dead end job? I suddenly felt time wrapping around me, shaking thoughts from my mind. How many of these students will finish school? How many will drop out or quit?