Analysis Of Chalk Cliffs Of Rugen By Antoine Watteau

Of the two paintings, Antoine Watteau’s piece, Le Perspective (View through the Trees from the Park of Pierre Crozat), would best suit the art collector. Watteau’s painting best characterizes a splendid outing with friends than does Caspar David Friedrich’s, Chalk Cliffs of Rugen. Friedrich’s painting fails to pleasantly showcase a carefree trip with friends but rather depicts a serious, almost dangerous expedition. Watteau’s painting however, demonstrates a group of individuals happily communing with one another in a more subtle setting, resulting in a more appealing scene for the collector. Friedrich’s painting, Chalk Cliffs of Rugen, show himself, his wife, and his brother atop a cliff overlooking a vast sea. Although the overall image

Similarly, Watteau manipulates the base of the trees to lead the viewer to the Chateau Montmorency, positioned perfectly in the center of the image, creating a shallow space that limits the viewer to see what is only in front of the trees. This shallow space though, helps to enforce the intimacy amid the group of friends who are scattered across the foreground. In both images however, the artists predominantly emphasize the landscape rather than the people, possibly to remind the viewer of the power of nature. Nevertheless, Watteau’s image better captures a close-knit gathering of friends as they

Friedrich uses diligent, less detailed brushstrokes on his people, and instead carefully paints the surrounding landscape in better detail, such as the jagged cliff edges and tree branches. Watteau however, does the complete opposite and delicately paints his people with great detail and uses loose brushstrokes on the landscape, with the exception of the two children who seem to be almost fading into the background. The loose brush stokes used by Watteau on the trees and clouds give the image an almost celestial, dreamlike feel, again reinforcing the intimacy and friendship between the fellow