Analysis Of Dana II By Scott Noel

"Danae II" by Scott Noel

I chose a painting currently on display in The Eleanor D. Wilson Museum by Scott Noel named “Danae II”. I chose this painting because I was simply spellbound by the woman lying on her back; the subject was beautiful and her environment was entrancingly portrayed. When I realized the true subject was the mythological being I had assumed she was (the theme of the exhibition proved my assumption correct) I truly set my sights on this painting for this paper. Although this a contemporary piece I firmly believe it follows in the tradition of the Renaissance. I argue this because the presence of the Renaissance ideals in the artist's subject and his treatment of perspective, color and light and are too great to be ignored.

The artist conveys in his title that this subject is the mythological princess Danae; I interpreted the "II" following her name to mean that this was a second contemporary reincarnation of Danae.

In the Greek myth, King Acrisius was told by a prophecy that he would be killed by his grandson. To prevent this from occurring he locked his daughter Danae in a dungeon; it was there that the god Zeus came to the beautiful woman in the form of a golden shower and impregnated her. As a result of this encounter Danae bore a son named Perseus (CITATION). Noel depicts Danae laying on her back in front of a window, behind her a cityscape with bustling people and a great church command the rest of the viewer's attention. It is apparent that this painting precedes Danae's pregnancy, her body is rather thin and a small child is nowhere to be seen. The light resting near her genital area is reminiscent of Zeus' golden shower, this observation lead me to believe that this is the moment of (or the moment preceding) the conception of

Perseus.
The Renaissance is characterized by the resurgence of classical themes and ideals, therefore this subject can be related to the Renaissance because its mythological basis stems from antiquity. The handling of the subject is also similar to the manner in which other artists of the renaissance portrayed classical or biblical subjects. For example in his painting "St. Luke Drawing the Virgin" Rogier van der Weyden painted biblical subjects in a contemporary setting dressed in contemporary garb (CITATION). Noel also placed a mythological woman in a contemporary space, just beyond her we can see light posts and a bus. The Eleanor D. Wilson Museum notes that Noel paints his interpretation of myths, placing mythological figures in contemporary spaces is his entire purpose (CITATION). Religious themes were highly prominent during Renaissance, the story of Danae can be likened to the story of the Virgin Mary. Both women were impregnated by male gods without a sexual encounter; however Danae's conception was fueled by lust as opposed to Mary's pious devotion that resulted in the birth of Christ.
Many of depictive aspects utilized in "Danae II" were perfected during the Renaissance.

This piece was completed in oil paint; this medium was first perfected in Northern Europe and then gained greater popularity during the Late Renaissance. Natural perspective is illustrated rather perfectly; Noel paid great attention to space and placement to mimic the manner in which eyes present images. Objects closest to us are far larger than those further away. Noel flirts with the atmospheric perspective (a beloved technique in the Northern Renaissance) however the cityscape beyond the window is commandeered by tall structures-there is little to no sky. Shadows and highlights appear as they would in actuality, they are not manipulated and reflect the great precision that went into the making of this work. The only light source is the sunshine streaming into the room via the window. The only discernable manipulation to Noel's depiction of light is the amount of sunshine illuminating Danae's genital area. This of course was purposefully done to allude to the union between Zeus and Danae; the effect was executed with such naturalism that it would be easily missed by a viewer unfamiliar with the myth. This symbolism further connects this piece to the tradition of the Renaissance; the artists of Northern Europe littered their paintings with objects imbued with religious or secular

significance.
This is a painting of a contemporary scene made by a contemporary artist, however I have argued the primary source of influence is very apparent and certainly not of the modern tradition. Noel's depictions of space, light and color are all heavily reminiscent of the Renaissance. Pieces from the Renaissance have long been extolled as the paragons of "good art", this message is very hard to disassociate oneself with. It could be possible that many similarities between Noel's paintings and those of Campin, van der Weyden, etc. are all merely accidents resulting from the internalization of the message that "good art" must look "real". Noel paints with purpose and I highly doubt his realism occurs accidently; it is far too accurate to have no prior studies in the history of art backing it up.