“Justice Fulminating the Vices” painted by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini in 1717 illustrates figures representing Justice and Prudence crushing Avarice and Deceit, also known as the “Vices” (Davies et al., 2011). Within this painting, Pellegrini utilizes various artistic elements such as technique, use of inundated complementary colors, placement and source of lighting, and positioning of the figures to imply motion in order to engage the viewer and exemplify this act of triumph.
Beginning with the artist’s choice of compositional materials and painting technique. Pellegrini’s materials consist of oil and canvas. The artist’s choice of oil allows for a fluid and condensed stoke of paint. The brush strokes are broad and soft as they conform to the shape of the clouds or contours bodies creating direction and flow. The paint strokes are uniformed in size and circular shape. The paint is not impasto but instead smooth and brushed flatly on the canvas.
Next, Pellegrini uses a palette with complementary colors ranging bright to pastel tints to create emphasis in the painting. In the composition Pellegrini illustrates the figures with bold and vivid colors such as Crimson and coral reds, both bright and subtle golds, and deep dark olive greens. All of these colors used on the figures and their garments contrast against the soft pastel blues and whites used in painting the clouds. In doing this the artist Pellegrini separates the foreground from the background thus leading the eye of the viewer to direct their attention to the figures in the center of the painting. This attention is done through the patterns of energetic colors gradually progressing from bright lively colors at the top of the painting down to the dark and dull colors at t...
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...ing foreshortening; this gives sense of interaction or engaging with the viewer. The use of foreshortening increases the element of 3D illusionism.
In conclusion, Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini uses a variety of artistic elements in his painting “Justice Fulminating the Vices” to illustrate a battle between figures representing Justice and Prudence triumphing against Avarice and Deceit. The artist Pellegrini does this through the use of technique, color, lighting, and positioning of figures. By combining these elements the artist engages his viewer attention drawing it into the dramatic composition, and highlights important aspects of the scene.
Works Cited
Davies, P. J. E., Denny, W. B., Hofrichter, F. F., Jacobs, J., Roberts, A. M., Simon, D. I., (2011). Janson’s History of Art: The Western Tradition (Ed. 8, pp. 737-759). London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd.
The texture of the paint is smooth and flows very nicely the paintings composition is primarily bundled into the bottom right half of the image. The wings and legs of the animals as well as and table help form an invisible sloping line across the painting.
...laced on the style and materials presented in the painting. While evaluating and comparing various paintings the author feels that at the beginning of the Renaissance era the skill level of the artist was often not acknowledged whereas materials were, but at the end of the era, skill level played a larger factor in who was chosen to complete the artwork. Therefore, fresco painting, which emerged near the end of the period, changed this so called “deposit”, along with the relationship of the artist and the patron, allowing for the talent and skill of the artist to shine.
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...
In the two different depictions of the scene Betrayal of Christ, Duccio and Giotto show their different styles on how they compose their paintings. The first decision into the composure of the painting would be the comparison of the size of surface they chose to paint on. Duccio in comparison to Giotto chooses to work on a wooden panel no wider than a foot, and Giotto went with a plaster surface with a width of ten feet. This detail alone lets the viewer know that Giotto’s artwork is embedded in detail and visual consumption. The size difference is the factor between who see’s it and what they see; the fine details and symbolism of the narrative will be better understood if the viewer can see every detail.
Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying Holofernes epitomizes the style of artwork during the Italian Baroque era. By using a Catholic subject and key elements and techniques essential to baroque art such as chiaroscuro and foreshortening, she was able to create a piece that gushes drama and realism. Without the use of all of these elements the effect would be lost, but instead the piece is one that moves the viewer with its direct and gritty realism of the religious subject, evoking emotion in a way that leaves the viewer in awe.
Bernini and Degas used very different materials and mediums to produce very different and compelling compositions that tell interesting stories through elements that were executed carefully. These carful hands displayed the importance of each figure in relation to the other figures and the style chosen.
The artists Jean-Honore Fragonard and Jaques-Louis David both successfully embody their respective stylistic differences. Fragonard’s style of painting is Rococo, which is characterized by its softness, asymmetry and curviness. Contrasting these ideals is David’s style of painting, Neo-Classicism. Neo-Classicism is synonymous with strong gestures, symmetry, and solidness. Two works that best exemplify the ideals of each style of painting are Fragonard’s The Swing, 1767 and David’s The Death of Socrates, 1787. Although at first glance, it is easier to focus on how each work is different to the other, one can argue that they are similar in theme. Both The Swing and The Death of Socrates are works that deal with the theme of decision making. However, they differ in how each work portrays the theme of deciding. While The Swing focuses on infidelity and the process of deciding, The Death of Socrates makes it clear that loyalty to government is stronger than the ties of friendship or acquaintance. By examining use of light, form, subject matter as well as other artistic elements, one can see how each artist conveys a message by utilizing their style of art.
The artists of the Baroque had a remarkably different style than artists of the Renaissance due to their different approach to form, space, and composition. This extreme differentiation in style resulted in a very different treatment of narrative. Perhaps this drastic stylistic difference between the Renaissance and Baroque in their treatment of form, space, and composition and how these characteristics effect the narrative of a painting cannot be seen more than in comparing Perugino’s Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter from the Early Renaissance to Caravaggio’s Conversion of St. Paul from the Baroque.Perugino was one of the greatest masters of the Early Renaissance whose style ischaracterized by the Renaissance ideals of purity, simplicity, and exceptional symmetry of composition. His approach to form in Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St.Peter was very linear. He outlined all the figures with a black line giving them a sense of stability, permanence, and power in their environment, but restricting the figures’ sense of movement. In fact, the figures seem to not move at all, but rather are merely locked at a specific moment in time by their rigid outline. Perugino’s approach to the figures’themselves is extremely humanistic and classical. He shines light on the figures in a clear, even way, keeping with the rational and uncluttered meaning of the work. His figures are all locked in a contrapposto pose engaging in intellectual conversation with their neighbor, giving a strong sense of classical rationality. The figures are repeated over and over such as this to convey a rational response and to show the viewer clarity. Perugino’s approach to space was also very rational and simple. He organizes space along three simple planes: foreground, middle ground, and background. Christ and Saint Peter occupy the center foreground and solemn choruses of saints and citizens occupy the rest of the foreground. The middle distance is filled with miscellaneous figures, which complement the front group, emphasizing its density and order, by their scattered arrangement. Buildings from the Renaissance and triumphal arches from Roman antiquity occupy the background, reinforcing the overall classical message to the
The painting is placed on a wall in a brightly lit room at a viewer’s eye level. Many aspects of Traversi’s Quarrel over a Board Game are in motion. For example, the figures’ faces display looks of either fear, anger or distress about what is happening. The man on the left, who is involved in the quarrel, is wearing a blue waistcoat and a beautiful floral patterned shirt. In his hand, he holds a sword, which appears to be pulled from his hand as opposed to being taken out of a sheath.
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.
Nash, Susan. Oxford History of Art: Norther Renaissance Art. 2nd. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. 30-65. eBook.
Leonardo’s version of the Last Supper was painted El fresco depicting the scene passively without emotion. The work has the supper table horizontal across the lower third and Jesus and his twelve disciples dining behind it, before a backdrop of both man made structure and natural landscape. The artwork is un-cluttered and simple. The lighting is subtle and non-dramatic. Colour is conservative and dull this is partly due to the limited paint available and the technique and decay of fresco painting. The wor...
The main influences perceptible in this painting are those of Millet, Delacroix, and the Impressio...
Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner’s Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective. Vol 2.13th ed. Boston: Wadsworth/ Cengage Learning, 2010.
...f the shadows is sprinkled with the orange of the ground, and the blue-violet of the mountains is both mixed with and adjacent to the yellow of the sky. The brushstrokes that carry this out are inspired by the Impressionists, but are more abundant and blunter than those an Impressionist would use.