A brief formal analysis of A Greek Sage by Jusepe de Ribera (ca. 1630) reveals the structure of a man and his work presented in oil on a large canvas. Ribera’s A Greek Sage is presented in a gold frame, which offsets the use of the dominant browns and blacks that surround the older man focusing on a drawn plan on parchment paper with thin, linear lines above a book placed sideways on the gentleman’s workstation table. The piece can be found in The University of Arizona’s Art Museum. Furthermore, this essay will analyze the formal elements and principles of composition found throughout Ribera’s A Greek Sage. Throughout his painting, Ribera primarily uses dark tones. The colors are analogous, considering black, brown, and tan work together …show more content…
to create a well sought off piece of art, without an abundant use of vibrant colors. The use of a dark brown outer layer of the background allows Ribera to fade into manipulating the effects of light by shadowing the man in the painting. The man’s clothing is of a darker brown that contrasts with the man’s dark brown/ gray hair, light skin, and the parchment paper. The left side of the gentleman’s head is brighter than the rest of the painting, leaving a whiter tint to tan skin of the face, neckline and hands. In the low right-hand corner of the painting, one will notice a wooden desk with a lighter brown covered book sitting sideways under the parchment paper the man is holding in his hand left hand, with a compass in the right hand. Ribera uses both real and implied lines in A Greek Sage.
The implied line is the connection between the gentleman’s stare and the piece of paper in his hand. Following, the real lines Ribera uses are the lines that make up the piece for what it is, especially when focusing on the designs on the parchment paper. Drawn on the parchment paper are connected rectangular boxes that seem to sit about two inches from the bottom of the paper. Just as well, the name written on the paper, “Jusepe de Ribera,” are actual lines portrayed in the painting. Contour lines are used to define the outer edges of the book placed on the table to identify the pages of the book, and the book itself. Also, portrayed throughout the artwork are simple, subtle, and natural to the figure of the subject and his …show more content…
workstation. In A Greek Sage, there is no discernable light source that creates the contrast between light and shadow. Though, there seems to be a spot on the forehead of the man that shows light hitting him from the left side, possibly angled down to create the contrast to the dark background. There is, however, tonal contrast that occurs between the background and the skin tone of the subject. Darker colors used in the background and in the appearance of the man and his workstation, this contrasts the grey whiskers throughout the man’s hair and beard, as well as the tan skin tone of the subject, and the parchment paper also. In A Greek Sage, the texture can be identified as smooth and gentle.
Visually, the textures are real, which help the audience grasp the full idea of the objects. Natural textures pronounce the importance of the object being placed in the painting. For example, the wooden texture of the table allows the audience to make such a connection, that is in fact a table sitting in front of the man. Also, the texture of the pages of the book allow the person to see the thickness of the book. Plus, the variation in color of the parchment paper implies the texture of the paper to be smooth, but with subtle bumpy areas from being rolled up and
stored. A Greek Sage shows the audience a sense of unity between the man, his work, and his work station. All the pieces in the painting fit together to create a collaborative, yet simple piece of a man concentrating on his work. Another thing that helps is the symmetrical placement of objects. The focal point is of the man’s body with his hand holding the compass, while he focuses his attention on the parchment paper. yet the area in which portrays the paper the man stares at is off-center as it is placed in the right-hand side of the portrait (that is your right-hand side when facing the image).
The durability of clay has brought forth an immense abundance of Greek pottery, a craft mastered by Athenian artists. Archeologists have found hundreds of varieties in creation, shape, function, style, and artwork in Archaic vases. The museum has been blessed with one of these priceless artifacts; it is the duty of this establishment to accumulate as much data as possible surrounding the vase. In first identifying technique, dimensions, and condition, as well as describing shape, ornament, and figural scenery, one may then begin to analyze the vase. This serves the general purpose of understanding where the artifact stands in Greek culture and history. Through the examination and research of figural scenes, it is then possible to compare these to other scenes and styles of the same and other painters. Finally, one can then hypothesize where, why, and how this piece was used.
The colors used in the painting are dark and some parts bright illustrating a focal point being the skull in the center as well as the quill, both surrounded by darker colors in comparison.
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...
It is understandable that Vout took on a discursive tone when attempting to explain her point of view regarding the depictions of the youths in the Hellenistic age. The subject’s content is far too broad to be encompassed within a small range of thinking. This observation is evident in Vout’s temporary straying from the main points to wider subjects; however, she always brings her tangents back to the principal objectives. The primary ideas that she focuses on concern the rendering of children in art forms during Hellenistic times. This idea is then divided into differen...
In conclusion, although Mycerinus and Kha-merer-nebty II and Augustus of Primaporta, do appear very different, come from entirely different geographic regions and were separated by thousands of years, they do have many things in common. When we consider subject, style, and function; perhaps other works of art have more in common than they appear to have.
He also illustrates principles of design. If you were to place a vertical line on the picture plane the two sides would balance each other out. The painting can also be divided half horizontally by the implied divisional line above the horses head and the sword of the man who St. Dominic has brought back to life. Contour horizontal lines that give the expression that the dead man on the ground is sliding out of the picture plane, and dominate the bottom of the painting. On the top of the picture plane, behind the spectators is the brightest intermediate color, which is red orange that gives the impression of a sunrise.
The colors used in this painting are blue, white, yellow, brown, black, green, light blue. The colors Birch used seem dark in order to relate to the storm. By making it seem dark it really captures the mood of the composition. In general the quality of light in this painting is low.
These lines are regular and seem to come together and space out depending on the desired effect. Lines running vertically on the page represent the bamboo. Hiroshige makes heavy use of line in the bridge, which is architecturally semi-realistic. A technique used to create a shadow in this print is crosshatching where multiple lines are crossed over each other to create depth. In Riverside Bamboo Market, Kyobashi crosshatching can be seen on the items in the man’s boat helping to show shadow as well as texture.
Ruskin, John. “Grotesque Renaissance.” The Stones of Venice: The Fall. 1853. New York: Garland Publishing, 1979. 112-65. Rpt. in Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism. Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1989. 21-2.
Her use of primary colors and complementary colors are illustrated in the background, at the top of the fabric and in the outer view of the house and in the front yard. There is shading being shown in the two geometric windows. The entire work presents lines and implied lines as a focal point or as a means to describe a scenery. The texture of the garment is silky and very smooth like bed sheets. Post and lintel are crafted on the rectangular door frame and in the small window inside the door frame. Fine art is depicting in the background of the house; the painting is going in its own direction but still have a meaning behind it. The grass, tulips, and the weeds in the foreground appear naturalistic and lifelike which give the painting a multiple use of variety. The composition of the house is centered and upright. Marisela Esteves uses asymmetrical balance in the pathway and on the walkway to the flower garden. On the left side of the house there is a lot of variety elements and implied lines been demonstrating. Also, there is a lot of space in the background which grabs my attention because the line portrays a billboard in my mind that is covered by the vibrant, bright colors. The material that Marisela Esteves use was probably a knife or paint brush to mix, dye, and print on the fabric
Painted in Rome in the style of Neo-Classicism, Jacques Louis David’s Oath of the Horatii is one of the better-known examples of art produced by this artist of eclectic styles. This painting was hailed as the manifesto of a new school based on the fervent study of the antique and a return to classical techniques in the late 18th century. In this painting, completed in 1785 as an oil on canvas, David (DA-VEED) successfully coalesces the nascent and confused ideology of the Neo-Classical movement in a dramatic portrayal of the Horatii brothers swearing their allegiance to the state as their father stands with swords held high for them to grasp. An analysis of the painting’s historical background, and an evaluation of the lines, colors, and subject matter, will illustrate why Oath of the Horatii represents the defining characteristics of the Neo-Classical period.
The first thing to notice about this painting is how incredibly involved and realistic the brushwork is. The couple’s faces are so delicately rendered. Every wrinkle is visible and every hair strand is in it’s place. The soft folds and patterns of their clothing, and the grain of the vertical boards on the house, are highly developed and reveal Wood’s incredible attention to detail. The man, especially, appears to be nearly photorealistic.
Castriota, David. The Ara Pacis Augustae and the imagery of abundance in later Greek and early Roman imperial art. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1995. (P. 64)
...o understanding and appreciating Greek art is significant, but as seen through the writings of Gazda, Marvin and Ellen, the practice of appreciating Greek sculpture as presented by the conservative historians is of detriment to the writings and perceptions of historians, as well as the general education of the public. Unfortunately, due to the popularity of the abovementioned historians during their times of writings, methodology including Kopienkritik has remained a valued and prevalent approach to judging and analysing of both Greek and Roman sculpture, despite increased criticism. All of these factors serve to undermine the validity of the construct, and show that while the construct may have suited and served the purposes of those who created it, it does nothing to legitimately further proper and rational history of Greek and more specifically, Roman sculpture.
Starting with visual elements I saw lines, implied depth, and texture. I see lines by him using lines created by an edge. Each line is curved not straight but it works with the piece. By using this he creates the piece to make it whole. He uses many curved lines within the painting I don’t know if there is a straight line in the whole thing. The next element I saw was implied depth. Using linear perspective you can see the mountains but they look smaller than the rest of the piece. They are the vanishing point in the back making it look as if you can walk down and they will get closer and closer to you. The last element that I saw was texture. They talk about Van Gogh’s painting, The Starry Night having texture through a two- dimensional surface, in which this painting has that similar feel. Van Gogh uses thick brush stokes on his paintings to show his feelings. There is actually a name for this called, Impasto,