River scene with boats near a jetty by a tavern, currently housed at the Ackland Art Museum, is a seventeenth century drawing rendered by Jan van Goyen in black chalk and gray wash on paper. True to its name, van Goyen presents the viewer with a Dutch landscape that sweeps the viewer’s eye in a remarkable progression from land to water to sky. This formal analysis will argue that Jan van Goyen’s River scene with boats near a jetty by a tavern exudes visual energy amidst a temporal backdrop, creating a tension against the solidity and immobility that might be associated with the archetypal Dutch landscape scene. The manner in which van Goyen’s work advances this thesis will be examined through the spatial, linear, and color techniques and effects …show more content…
employed by the artist in his drawing. First, it is significant to note the compositional elements of the work, which will provide a foundation that will later be augmented by analyzing its formal qualities. Jan van Goyen’s River scene with boats near a jetty by a tavern depicts a Dutch landscape with no negative space, as the artist incorporates every single aspect of the composition in some way. The drawing is bustling in its mark making, with its juxtaposition of a winding river filled with laboring figures atop boats against a collection of buildings and foliage. The drawing appears to center around a diagonal axis, echoed in the severe line that juts out from the sail of the boat placed near-center of the frame, splitting the composition effectively into left and right diagonals. The upshot is that the left diagonal of the composition is almost entirely skyscape, which is contrasted against the right diagonal that holds all signifiers of human presence — the tavern with smoke emitting from it, the jetty, laboring figures — as well as animal presence, with a small bird and swan clearly visible under a magnifying glass. Thus, compositionally, van Goyen undoubtedly drew with painstaking detail in capturing the structures, the animals, and even the reflections of the object along the water in his aim to capture the scene before him. Formally, the viewer’s gaze is immediately drawn to the foreground, composed of a narrow strip of land that fades as it runs from the left to the right of the frame.
It is significant to note that this strip of land is rendered with more value than any other aspect in the drawing. Even the hatching on the tavern structure does not come close in comparison to the shading van Goyen gave to the foreground. This strip of land serves as a starting point, in fact, as a repoussoir device, from which the viewer engages with the drawing. The viewer’s gaze is directed toward the darkly shaded area concentrated on the left of the composition, forming a steady rhythm from this repoussoir device to the river to the tavern ¬— a progression of three movements of the eye along this right diagonal. Further in relation to color, the sharp outline of the two most focal boats along the river, which is enhanced by the additional value van Goyen shaded along the bow, appears to advance toward the viewer’s space. The sharper silhouette in additional to the darker shading prevent the boats from receding into space, and instead enables the objects to be brought forward to the viewer’s eye. Hence, van Goyen’s technique in depicting the boats underscores the point that he did not intend to incorporate the boats as static objects in his composition. By drawing as to create the effect that the bows of the boats appear to propel towards the onlooker, van Goyen implies motion with the confines of a …show more content…
two-dimensional composition. Even the shading of the poles that are left of the boat (that is placed nearest to the foreground) is rendered with shadowing, an effect only plausible with the passing of time. Likewise, the tavern structure formally is whitewashed on the immediate front, while on the side the buildings have hatching and some shading to mimic the effect of the wood. Again, such an effect would be indicative of the passing of time, showing how van Goyen is not just examining the scenery, but thinking of the effects of the scenery and how to capture them. In terms of linearity, the figures van Goyen renders are entirely gestural.
Van Goyen does not engage with the three-dimensionality with his figures; instead he takes a reductive approach. His laborers are rounded forms, drawn with clear, precise marks, but absent of any minute detail that creates any individualizing features. His figures are lines and shapes before they are flesh and bone. It is arguable that even the smoke emitting from the tavern is more indicative of human presence than the actual figures. This only serves to reinforce the temporality of the image; these laborers, like sky and smoke, are fleeting, tied not to the landscape as permanent fixtures, but to time. Just as the smoke dissipates with time, these figures will vanish from the landscape after their labor is finished, and the moment is too brief to capture the figures in extensive, minute detail. Van Goyen’s workers placed on the boat nearest to the foreground are stationed next to a series of poles that puncture the surface of the water. Van Goyen draws with the repetition of form, the vertical lines of the pole drawn with a slight curve the angles toward the viewer’s space, and their reiteration creating a rhythm that bridges water and land. Ultimately, van Goyen does not so much vary the thickness and density of the line, but rather indicates form and texture through
shading. Spatially, there is a subtle delineation present in the composition through an implied diagonal that partitions the skyscape from the buildings. The gray wash of the skyscape offsets any overt contrast between the two halves of the composition, as airy steaks of clouds run parallel to more manifest linearity of the tavern structures. The temporal quality of the composition is especially echoed in the visualization of the clouds. The direction of the sky follows the diagonal axis of the drawing in a diagonal thrust toward the upper right corner, effectively suggesting movement. The lack of clarity with the mark making reduces any evidence of line and creates the effect of weightlessness. Furthermore, the smoke emitting from the tavern disrupts the partition between the land and sky, which provides a tactile quality to the composition. Its serpentine form gradually dissipates into the end of the composition, reinforced by the blurring of the form. It is ultimately the strip of land, with a few buildings and a windmill visible, that comprises the horizon line that breaks up the continuity of space in the composition. The artist incorporates aerial perspective by having the strip of land in the horizon blurrier and less pronounced in its value, creating the impression that it recedes into space. Given the aforementioned points, it is evident that van Goyen’s River scene with boats near a jetty by a tavern exemplifies a Dutch landscape drawing that does not exist in static image; there is visual inertia evident in subtle and overt ways. Thus, van Goyen’s work is able to rebuff the boundary between composition and viewer that is created by restrictions of a two dimensional work, but finding manners spatially, through color, and through line to display the temporality and fleeting sense of the image. Such temporality and visual energy manifests in a myriad of ways, from the fleeting smoke to the diagonally thrusting sky to the boats moving toward the viewer’s space. All aspects of River scene with boats near a jetty by a tavern exude purpose and intention to advance the sense of the ephemeral. Ultimately, van Goyen crafts a representation of a moment in time, creating the gesture and impression of the scenery. Despite the absence of minute detail in the figures or buildings, the overall impression that the moment is fleeting is achieved. Thus, van Goyen draws a Dutch landscape that is more than just an impression of the scenery, but one of temporality and a reminder of the impermanence of the scene, and perhaps of the landscape as well.
Claude-Joseph Vernet’s oil on canvas painting titled Mountain Landscape with an Approaching Storm was created in 1775, and it is currently located in the European Art Galleries (18th- 19th Century North) 2nd Floor at the Dallas Museum of Art. It is a large-scale painting with overall dimensions of 64 1/2 x 103 1/4 in. (1 m 63.83 cm x 2 m 62.26 cm) and frame dimensions of 76 1/8 x 115 1/4 x 4 3/4 in. (1 m 93.36 cm x 2 m 92.74 cm x 12.07 cm). Vernet creates this piece by painting elements from nature and using organic shapes in order to create atmospheric effects, weather and different moods. This piece primarily depicts a landscape with a rocky mountainous terrain and villagers scrambling to an upcoming storm.
Louis Le Nain (1593-1648) shifted his perspective of the manner in which peasants or common folk were represented. Unlike his peers, Le Nain decided to use a more realistic approach in his paintings. As our text states, “subjects that in Dutch paintings were opportunities for boisterous good humor, Le Nain treated with somber stillness” (Kleiner F.S. p. 609). Indeed Le Nain wanted the people he painted to represent the hardships of daily life and the dignity in which they carried it out. In the painting “Family of Country People” this technique is clearly on display.
...hese repeated vertical lines contrast firmly with a horizontal line that divides the canvas almost exactly in half. The background, upper portion of the canvas, seems unchanging and flat, whereas the foreground and middle ground of the painting have a lot of depth to them.
All the little lines, and all the bold lines, come together to form a masterful piece, foreshadowing the history of the fish in the lake. Both of the pictures above help to explain visually big, and important scenes throughout the book.
... study for the overall concept they appear rather as abstract patterns. The shadows of the figures were very carefully modeled. The light- dark contrasts of the shadows make them seem actually real. The spatial quality is only established through the relations between the sizes of the objects. The painting is not based on a geometrical, box like space. The perspective centre is on the right, despite the fact that the composition is laid in rows parallel to the picture frame. At the same time a paradoxical foreshortening from right to left is evident. The girl fishing with the orange dress and her mother are on the same level, that is, actually at equal distance. In its spatial contruction, the painting is also a successful construction, the groups of people sitting in the shade, and who should really be seen from above, are all shown directly from the side. The ideal eye level would actually be on different horizontal lines; first at head height of the standing figures, then of those seated. Seurats methods of combing observations which he collected over two years, corresponds, in its self invented techniques, to a modern lifelike painting rather than an academic history painting.
One of the most noteworthy northern European writers of the Renaissance was the Flemish painter, Jan van Eyck. Although there are few records about his early life and rise to prominence, the Van Eyck family was well regarded within the Burgundian Netherlands which allowed historians to surmise that he was born in the 1380s. After years of travelling through various northern courts and gaining esteem, Jan van Eyck painted perhaps his most famous work, The Arnolfini Double Portrait. This work has been the subject of a great deal of critical analysis as a piece of Renaissance art. Some historians have found that the work is demonstrative of artistic and social ideals that were both ahead of its time and touted the line of controversy. However, taking into account the painting’s patronage, symbolism, artistic style, and function, it becomes clear that The Arnolfini Double Portrait is an exemplar of the Renaissance era artistic conventions and is not as difficult to parse as some critics would believe. In order to discuss the painting in its entirety, it is necessary to explore the context of the painting’s creation.
He doesn’t understand why what he has seen or read in magazines isn’t true, but he comes to realize that it’s not what you see, literally it’s what you see when you can’t see. This also applies to the action in Ground Swell, you can see the wind blowing the waves and the waves crashing against the boat, but you cannot fully see the picture which can lead to confusion by the person viewing the painting, but you can see people in the picture and when you look at things from their point of view you can then see that their focus is on the buoy that is afloat. This buoy is also a symbol of unknowing. For the painting, the repetition that makes up the waves shows small movement in the art, which is a part of minimalism.
Rogier van der Weyden, one of the three great Early Flemish artists and the most influential Northern painter of the 15th century, seems to be rejecting the detailed realism that is characteristic of the Northern Renaissance and is demonstrated in some of his own works. What are the consequences of Rogier van der Weyden’s choice to include a continuous grey wall for the meaning of the work as a whole? To answer this question it will be important to consider the sparse nature of the setting in its entirety, the color used throughout the composition, and the detailed portrayal of biblical characters. This analysis is important to consider because it can help interpret what caused Rogier van der Weyden to stray from the common style of the Northern
The representation of the new age of exploration, which serves as an allusion to man’s potential, is starkly contrasted with the depiction of Icarus that serves as an allegory for man’s limits, indicating the shift from a euro-centric universe. This painting is an oil canvas landscape of the sun setting on the horizon of the ocean sea, while the ships were sailing through the body of water. The focus on humanism during this period is clearly portrayed by the presence of the plowman, shepherd, and fisherman performing their daily task. Lighter colors are used, which differ from the darker colors that were emphasized during the Dark Age or Medieval period. Shadows can be seen on the ground next to the plowman, showing the increasing artistic methods that begin to be utilized.
From the piece of artwork “Rain at the Auvers”. I can see roofs of houses that are tucked into a valley, trees hiding the town, black birds, clouds upon the horizon, hills, vegetation, a dark stormy sky and rain.
Philip, Lotte Brand. The Ghent Altarpiece and the Art of Jan Van Eyck. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, 1971. Print.
The main driving element in William Morris’s life has been the nature around him and the houses he lived in. The most prominent influence was the Kelmscott Manor. Therefore, I chose to go with Kelmscott Manor’s layout plan that exhibits the “inspirational garden “ that led to most of his design decisions, a map that depicts the pockets in the manor and how Morris was inspired by it. In addition to this, an original drawing of the Kelmscott Manor’s exterior that depicts how the manor amalgamated within the garden. To reinforce this, I picked a watercolor of the Kelmscott Manor and a photo that captivates the various perspectives of the garden in the manor. Moving on to his designs that interprets his love for nature I picked up the very first of his wallpaper design of the trellis that has a very naturalistic touch to it with the vines which seemed to be an extension of the “inspiration garden” on to the paper. Also chose one of the wallpapers he designed during the middle of his lifetime and one of his last designs as well. The underlying concept behind picking those was to outline the consistency in his design concept throughout his life. William Morris was a poet , whose poetry and compositions were also inspired by nature, and to depict his poetry in form of naturalism concept I picked a stance from one of his compositions that talks about forest, flora and fauna which directly ties to his underlying concept. Also the compositions he wrote always had engraved borders which was ...
Cassatt uses implied to create organic shapes such as the wide boat, and the oar the man is using. The dress the woman is wearing and the child’s attire are both covered in patterns of implied lines. Lines are implied where areas of color meet, such as the white border of the boat touching the blue water and the figures sitting on the yellow benches of the boat. Cassatt and Fragonard both used implied lines to draw the people, which create an implied mass of the figures; this in my eyes brings the people to life. The boat in Cassatt’s painting has an implied mass and this makes the viewer feel as if they can jump right into the boat; it gives the painting a sense of reality. Fragonard uses implied lines to draw all the bushes, trees and statues. We can also see implies lines in Fragonard painting where areas of color meet, for example as the man on the bottom left corner is laying on the green bush and also as the man in the back is blending in with the dark shadows of the
Painted by Vincent Van Gogh during a final burst of activity in Auvers before his suicide in July, Houses at Auvers features many of the characteristic elements typical of Van Gogh; the experimentation with color, texture, and thick brush strokes. This painting depicts the view and landscape in early summer, highlighting the patchwork of houses and the rolling greenery. Van Gogh’s unique, thick brush strokes lead the eyes through the painting, create texture and patterns and also highlight and shadow objects in the early summer sun, while his experimentation with color creates contrast and a bright, vibrant image.
In regards to first impressions of the artwork, the viewer’s eve is first drawn to the large raft in the center of the painting. The focal point in the painting is the ship on the horizon. It is the focal point because most of the people on the raft that are alive are looking at the ship. The viewer’s eye is also drawn to the man holding onto a dead little boy due to the color