Allegory Of Vanity Analysis

Peter Paul Rubens’ masterpiece, Venus and Adonis, is not only a significant artwork of the baroque-period in Europe during the seventeenth century, but it also tells the mythological story that begins with love, and ends in tragedy. Displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this painting is admired for representing the unique baroque-style of this era, as well as Rubens’ particular use of the medium and how it reaches those who are viewing it. His attention to detail and crafty use of symbolism within the painting assist viewers in deciphering the story, along with the values of the period in which Rubens was living. In studying the composition of the work and noting the historical context from which it came, one can ultimately

The purpose of this assignment is to present a brief yet comprehensive formal analysis of the work in question, namely, Joos van Cleve’s Lucretia. The painting was completed ca. 1525 by the Flemish artist most likely in Antwerp, where he was highly active from about 1511 until his death in 1540. The painting is oil on panel (75.9 x 60.6 cm) and is exemplary of the early Baroque period. The work depicts at the broadest level the suicide of the early Roman historical figure, Lucretia, following her rape c. 510 BC by Sextus Tarquinius, son of the last Roman king. The incident bears historical significance as it marks rising popular dissatisfaction of the Roman people with the monarchy, and the transition from the Roman Kingdom to the Roman Republic,

With a name like Tris (short for Beatrice) Prior, the heroine that Shailene Woodley plays in this sci-fi thriller is custom-built to be a young-adult role model. She begins the film, derived from Veronica Roth's debut novel, with a major dilemma.

The article also acknowledges how the sculpture is a unique find in art especially in terms of how well the sculpture has been preserved and how the damage to the sculpture were minimal as compared to other similar discovered Venus sculptures. Arenas acknowledges how there are also numerous interpretations and explanations on how the arms of the Venus de Milo actually look like or what they are actually doing. The article also presents sultrier take on Venus de Milo, seeing her in all her seductive glory. Through the eyes of Arenas, there is more human, yet otherworldly perspective of Venus de Milo, one which matches romanticized women in mythology. Arenas also envisions the sculpture in relation to feminine charm and how it and the sculpture represents a severed phallus come to life. This represents social and carnal anxiety as well as longing, potency and also impotence.

At Preston high school, it was like any other day, kids being bullied and drugs being used. This kind of stuff went on everyday inside of Preston High school, but this school was all they had in the town of Rapid City and the people got used to it. It was a more southern town, located in Alabama. Many words can describe what goes on there; hatred, abuse, and slacking. But the school is not all bad, as they had good people there, but the kind of people that were bullied. There was a girl named Jenna that was always a bully, because she was the popular girl, with the thought of being better than everyone else, especially with her amazing beauty and physique. Every day she bullied poor little Carlos. He never did anything wrong, but she was

Perhaps he had come to Arles for the sun and for him, it was an immense joy to live in such bright bedroom, bursting with colors. What is also fascinating about this piece of art is how the painter highlights the simplicity of his bedroom through the medium of color: « the pale lilac walls, the floor of an old brown, the chairs and bed chrome yellow, the blood red cover, the orange little table and the blue basin”, as the painter describes it. Van Gogh asserted that he wanted to express a complete rest by handling all these different shades2. The color black, which could be evocating a certain form of anguish, is almost nonexistent in this painting. Only the frame of the mirror and windows is black. We wonder if this could mean that Van Gogh was afraid of his future and afraid to face up to reality.

“There are no ghosts in the paintings of Van Gogh, no visions, no hallucinations. This is the torrid truth of the sun at two o’clock in the afternoon.” This quote that Antonin Artraud, stated from, Van Gogh, the Man Suicided by Society, explains the way in which Van Gogh approached his artwork. He believed in the dry truth and as a result his work was remarkably straightforward in the messages that he portrayed. While visiting Paris, France this past April, I was fortunate enough to have visited Musée d’Orsay, a museum that contains mostly French art from 1848-1914 and houses a large collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces and 19th century works from the Louvre [The Oxford Companion to Western Art]. I was also

In terms of subject matter, both works are visual depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In each painting, Christ is the central figure, surrounded by two groups of figures. On the left, a group of women that includes the Virgin Mary mourns over the dead body of Christ, while on the right is a group of soldiers and other lamenters. Both works feature a rocky landscape on which the figures are positioned. Encircling Christ are several angels whose gestures of lamentation echo those of the figures below. Highlighting the severity of each scene is the blood that pours from Jesus' wounds. The blood from his feet drips onto human bones that are embedded in the rocky terrain below. The skull serves as a "memento mori," or a reminder of death, an idea that has been repeated in several other depictions of Christ's crucifixion.

When examining the statue, there is an old woman bent and weary. Her posture helps clue us in , with her age and health. The figure is dressed in cloth that hangs off her shoulders. She carries a basket that is filled with what we may think are offerings. Then on her head, there are vines that create a band around the top of her head maybe used to signify the festival that was going on during that time. The specific detail that is seen on this statue persuades us to want to know the story of this woman. Doing so, the process involves lots of research about the time and art. During this period, artist begin to introduce more inner beauty than physical beauty. We get to learn more about the structure itself, then settle for what is given and seen.

The two still lives, Bowl of Cherries by Giovanna Garzoni, and Vanitas Self-Portrait by Clara Peeters are both artwork from the fiftieth century. They speak volumes about what life was like for each artist, and depict a seemingly average day through their artistic recreations. However, Peeters and Garzoni lived very different lives, and followed different paths through their journey as female artists. A still-life with a convenient subject matter meant something unique to each artist, allowing them to create these seemly different, yet surprisingly similar pieces.

Abstract: Antony Gormley’s provocative work Untitled (For Francis), 1986, reminds the viewer to consider the universal symbolism that is represented by humankind in relationship to the cosmos and divinity. This visual study will ask and answer the following question: Why did Anthony Gormley use his own body form in Untitled (For Francis), 1986, as a universal spiritual symbol, that is relative to the stigmata received by Saint Francis of Assisi? This question will be answered by first identifying the Gormley’s philosophy and motivation with regards to the human body as a universal symbol that exists within the cosmos. Secondly, this study will explore the subject matter and formal reasoning behind the artist’s work, Untitled (For Francis). Third, this study will historically contextualize Saint Francis in the Wilderness, 1485 by Giovanni Bellini in conjunction and the universal symbolism and typology of the stigmata, as it relates to the content of Gormley’s work.

The visual work I have chosen is the Bith of Venus and is one of the world’s most famous works of art. Painted by Sandro Botticelli between 1482 and 1485, it is the first example of painting on canvas. The written work I have chosen is the Stanze per la Giostra. It was written by Angelo Poliziano, written between 1475-8. Both works are examples from the Italian Renaissance era, during the Medici rule, and share the theme of beauty and humanism. The works I've selected share the same subject matter, Venus, and is the perfect example of beauty and humanism. She is the epitome of beauty and her birth from the sea is an example of her metamorphosis of humanism. For this paper, I will compare both works then discuss how the shared theme is seen in contemporary works. How does Venus and her beautiful metamorphosis fit into contemporary forms of beauty and humanism?

The sculptures and paint show details how society viewed and interpreted women body, sexuality, and maternity. In addition, revealed that these women were protected from threats around them with ornaments. Civilizations since early times, believed that we were in permanent threat from forces we do not see or cannot explain and because of it, we protected ourselves with artificial elements in a form of jewelry, crowns or caps. This idea has been continue from one generation to the next to the point that in modern societies some of us still use this type of protection in our bodies (e.g., small cross, divine images, tattoos, etc.).These pieces of art also indicate that humans believed in gods with superpowers and they are looking over us constantly. Humanity also believes in dark forces or demons trying to makes us do things that would upset the good gods. Some of the differences between these sculptures and paint are the material in which each one of them were created. The first figure, the Woman of Willendorf was carved in limestone, the second piece, the portrait of Queen Tiye was carved in wood and the last piece, the Virgin and Child Icon was created of tempera on a wood. You can also notice how the details on their faces and bodies changes throughout the time and years. The woman of Willendorf figurine offers details of a voluptuous nude women’s body but there is not face, or feet. Queen Tiye statue shows the face of a woman in detail closed to the gods but without any body parts and lastly The Virgin and Child Icon, is an expression of divinity of the views, reflections and beliefs from the gospel. Because communities started to innovate on the art of carving and painting, populations began to discover and/or create art with the objective of expressing different purposes of our daily lives, such as the beauty of a woman’s body, or to commemorate an ancient

In the book of Ecclesiastes, the word vanity is used almost thirty-five times, compared to approximately twenty-five times elsewhere in the Old Testament (Meek, n.d.). Furthermore, when a single word is used multiple times throughout a book in the Bible such as the word vanity, it is important to understand the word’s contextual meaning to determine the biblical significance of the word vanity. Subsequently, in other books of the Bible the words vain, vanity, and vanities, are primarily associated with emptiness, worthlessness, wickedness, falseness, or a breath (Meek, n.d.).

The Mona Lisa has to be one of my favorite paintings of all time and has lead me to use this specific painting as a topic for this paper. Not to mention the love I have for Leonardo da Vinci. I, myself have always been drawn to da Vinci’s paintings and all of his other achievements that he has given us during his life. I, like Leonardo da Vinci love art and science just as much as it seems he did. He shares a love of art and a fondness for science. It also seems that he loves a good mystery, and the Mona Lisa just happens to be one clouded in mystery. And I too love a good mystery.