On Painting by Leon Alberti is, in essence, a book of guidelines for novice painters. Alberti explains that since paintings are meant to represent things that are seen, they need also be approached this way. In his theory, he breaks up the way of painting into three important components circumscription, composition, and the reception of light. Within these three are guidelines for the portrayal of subjects, spaces and emotion.
The artwork I have chosen is ‘Samson Captured by the Philistines” by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, better known as Guercino. The painting is an oil on canvas and was painted in 1619 in Venice. The dimensions of the painting are 75 ¼ x 93 ¼ inches (191.1x236.9cm). Guercino is an Italian-born painter and mostly associated with Baroque style art. He got the name Guercino from Guercio, which means cross-eyed in Italian. I am going to give a detailed formal and content analysis of the artwork. The formal analysis will be as detailed as possible and will allow you to have an astonishingly similar imagined piece to the actual artwork, after reading the analysis. The content analysis will be how I interpret this artwork and how it reflects the period
The manipulation of perspective was not only significant for symbolic meaning. It was used as a visual tool in order to create the “magic” that the painting is known for. Because the vanishing point is approximately 5 feet from the bottom of the picture, which is practically floor level, this allows for both the top and bottom of the picture to come together and establishes an illusion of an actual structure. While this “created space” within the picture appears to be real, it is actually just one of the
When seeing this painting in person we see all the lines and colors really pop out as opposed to seeing it in a text book. You see that the images are much clearer in person giving us sharper appearances of the subject matters. With Manfredi being a member of the Caravaggisti, and therefore; we see Caravaggio like methods in the painting; such as the darken background, and the one source lighting. With the background being very dark not only does it allow you to focus more on the subject matter of the piece but it allows for the gloomy emotional aspect of it to be displayed. With the one source lighting in this painting it permits for Cupid’s skin to look like actual perfect flesh. The lighting allows Manfredi to show off his skills on how well can he imitate the human flesh by having the layers of red, giving the painting life, and the layers of blue, giving the paint translucently. The lighted areas that is caused by the once source of light focuses on the main parts of the composition; the flying doves, the Mars’ arm holding Cupid’s wrist, Cupid, and the Venus’ shoulder and arm. Like most of Caravaggio’s paintings, the one source lighting helps Manfredi to displays Leonardo’s Golden triangle method. Just like Caravaggio’s paintings, Manfredi uses the Golden triangle method so that the viewer’s eye is always being
As indicated by the shape in the foreground, the lines that signify the contour of the rocks and freestanding structure merge. The lines lead the eye vertically as it meets the center. When looking at the painting as a whole, the viewer can see how the artist uses straight
Painted on a panel, this painting was done in tempera, a pigment dissolved in egg. The chief medium till the late 1400s, tempera dries very quickly and when it does it gives a flat and dry appearance. This painting has sharp brushstrokes that do not fuse together and the forms have very sharp edges. All this is attributed partly to his style, and partly to the limitations of his medium. Artists at this time did not know much about the study of perspective, and Barna di Siena’s image reflects this flatness and lack of dimension. Not only are there different people on different scales supposedly in the same plane, even individual
The two works of art that I have chosen to analyze are 1) Jordan Casteel. Miles and JoJo. 2014. Oil on canvas, 54” x 72” and 2) Aaron Fowler. He Was. 2015. Mixed media, 134” x 165” x 108”. The themes that these works of art represent in regards to the exhibit are love, family, and pain. However, they also fall into other thematic categories. The main theme that seems to apply to both “Miles and JoJo” and “He Was” is Human Experience. Additionally, these arts differ in some ways.
3. The colour orange appears many times in the novel "Life of Pi", as do the colours red and yellow, which together create orange. The colour red as an archetype symbolizes great passion, blood and sacrifice. The colour yellow symbolizes hope and happiness. Orange is a combination of these two archetypes. On page 153 in "Life of Pi", Pi remarks, "It seems orange---such a nice Hindu colour---is the colour of survival." Survival could be viewed as passion, sacrifice and hope all combined together.
Francesco used a style that I really enjoy, it is called pittura di tocco and it is a style known for its small dotting in the art work and it's small but clean brush strokes. It's a style that not many artist can lock down it is very very advanced. He started in venice italy when he was passed down a shop from his father who was deceased and he worked alongside his brother to make and sell hand made paintings. His paintings are beautiful painting like the venetian capriccio which is a landscape painting of the molo towards santa Maria. He was born october 1712 and when his father passed away in the year 1716 and that's when he had the shop passed down to him, he was only 4 when the shop was handed down to him and his brother. He worked with
1. It was hard to get the feet to look realistic. The detailing part was hard to. Like you had to get all the contrast, structure, movement, and realism. It was hard especilly because in my painting my feet were small. Another hard part was getting the right shade. Like ppaint the feet a color and then make it a little darker for the areas that neede shading and dimension to give a realistic/ contrast to distinguish the difference. It was hard to get a shade that wasnt dramatically drker that the feets color.
The use of line in this piece is also very interesting. The artist employs a high horizontal line to create a plunging effect giving the piece more depth. Another use of lines in the image is to create focal points to attract the viewer. Lines are also used to separate the different sections of the painting. Overall this painting uses lines in dynamic ways that vastly enhance the viewers’ pleasure and admiration of the piece.
The great thing about art, is that there are multiple portrayals of one idea but, the artist’s own personal style allows one to feel something that another may not. Early Renaissance painters, Giotto di Bondone and Duccio di Buoninsegna established their own unique style to depict a biblical scene known as, The Betrayal of Christ. Through a close analysis of each artist’s representation of, The Betrayal of Christ, one is able to compare and contrast the artists own understanding of the scene through their attention to detail, character, and space throughout the painting. When examining these two works, one will have a stronger emotional response towards Giotto’s interpretation rather Duccio’s, due to his methods of handling organization, figures, and space.
The selection from Leon Battista Alberti’s On painting is mainly divided into 5 paragraphs numbered 25 through 29. Just as the title suggests, the text deals with the art of painting and its virtues. It talks about the benefits painting offers to the artist and why they are valuable, as well as showing the importance a work of art gives to the object being painted. While referring to many examples in history, Alberti also compares painting to the other “crafts” and explains why it is more noble, as well as more enjoyable and self-satisfactory.
Analyze: Due to the colors and the value added to the painting, the emphasis of the painting is the woman. The strong black background contrasts her colorful clothing and fair skin creating a great emphasis on her presence within the painting. Additionally, the value and texture that is added to her face and clothing creates a realistic illusion. Her clothes contain folds and wrinkles, while her face contains shading that allow the viewer to see its rounded shape, as the light seems to strike from the upper left corner of the image.
The fixation is set on her in the center of the painting due to the triangle of light used to create a focal point for the viewer. Surrounding her on both sides are the linear equivelants of past and future. From the left we see her creators helping her along with strength and the force of the wind. To the right we see her handmaiden ready to usher her into the world, where she will be clothed and no longer represent innocence. Both exhibit two very different forms of love and caring to Venus.