Diego Velázquez – Las Meninas (1656-57)

The gazes of the fresco’s subjects run along this depth axis towards a point that lies beyond the coronal plane of the fresco. This intersection of gazes to a point beyond the plane of the visual text is reminiscent of those in Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas, on which critical theorist Michel Foucault comments, referring to the gazes of the model, the spectator, and the painter, “These three ‘observing’ functions come together in a point exterior to the picture: that is, an ideal point in relation to what is represented, but a perfectly real one too, since it is also the starting-point that makes the representation possible” (15). Gaulli’s Triumph of the Name of Jesus, once again, is a visual text that is viewed di sotto in sù, the viewer’s gaze turned skyward to partake of the text. This viewing takes place across a vertical space—a distance between the viewer on ground level and the vaulted ceiling—that is pronounced by a set of trompe-l'œils that the viewer is responsible for reconciling. The aforementioned disruptions of visual boundaries and patterns in the text, the disruptions of media boundaries from paint to sculpture to architecture, and the artificial shadows projected by the painted figures all contribute to the viewer’s ability to perceive this depth axis and focus on the burst of light that resides at a point beyond the coronal plane of the

This royal assembly is dominated not by Charles IV but by Queen María Luisa, whose ugly features are accentuated by her ornate costume and rich jewels. On its right is Self Portrait painted in 1803 by James Barry. Barry represents himself wearing an elegant red coat with a yellow waistcoat and white shirt underneath. In this portrait he is holding a painting of Cyclops, known in the the classical literature world as a one-eyed giant who devoured human flesh. In the background, windswept trees and an active volcano add drama towards the story of the portrait. Moving on, we are now viewing Napoleon Visiting the in the Plague-Stricken in Jaffa created in 1804 by painter Antoine-Jean Gros. The feeling of horror and sadness is within us all while viewing this painting due to Gros’ astounding emphasis on the pain felt by plague-stricken and the respect and kindness Napoleon expresses towards the ill. On the right is Madame Riviere painted sometime between 1805 and1806 by the famous painter Ingres. The subject of the painting is Madame Philibert Rivière, the wife of a high-ranking government official in the Napoleonic Empire.

An idyllic scene is laid out as the Grand Canal stretches down the center of the canvas while buildings on either side of the canal extend into the distance until they are intersected by yet another canal and the subsequent buildings that line it. The buildings extend, at most, three-quarters of the way up the canvas, where they meet the sky above. Because Canaletto is using linear perspective to show depth within the painting, the buildings become increasingly smaller as they move back in “space”. Gondolas and sailboats float across and back into the page with their captains in various states of fishing and rowing while figures on the sidewalk meander about in various states of conversation and isolation. A man on the right hand side of the scene sweeps out a chimney as a woman in the top story below leans out across the balcony of her window. There is an enormous amount of detail in the scene, as each building has distinct doorways and window and all the people shown are depicted in such detail that you can distinguish a beggar boy from a businessman, although they take up a minuscule fraction of the overall

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

It is a famous example of Renaissance art showing portraiture, realism, and some perspective. In this painting there are four distinct characters. Each has a different expression that shows how they are feeling. There is also more detail in the faces then in any other parts of the painting. Another technique it demonstrates is heightened realism. Whereas before the Renaissance the figures may have been painted simply and in only enough detail to get the general idea across, these figures are shown more realistically. Lastly there is the technique of perspective as shown in the background of the painting. The sea stretches out into the sky and the land in the background is shown how it would look if the viewer was actually

One of the most effective principles Paolo de Matteis uses in this painting is his use of lines and invisible lines to direct the viewer’s attention to the child in his mother’s arms. The shepherds and their animals, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph are all instances of invisible lines in this painting, as their outstretched hands and lines of vision are all pointing to the baby Jesus. For example, the three women and the child kneeling to the bottom right side of the manger are all staring or pointing to the upper left, toward Jesus. Moving to the upper right corner of the painting, the ox and the donkey are directing their gaze to the bottom left, once again at Jesus. The two men to the right of the animals also point in that direction. In the top and center, Mary and Joseph watch their child, creating yet another invisible line pointing toward the point of emphasis, while the angels

The initial focus of the painting is Mary as a whole, or perhaps specifically her face and outstretched arms. El Greco, however, uses a Cartesian grid to relocate the focus to the geometric center of the canvas, a clearly intentional move necessary to create the basis of Mary’s upward motion. “Assumption” is strongly divided into four quadrants. The heavens, occupying the upper-half of the canvas, are divided in half vertically by Mary’s body, while the Earth is split by a clear part in the crowd that extends directly downward from that same line. The divine and mortal realms are separated fittingly by a line of clouds vertically centered on the canvas. The result is a crosshairs locked in on the area just below the Virgin’s feet—the area that will become the most important part of the canvas. The

Paragone is a driving force in Baroque art, yet the idea and how it is used differs between regions. In Spain, this lines between sculptors and painters blur, with each form creating a conversation with one another. Juan José LaHuerta examines the painter side of the Spanish paragone, looking towards Velázquez and Zurbarán in his essay “The Crucifixions of Velázquez and Zurbarán.” Despite the overwhelming similarities between the two artists’ depictions of the same theme, LaHuerta argues that it is the similarities—the resources and possibilities—that set their paintings apart in two different ways to bring painting to the forefront of Spanish paragone. LaHuerta’s argument begins with addressing what Velázquez and Zurbarán would have had as resources before creating their commissioned pieces.

Concerning color, there is a stark contrast between the figure on the painting and the background. More specifically, the figure of the woman is predominantly delineated in white color, especially pale, ashen white, as far her apparel and facial complexion are concerned, while there are also various hues of grey, with respect to her hair and accessory feather. These white and grey shades are vividly contrasted with the prevailing red and crimson hues of the background (viz. the drape, armchair, and table). Moreover, one can detect colors of dark green (jewelry), some beige on the left (pillar), and darker or lighter shades of blue on the right side of the canvas (sky), which all in concert and in addition to the subtle purple hue forming the sun or moon exude a certain dramatic sentiment. Also, there is brown, which often easily segues into gold (viz. books and attire details respectively). The main contrast of colors between white and red would be interpreted as serving the purpose of rendering the figure of the woman, and especially her face, the focal point of the work, despite, paradoxically enough, the lush red shades at the background. Bearing that in mind, the significance of the woman’s face will be enlarged upon later, when discussing aspects of her identity.

The painting, In Ictu Oculi (Fig. 1), by Juan de Valdés Leal is one of a set of two paintings and are each referred to as a Vanitas, or vanity painting, which is a still-life painting genre containing symbols of death to remind people of their eventual demise. The two paintings are also referred to as allegory scenes because of the hidden meanings behind the symbolism of the art. This paper will show that In Ictu Oculi is a dramatic change from the artist’s style previous to and after painting the vanities as shown in his paintings of biblical stories and historical events. I will discuss Leal’s paintings previous to and post In Ictu Oculi, why the Church of Hermandad de la Caridad in Seville commissioned him to paint the vanities and the symbolism in Valdés’ In Ictu

Diego Velazquez was the leading figure during the era of Spanish Baroque art. He surpassed other skilled artists in genre and portrait paintings to gain a place in King Philip the IV’s Spanish Court. During the time of Philip IV’s ruling (1605-1665) Spain was a strong advocate for Catholic counter-reformation art in a desire to halt the spread of Protestantism. As a result of Spain’s support for this approach to art, Spanish artwork at this time was massively influenced by religious themes. The Spanish Inquisition rigorously censored art and issued a policy strongly discouraging the practice of painting the female nude, unless painted for royalty or other leading officials in the Spanish Court. Fortunately, Velazquez’s appointment into the royal court allowed him to escape the censorship and produce The Rokeby Venus for Gasper Mendez, a close associate of King Philip IV. Completed during Velazquez’s second visit to Italy in 1648-53, The Rokeby Venus is the only surviving nude by the artist.

During the 17th century, Spain had discovered the Americas. Due to the discovery of wealth of gold and silver found in the lands, Spain was becoming a rich country. Although Spain was flourishing with gold and silver, they had to pay the, “costly war in Europe, its ostentatious monuments, a luxurious aristocracy, the fight against the Protestant Reformation” (Fuentes). Fuentes went on to conveyed that Spain was poor because Spain was rich. They were thriving with successes of gold and silver but it was not enough to make them stay rich. Under the rule of the king whose Spain was being labeled as rich and poor was an artist by the name of Velazquez. Velazquez role as an artist in the 17th century was to introduce a style of painting where the

The detailed and beautiful painting, “Queen Victoria and Prince Albert with Five of Their Children” was painted by a German painter named Franz Xaver Winterhal. He was widely known for his beautiful portraits of royal women. One of his portraits “Queen Victoria and Prince Albert with Five of their Children” featured the queen, the prince, and their children. In the artwork, the queen and the prince are centered with their children surrounding them. Both fully dressed in beautiful and elaborate formal garments decorated with ornaments. Dressed in a red garment, next to Queen Victoria, is her son who is staring at Prince Albert. On the right side of Prince Albert are two of their daughters dressed in white dresses who are peering over an infant that is staring at something. While in front of the queen and prince is another girl that is trying to walk. In the background of the painting, it shows an open backdrop revealing a cloudy, blue sky with an ocean that stretches out in the distance. Nevertheless, all paintings or artworks holds its very all importance depending on the eye of the beholder looking at the artwork, as it will be interpret by what knowledge they have obtained.

The portrait of the British royal family “Queen Victoria and Prince Albert with Five of Their Children” was painted by a German painter named Franz Xaver Winterhal. He was widely known for his beautiful and elaborated portraits of royal women. The portrait of Queen Victoria and her family is Wintergal’s less well-known portrait, but it is still very detailed image. In the artwork, the queen and the prince are centered with their children surrounding them. Both are dressed in exquisite formal wear decorated with a blue sash across their chest. Next to Queen Victoria is the young prince dressed in red garment, who is looking at Prince Albert. On the right side of Prince Albert are two of their daughters dressed in white dresses who are peering over an infant that is staring at something. While in front of the queen and prince is another girl that is trying to walk. In the background of the painting, it shows an open backdrop revealing a cloudy, blue sky with an ocean that stretches out in the distance. Although this painting is not well-known, it still portrays a sense of understanding of the royal family. In the same context, all paintings or artworks holds its very own importance depending on the eye of the beholder looking at the artwork, as it will be interpret by what knowledge they have obtained.

Have you ever wondered why artists make different variants of their fellow designers work? The incident I will be telling you about is when Pablo Picasso made 58 renditions of Diego Velázquez’s painting ‘Las Meninas.’ This is a very unique piece of art that has been well known in the art industry for the different variations that were made of it. In my essay I will be giving a description of the original piece of art, talking about why he made 58 depictions of ‘LasMeninas’ and what they consisted of, as well as comparing and contrasting the authentic paintingto the modified ones. As we look at the original painting we see several girls huddled around a princess. In the background we see Diego Velázquez examining the women as he begins to paint. I believe that Velázquez was trying to illustrate that without the help of lower class individuals the princess or any person in power couldn’t be successful. One reason I believe this is because Señor Velázquez’s title of the painting, ‘The ladies in waiting.’ This is the english translation of the Spanish words ‘Las Meninas.’ Although the main character seems to be the princess the maids are included in the title and his picture which to me shows their significance. I think he created this painting because he wanted to explain something that he felt was important in a piece of art. I believe this is because of what he centered the piece around. His painting made clear that he was trying to show the