Gauguin Where Do We Come From What Are We Where Are We Going -Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)
-Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?
-1897
-Oil on Canvas, 5 feet by 12 feet
-Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?, is the self-acclaimed masterpiece of Paul Gauguins’ career. It represents the culmination of his ideas and beliefs that he acquired throughout his life as a painter. Many visual characteristics of the painting, such as the color, line, and light are unrealistic in nature, but serve to emphasize the tropical surroundings in which Gauguin loved to paint. Although the organization of the characters in this lush jungle clearing seem random, Gauguin intended this work
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The idol also represents a change in color tones from the rest of the painting. It has been painted in a light blue, similar to the coloring of background elements. According to Gauguin, this figure represents “the beyond,” which is emphasized by its close relationship in color to nature. (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
Although the use of line and light is not as defined as the color scheme, they still play an important role in the overall organization of the painting. Gauguin uses curvilinear lines throughout this work with no right angles or sharp points. The outlines in the background are fairly blurry and some of the lines blend into one another. In contrast, the characters in the foreground are comprised of precise, sharp lines. Gauguin goes as far as lightly outlining the bodies with a dark line in order to give them a sense of depth. Light also serves to enhance certain aspects of the painting. Gauguin has been careful in his use of light to create some areas of brightness and some of darkness. The central figure glows in the bright light, which shines down on her from above. This light shows the importance of the decision of whether to pick the fruit or not. It is focused so directly on one area and is void in the others.
The organization and relationships of the characters, animals, and background elements in Where do we come from? seem to be fairly unorganized and random, but Gauguin has placed them in this order consciously. The painting is
Then there are also many psychological lines to be seen in the work. One such line is of the woman and the floor, where she is staring down towards it. Another is from the young child and the store clerk, showing a defiance between the two. Next, light and value are not very contrasting in this painting, with only the basic highlights and the shadows seen. It isn’t completely contrasting or contradicting since the colors blend well together with close to the same value ranges, dark colors seen throughout except for the people’s pale faces. There also seems to be a variety of light sources since the woman’s face along with the shop clerk and the young boy’s is lit up by what seems to be a light bulb since they’re much brighter and highlighted and then the men and women in the back aren’t really as bright, except for the ones who close to the open door, creating a blue tinge from the outside light. The shapes shown through the painting is shown to be either very round or very geometrical. There are organic shapes in things such as the umbrella or even the back of the chair, but mostly it is either straight lines and geometrical shapes. The volume shown in the painting is very much implied, correctly showing the
paintings Nobleman Hunting in the Marshes and Ti Watching a Hippopotamus. All of these art forms are labeled under humanism. In contrast, is the Musicians and and Dancers Egyptian wall painting where there are two women facing forward as well as
In his painting, there is a term to expressing how light varies from its original light. For instance, the background of the painting is adding with brown color, yet using tint and shade effect to the sun sets with distinctive brightness. Brightness is adjusted by horizontal movement, and Breton increases, and decreases his painting’s brightness at the background view. Upper part of the pieces, twilight shines with varying brightness, depending on the darkness of the sky surface. Brightness for the mid-gray tones in the surrounding space, with significantly affecting the highlights and shadows. Overall painting allows depress emotion. Figures is luminous such as the sky and houses, also for the woman, she is apparently describing with a energetic sense of natural, and mournful atmosphere. The light at the back part of the drawing gives viewers to pay attention to the woman rather than the background, since there is bright white T-shirt with dress, and the woman’s face. Breton uses tint and shade effect at the upper part of the painting, and clouding of the back scene maintains a tenderness. Breton uses bright light at the sun sets, and it expressed that it was the dawn and bring message with a bright future will come soon to the woman, and the
The lines within the composition draws the viewer into several directions. The ruffles draw the eyes upward to the Daniel’s finger as it points to the right. Daniel’s finger directs the viewer horizontally as it does the king. The table with its array of dishes is another example of a horizontal line. The king’s hands are holding a fork and knife. The fork is also pointing right where as the knife is pointing left diagonally towards the king. The courtesan, leaning against the king’s right shoulder, is another example of a diagonal line. The painting also has a vertical feel to it. This is evident in the composition of Daniel standing, the candle and the arm holding the cigar. Like every line, every color used draw attention to the object.
However, the desert scene and mountains suggest that this was painted in Southern California. In the background, one can see a man leading a pack animal, a woman, and an infant along a road towards the church, identified by the cross on the rooftop. There are no shadows to define form in the background. This is, again, a contrast to the shadows made by the Madonna in the foreground. The lack of shadows, however, does not make the background look flat. The Impressionist styled painting and the lack of detail in the background creates a distant look that gives depth to the painting. The numerous contrasts between the background and the foreground allows the artist to subtly draw the viewer?fs attention towards the foreground. These contrasts help grab the viewer?fs gaze and direct it to the most important part of the painting: the woman and baby.
Line is used in every artwork ever painted. There are many lines in the tree, people, and mountain. The mountain has very curvy line just like the tree does. Lines are also used to separate where the farm ends and where the mountain begins. The lines also help give depth into the artwork where is separates the mountain and
Scale plays a major role in the meaning of this work as a whole. In the mural one of the first things that is noticed is the contrast in scale between the central figure and the surrounding figures in the background. This style could have been chosen for many reasons. In this situation it seems safe to say that the central figure is Prometheus. By making Prometheus this large, the viewer is able to make a distinction between his importance in contrast to the remaining figures importance. Prometheus in Greek mythology is known as a titan who steals fire from the gods and disperses it to the people of the world. In this mural, Prometheus
Further more, in the painting, “the Gleaners”, the entire screen is filled with contrast elements. First of all, the main figures in the front labor scene are full of rich vigor, contrasting to the background with silent objects such as hay, trees and farmhouse. Secondly, the color brightness of the front contrast to the back, as well as the comparison of relative sizes between figures and scenery, applying the principle of perspective. What’s more, the most classic is the horizontal line, the intersection of the sky and the ground, contrasting with the light source, from the top left. Consequently, 2D and 3D spatial effects are combined precisely. Meanwhile, the sense of space of the image is strengthened as well.
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
The use of lines in Stone City is one of the key visual elements in this painting. The artist used many contour lines to define the boundaries between the trees and the valley, the river and the land, and even the long roads from the hills as it winds through the countryside. Wood also incorporated a lot of implied lines into his artwork. The trees and bushes that line the hills create a line of sight which draws the eye of the viewer to the house on the river, which is the focal point of this painting. The lines all move in different directions and help the artist highlight different aspects of the painting. Around the city and in the foreground of the painting the artist uses a lot of horizontal lines, which gives the town a calm sensation. As we move away from the city, we find a lot of vertical lines which denote growth. We also find a lot of diagonal lines which imply action in the painting. The diagonal lines are predominantly used by the artist in the creation of the roads and
Dark colors picture anguish, loneliness and to a certain extent the feeling of insignificance of the man. On the other hand, bright colors denote what he thinks of his lover. Munch use lines to draw the viewer’s attention to the main area of interest. In this case, that is the connectedness of the man with his lover despite their separation. One example of a line is the woman’s golden hair floating towards him as a symbol of their love. Lines are also used to etch the man’s facial expressions and the woman’s lack thereof. But other than the two lovers, the nature in the background has a symbolic meaning. The crimson bush, the tree, the land, the sky and the water all help represent the man’s inner turmoil. All of the elements of the painting collectively help to convey the permanence of
When we look at the history of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, we always like to use the confinement of thinking and the liberation of ideas to sum up the two, especially in the art, the medieval paintings are often used in dark colors, deformed three-dimensional concept Showing the real world, and often less a bit human nature. And after the Renaissance, the painting masters are the opposite of it. I am not here to comment on their good or bad, but from the artistic point of view, to explore whether a good form of art needs to reflect the community and a wide range of civilizations
The main purpose of line in this painting is to give pattern and texture. All of the fruit in this painting is correct to the texture of the fruit in real life. For example, the peaches look fuzzy, and the grapes and apples look smooth. Also, there is a great since of depth to the painting because of shading and overlapping of the fruit. The painting is called Still Life With Fruit, which I find interesting because the painting looks to be completely still. This is because the artist used little to none diagonal and curved lines. The artist also incorporates both geometric and organic masses. The peaches, apples, and grapes are geometric masses because they are relatively perfect circles, while the leaves throughout the painting are organic masses. I would say that geometric masses dominate the painting because there are more fruits that are circular in shape. Also, the shutters are made from rectangles so that just adds to the geometric masses. I would say that the value of this painting is very high key. The suns light that shines through the window onto the fruit creates lighter colors throughout the whole painting, besides the background. The background of the painting, the wall, is very low key with the darker colors dominating. As I said before shading is done very well in this painting which gives it a great sense of depth. Also, chiaroscuro is used in the painting. Different values are used to create shadows on
In addition to color, balance and significance being important principles incorporated in this work, line also plays a huge role to establish the connection they have. However, these lines are not visual on the paintings. Moran uses wavy or curved lines have a more natural, gentle, flowing effect.
First, he created the contrast in between the lines. The lines would be the most obvious elements of arts in this picture, as shown in three main parts: the plants, the river, the riverside.