The contrast of dark cloudy sky to a bright and shining moon helps elaborate on it's motif as a 'beacon of hope'. The darkness of the figure paints him as weary and in need of the presented beacon. The contrast between the dreary figure and the bright inviting sun further illustrates the promise of relief that the moon is symbolic of. Furthermore the actual medium of art helps to strengthen the portraits storyline. If this was portrayed in the form of a sculpture there would be less chance for optical illusion. The deception shading and placement create, is vital to making this scene seem more spacious. Furthermore, this space is important to displaying a strenuous journey that looks endless from a spectators point of view. Oil on canvas is also merited in that it allows for mystery. The spectator can imagine the moon to be enormous due to how far away it seems to
Using natural phenomenon as a starting point for abstraction, Mark Grotjahn’s paintings straddle the polarities of artifice and nature. His painting, Lavender Butterfly Jacaranda over Green (Fig. 2), expresses his fascination with nature. Transferring the experience of observation to an intrigue of creative possibility, Grotjahn harnesses the mysticism of nature through aesthetic formality.
The primary focus of this section is to explain the “act of painting.” Flack begins her book with notes on the creative process and what it means to be an artist. Everything from the perception of color to confronting a blank canvas is addressed in this section. Audrey Flack briefly touches on the spiritual
Beauty is an incredibly subjective thing; what might seem appealing to one’s eyes may be horrendously ugly in the eyes of another. However, the status of “beautiful” or “ugly” can be assigned rather objectively when art is examined from the perspectives of different philosophies. The beliefs and values of different philosophies can be used to find meaning and beauty in various art forms, allowing for a more straightforward determination of beauty. Because of the many layers of meaning most paintings entail, they are a perfect example of an art form that can be analyzed by numerous philosophical viewpoints to find meaning and beauty, and Ma Yuan’s painting Walking on a Mountain Path in Spring, which comes from the Song dynasty of Chinese and depicts a sole figure standing in a natural surrounding, is no exception. Ma Yuan’s painting is beautiful because it represents the ultimate achievements for the Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian philosophies.
The most important trait in defining art is its beauty. As complex as the term “art” can be, the term “beauty” is nearly just as complicated. In order to understand art more clearly it is important to understand beauty. “We label an object beautiful because it promotes an internal harmony or ‘free play’ of our mental faculties; we call something ‘beautiful’ when it elicits this pleasure.” (Freeland 8). As defined above, beauty is not a direct message. It is something that subconsciously allows man to feel good and pleasurable. There is “an internal harmony” when we observe something beautiful that allows us to take away a deeper understanding of a work of art regardless of it being “nice looking” or “ugly”.
I have chosen to compare two paintings for my final paper; the first is from the Neoclassical movement while the other is from the Romanticism movement. The Neoclassical painting is The Death of Socrates (1787) by Jacques-Louis David and the Romantic painting is The Death of Sardanapalus (1827) by Eugene Delacroix. While both paintings reflect on heroic themes, they are captured on canvas in very different ways. Represented here is one movement that looked to break from classical perspectives while the other attempts to give life back the classical styles. The purpose of this paper will be to define the differences between paintings from the Neoclassic and Romantic movements and discover how the use of colors and light can change the look
The landscape and gestures are symmetrical and balanced such as their feet, hands, and facial expressions are all equally proportioned. Throughout this composition there are geometrical shapes which are recognizable such as circles, ovals, and rectangles which are all natural forms. The utilities used to create this work of art have more benefits than drawbacks. Canvases and oil paints are easier to depict mythical and heroic figures effectively because the paint can be applied thick which makes blending of colours easier to achieve. The linseed or walnut oil dries very slowly thus making it simple to revise the image. In addition, canvases are light and retain a glossy surface. The only challenge is to keep the brush strokes to a minimum, but the trace of an artist’s brush stroke like the one in this painting accentuated movement and naturalism.
The painting shows man and nature in harmony. A clear sign that he focused mostly on drawing is the geometric forms used in the painting. He used very calm tonality to give it the calmness. His artwork and brushwork are very fluid and focused. This painting has no historical meaning because this painting was after his transition from historical to landscape. Instead of telling a story it is supposed to evoke a calm mood. The golden light contributes to its peacefulness. Now that I have explained both paintings individually, in the following paragraph I will talk about their differences and what makes them different.
In Abstract Expressionism - a certain construction of the world we call “individuality” is revealed in its true, that is to say, contingent, vulgarity. And so is painting; or rather, so are paintings like Hofmann’s “The Garden” and Adolph Gottlieb’s “Black, Blue Red” - done as they were under the sign or spell of such a construction, by “individuals” believing utterly (innocently, idiotically) in its power.
In this painting, I think that Georgia O’Keeffe is trying to capture the beauty of nature and what she sees at the lake. This is an abstract painting that she has created based on real things that she sees at this lake. The different shapes represent different things she sees such as the wind, water, trees, and the sky. Based on the gray clouds, I am guessing that it was raining so some of the shapes might represent rain. I think she is trying to show the beauty of nature in an abstract form, and she is trying to say nature is beautiful not only up close but also from a faraway
The use of geometric shapes in this painting allows the subject to be viewed in both a recognizable and unrecognizable state at the same time. Overall, geometric shapes and patterns play an essential role in what the viewer sees, which is further supported by a powerful color palate.
Guernica is monochromatic to make its imagery more powerful. Lack of color keeps the viewer focused on the subject matter at hand, as well as keeping the mural cold, which agrees with its general theme of injustice in war. Also, Picasso’s flat imagery does not distract the viewer from concentrating on imagery. The viewer is given no other choice than to concentrate on the subject matter of Guernica and ponder it’s meaning. The flat, grayscale images generalize the imagery and contribute to the general theme of unnecessary suffering and tragedy.
Life consists of constant cycles of spontaneous outbursts of joy and unexpected disappointments; there is an upside to this repetitive tug of war. On this rock we call home, we are surrounded by the most gorgeous creations, structures, and landscapes that add a touch of serenity to our miserable existences called aesthetics. Aesthetics as an adjective is defined as concern with beauty of the appreciation of beauty. As a noun it means a set of principles underlying and guiding the work of a particular artist or artistic movement. The surrounding beauty that we take for continuous granted is significant towards our existence. In everyday interaction, we straddle the line between aesthetic judgement, where we appreciate any object, instead
Art by its nature is a subject of the philosophical, social, economic, political or religious context surrounding its creator. More often than not, a work of art addresses a specific topic or somewhat revolves around a particular person. Therefore, it is impossible to separate the context of a piece of painting, either historical or cultural, to its intrinsic value or the artwork's meaning. On the other hand, different cultures and time utilized specific conventions that govern the representation of objects of creativity. This essay highlights various pieces of art and their relationship to particular cultural, political, economic, or social settings. Moreover, it pinpoints how different times influence art presentation.
The use of the oil paint falls from broad and gestural to refined and purposeful. Over all the painting style is semi-loose to retain essential information within the painting. The worm colors bring a comforting feel to the piece of thoughtful solitude and prayer. Although this painting depicts what life may have been to Indigenous people in the 19th century, the artist shows his lack of understanding of the culture. Respect is one of the core values to many planes people and respect goes further than the relationship between people but all things in life such as birds and stone and plants. They all have a sprit that is considered a relative. The problematic aspects of this painting are how sacred items are leisurely treated as objects. The three most noteworthy items are the cha’nupa, cansiga, and waph’a’ha. First, the cha’nupa should be propped up or held and not let be lying on the ground and put together. Second, the cansiga should also be propped up and face up at all times. Finally, an eagle feather or waph’a’ha should never touch the ground. These are things that can be damaging to our own understanding of history, Indigenous culture and spirituality. Although this is just one painting a person without the cultural knowledge could see this and believe that the treatment is tolerable since this is a paining from the past and insightful artist. This paining wile well