Painting Light And Shadow Rembrandt

What first catches the viewer 's eyes are the vivid colors used in the painting. Ultimately what jumps out the most is the man on the right 's red robe. The artist intended this for a reason, discussed later. The room where the men are standing is front lit. Also the atmosphere 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

What is odd about the painting is that usually the face is masked during surgery, but in the painting it is not. I feel that Rembrandt did is because I feel that even though

The woman painted is sitting in what seems to be a domestic setting. However, unlike many other painted black women in the Enlightenment, she is seated alone. She is not depicted serving a white woman or doing any labour. The white cloths wrapped around her head and body along with the light background creates a dramatic contrast between the light colours and her dark skin. Her breast is exposed, but she is not sexualized like in many paintings of white women of the period. Despite her less-than-modest exposure, the woman does not show any signs of embarrassment. She is not blushing and her gaze is fixed on the viewer in neither a demure nor passionate way. In fact, she seems nonchalant about her exposure.

Perhaps the most technically impressive aspect of the painting is its remarkable three-dimensionality. Rembrandt is well known for his strikingly accurate portrayal of human shape and form, and this painting lives up to such reputation. With the use of oil paint, he was able to carefully and selectively layer color to create an astonishing representation of the human figure. The most alluring aspect of the piece, in terms of modeling technique, is the face. It contains so much detail; it is hard to believe this painting was done by hand. From the light, wispy texture of the facial hair to the subtle wrinkles surrounding the eyes, attention to detail is what sets this portrait far above many others. Rembrandt’s playful chiaroscuro on the nose and right hand truly give the piece a sense of depth, and the painterly quality of the piece produces a soft and elegant look. Also present within the face is the famous Rembrandt triangle. The result of a specific lighting technique frequently used by Rembrandt, a small triangle is formed underneath the eyes. It is present under the left eye in Marten’s portrait, which gives his face a more natural look. Another technique that intensifies the three-dimensionality of the visible body parts is the use of

Rembrandt uses oil on wood in one of his earliest self-portraits, depicting himself in a fabulous costume that includes a plumed hat, a silk scarf, and an elegant jacket complete with gold trim. There is a heavy use of shadow, concealing half of his face, with the left half being illuminated by a sole source of light located out of the frame. His face purposefully lacks an expression, as if to create an open-ended illusion of confusion. Unlike most of his works, this painting is quite large, having dimensions of 35 by 29 square inches. Although Rembrandt had already begun to attract serious attention, he had not yet received any portrait commissions by 1629, so this piece may have been created to show off his artistic abilities. This self-portrait currently resides in the Isabella Gardner Museum after it was purchased in 1896 from a private collector, Lieutenant Colonel Sawyer.8

All the figures in the painting were real individuals in Manet’s life. The man towards the left is Ferdinand Leenhof who is his soon to be brother in law, the man on the right is his younger brother Eugene Manet and most importantly the nude woman who left everyone stunned was a female model, Victorine Meurent, who makes another appearance in Manet’s other painting “Olympia” where once again she is the topic of debate. As all the figures were recognizable and were portrayed in an explicit narrative made it even more difficult to be displayed alongside traditional paintings.

One of the more famous artists of the time, Rembrandt, created many paintings as well as etchings and wood carvings. One of his paintings known as Monk Reading (Fig. 1)demonstrates the stanch influence of Protestant principles. In Monk Reading the solitary monk is seen reading alone almost concealed by his cowl. This inwardly transfixed individual is brought to the foreground in traditional baroque style by being placed on a dark background. The Monk's gaze is thoughtfully on the pages in his hand which shed the only luminescence in the painting. Unlike many Baroque paintings, depicting extreme emotional circumstances such as murder or other foul acts, this Monk appears to be contently in deep thought while studying the text in his hand. He seems relaxed and reverent which is contrary to most examples of Catholic Baroque art and indeed many examples of Protestant art.

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.

Guiard paints her dress in a bright blue color that emphasizes all the attention and focus on herself. By painting her dress a bold and bright color in contrast to the dark and dull background, she highlights the subject of her art piece, which are women. Not only does the color of her dress bring the attention to her, but the emerald green chair she sits on also captivates the attention of the viewers. In this self portrait, the only bright and bold color used are the blue on her dress, the green on the chair and red on the chair on the right. These colors are used in areas surrounding the three women in the painting. She is presenting the idea of women empowerment, through her selective choice of putting color only around the three

The most common of these portrayed garments were the generic Berets that have now been typically associated with the common artist as a stereotype. Looking at the untitled self portrait of 1657 (Figure 1) you can see Rembrandt’s attention to detail and his persistence to achieve life-likeness. He has built up the wrinkled brow, the puckers of skin, in very detailed and effective passages of reddish colours. You can see the application of chiaroscuro in this painting which is obviously intentional as even his clothes, including fashionable beret, are dark to help with the distribution of light and dark with the focus being on his face. This self portrait is one I consider to be among his best. This work provides an insight into Rembrandt’s indifference to self-consciousness as you can see an aged, wrinkled man with a large broad nose and gray wisps of hair, all of which he has made no attempt to positively alter, he simply strives for realism in his works and finds no reason to alter the physical reality of his work for mere aesthetic purposes. It provides an insight into the culture of the time with the fashion state Rembrandt has depicted himself in as well as the common chiaroscuro methods used in the painting which were common for the culture or society of the time. The self-portrait of 1630 (Figure 2) shows how even from early in his career Rembrandt strove for realism in his works. You are once again struck by the honesty

The feel of the picture lends to emotions of unease and recognition of sexual innuendo. The colors of the painting are vibrant, but for the most part are dark. The heavy tones and shades of the colors are well balanced throughout the piece. It can be noted that the brightest shades of color are found on areas depicting the actual woman. In areas that are understood as landscape, the colors are more dreary and create a sense of instability. Even Hess observes that the

The portrait is displayed horizontally with a gold trimmed frame. The subject is a female that looks to be in her early 20’s sitting upright on a large brown chair. If the viewer travels up the painting the first indication of the woman’s class is her satin, blue dress. The saturated blue shines and falls in the light like water. Paired with the dress are her exceptionally detailed endings to her sleeves. The lace is even painted as though it is translucent, allowing a little of the blue dress to show through the sleeve. Flowers throughout history have symbolized innocence of a woman and her virginity. The repeating theme of flowers, in the sleeve cuffs and ribbon) in the woman’s attired suggests her purity or innocent nature. Another very details section of the painting includes the corset/torso details. The sewing suggests texture in the torso with small beading in between. Towards the top of the chest in the center, the female seems to bear an extravagant, ribbon piece with a tear drop bead in the center. The light pink

In “Barrett, “Multiple Interpretations of One Work of Art: Edouard Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Vergere,” Barrett states that “Parisian critics were quick to point out the inaccuracy of Manet’s painting of the mirror behind the barmaid and what it reflects”” (46). See now, I do not believe that it is right to quickly judge a painting, it does not matter how good you are at reading art, because every piece of art deserves time and reflection. The reason why I say that is because it is just like a test, if you go through a test really fast without knowing what it is you could fail the test, but if you possibly sat down and examined your test you could have a great chance at passing.

Van Eyck's use of color emphasizes the differences between the brightness of Mary's dress and the figures