The title of this piece is “Torso of Aphrodite/Venus”. This piece was discovered outside of Rome in 1771. Afterwards, it was purchased by a wealthy English collector, who displayed it in his home. Today, the piece resides at the
With the sculpture straight ahead, the audience sees a profile view of the scene; however, the artist created the sculpture with enough space and depth to be able to view the front of the woman’s face from a side angle. The artist created the seated woman with much detail; her nose, chin, slightly opened mouth, pronounced brow line and inset eyes show this. She reaches for the chest with her right arm in a very delicate manner as her left arm lays on the throne for support.
located on the first floor of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, in the Ancient Near East
The artwork that I decided to pick was Riace Warrior A, c. 460 BCE. Broze with copper, silver, and ivory, 6'6" high. Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia, Reggio di Calabria, Italy. The lines in the art work show definition within the structure of the body. They also show movement, shape, form, structure, and a range of emotions. The author uses continuous lines and thick lines to convey different expressive qualities. The shape in the sculpture are man-made, regular, solid,representational, opaque, symbolic and smooth texture. The shapes in the sculpture describe strength, stability and continuous movement. The tone of the sculpture creates the sense of depth and tranquil atmosphere. Color in the sculpture is very undescribable, the
The marble used to create the sculpture brings out the fine quality of such material. It also adds elegance and sensuous grace to the whole sculpture. The use of marble links the sculpture to the radiance and softness of the female skin. The hips of the
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.
Next is the use of color, or lack thereof. The colors in the background are very quiet and muted, mostly subdued blues and grays with hints of a deep red and brownish yellow peeking though. The colors used for the figure are browns and tans, almost as if the was painted with mud, like she is all-natural and from the earth. The range of colors would seem to have a cool tone if you were looking at them on a painter’s palette but the arrangement of color on the canvas gives the piece a warm feeling.
Cimabue, Madonna and Child with Angels and Prophets (ca. 1280-1290), 12’ 7” X 7’ 4”.
The era this piece most represents is the Renaissance art in the fifteenth-century Italy. It goes best with this era because of its use of nudity and shape and lighting. Its use of space of sharp edges and sculpture figures. Also the use of lighting shows an almost 3-D like image. Even though this is a print it almost seems like a picture of statues. The artist also used a sense of scale and proportion in this piece. Every statue is differently scaled from the others. The body parts on each statue did not quite fit with the other body parts. Every statue is different in size, stance, and color. Also the background behind each figure is different from the other ones, in its use of color and detail.
It is moreover pyramidal in structure with the vertex coinciding with Mary’s head. The base of the sculpture depicts the rock of Golgotha and is broader than the progressive
This painting is a portrait of an old woman who is sitting on a chair while facing to the left. She is wearing a yellow flower dress with a beige jacket while sitting in an empty room. Her beauty is illustrated by her curly, gray hair and also her wrinkled face, neck, and hands. These details is what makes her look real and pure. I like how detailed it is because it reminds me of my grandmothers.
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
The shapes of the figures are sharply defined and the objects such as the table, book, and string instruments. There are diagonal rhythms throughout the painting in which it creates movement. The light source in the upper left allows the source light to have a more natural appearance throughout the painting. The shadows at the right-hand corner and the men wearing green in the middle contrast the main object with the most sources of lighting. The objects shadows and lighting create dimension and a vivid sense of more contrast. There are areas in the making with more contrast and the sharp contrast that creates movement in the painting. The shadows and the lighting throughout the painting show gradations and the highlights create more depth. Staring from the upper-left hand corner with the first figure of a gentleman wearing a hue of blue and yellow, the left side of his face and garment shows the source light in right above him. The source light above the
The little girl’s dress gives the texture of lightness and seems like airy fabric that would be thin and translucent. The time in this piece is very accurate of the late 1700’s and when viewing it, the time seems classic. The emphasis of this piece is mainly the mother and the daughter, however when looking at them you are drawn into looking at their realistic eyes. The eyes seem like the focal point which draws the viewer in to the picture.
To begin, the proportion of the woman’s gaze accentuates perfection. The eyes introduces a sense of nobility to the piece acquiring a softness at the gaze. Painted with a spherical shape, it allows the appearance to emerge mysteriously throughout the portrait and I quote “Through their roundness, therefore, the mind, knowing itself, is sometimes forced to reveal the secrets thoughts of their