The Raft Of Medusa

I think the artist is able to communicate the bad condition of the ship and its crew is in. The mood of the work is scary and gloomy. The design and intensity of the waves, the changing weather, and the ships in the ocean seem to make the scene come alive. It really conveys a since of naturalism in the painting the way it depicts the environment around the ship.

The suffering is reflected in the face of every passenger and it is the main focus of the piece than any other element. The Raft's theme of human suffering evoked empathy and compassion, which helped project the image beyond any hopes the artist could have held for the piece. This predominant focus on the human condition allowed a stereotypical Romantic piece. Another artist famous for highlighting the human condition was Spanish-born, Pablo Picasso.

In addition, because Géricault studied the human anatomy very closely throughout his lifetime, he was able to outline the passengers’ bodies in The Raft of the Medusa with intricacy. Ultimately, Géricault was able to configure the passengers’ precise muscle definitions and skin tones through his meticulous use of oil, pigment, chalk, varnish and wax (“Géricault’s Expenses” 638). In addition, the dimensionality and accurate portioning of the humans’ bodies enhances the scene’s intensity. This Romantic appreciation for histrionics and naturalism greatly differs from the ideals supported during the Neoclassical Period. The Neoclassical Period renewed an admiration for the classical antiquity, which incorporated the subjects of ancient art. For example, in comparison to Angelica Kauffman’s Mother of the Gracchi, the skin definition and tone differences are evident. In Kauffman’s piece, the characters display unnaturally smooth and relatively undefined complexions. However, in The Raft of the Medusa, the characters exhibit defined, and properly positioned and configured bodies in relation to another. Thus, Géricault’s appreciation of human anatomy and configuration creates a naturalistic and lifelike scene within the painting.

In Paul Gaugin’s painting Day of the God (Mahana No Atua) it depicts a fictional presentation of an indigenous praise ritual being carried out by the Tahitian women the setting is on an island of Tahiti. Gaugin’s painting is oil on canvas and uses a variety of colors to comply with his post-impressionistic style depicting real objects and expressing flat curving shapes pink, magenta, blues and reds for the shadows of the water it gives it a mystical look but the background of the painting gives the viewer somewhat of a realistic setting with the blue skies and the wind carved mountains that are complimented by the soft white clouds. When looking at this composition the viewers eyes are naturally attracted to the colorful water in the lower half of the painting, when looking on the left half of the pool it gives a sense of depth but flat and two-dimensional on the right as well as illogic color schemes in the reflection of the water. With the colors that were used in this painting it gives off a warm relaxing feeling within its island setting. There are some noticeable differences in this painting, the women all have different pose’s as well as there all engaging in something different from the nude female bather in the front to the two islanders in the top left performing a ritual near the sculpture. The three women in the front are said to signify birth, life, and death which resembles the three “Ages of Man” with the figure to the

In the time when the French salon would have been looking for a Rococo style painting of important figures and royalty to hang in their gallery they accepted Gericault’s work as it was an extreme change from the typical types of paintings they hung. It represented the nameless souls who fought to stay alive upon the raft. Jeffaris (2005) exclaims “This event was a political scandal - and Gericault's painting - an exposé - a 17th Century tabloid headline!”. They knew it would create a stir and grasp attention, and it has become iconic for the the way in witch it broke traditions. This event had a huge effect publicly because of the fact that the lower ranking people were left behind to die while the wealthier and more important people escaped on life rafts. This is quite metaphorical of the political situation in France in this period (after revolution) as the wealthy got wealthier and the poor were left to starve and die. Its ironic that this painting of such a horrible event was such a symbol of hope for the lower class of France at the time. It showed the strength of the weak and poor, it showed that the lower class had the strength to survive even after the wealthy had taken everything and left them to die. Giving hope to the lower tier of society that anyone can make it regardless of their status. From the description of Medusa (n.d.) the raft of the medusa was “Intended as a political statement about the disorderly state of the French

I chose to study and analyze J.M.W. Turner’s Slave Ship for this project and found it to be very interesting. Immediately while looking at the piece you get a strong sense of emotion and drama that is being portrayed. There is a lot of depth and warmth in the colors that are used and wide swift brush strokes to create the images. The first image that caught my eye was of waves crashing on the left side of the painting. The white tips of the waves are very noticeable against the softer shades of the ocean. Behind the waves is a ship which is the next part of the painting that drew my attention. The ship seems to be caught in the rough waves of the sea and barely able to keep afloat. There is a glimmer of light from the sun peeking through

This painting by Leonardo Bazzaro symbolizes the poem in a way that no other painting can do, the pain and despair that goes into every word of the poem is reflected on the faces of those on the canoe in the painting. It brings in all of the aspects of the highs and lows of each stanza. They are taking a moment, a precious heartbeat of their time while the sun slowly sets into the horizon to think, to say a prayer. As the woman bows her head to take a moment to collect and compose her thoughts, a flood of emotions rushes through her and she takes a minute to realize that even her darkest days she must praise. Even though

Medusa means "sovereign female wisdom." In Sanskrit it's Medha. Medusa was originally a Libyan Goddess, worshiped by The Amazons as their Serpent-Goddess. She was considered the destroyer aspect of the Great Triple Goddess also called Neith, Anath, Athene or Ath-enna in North Africa and Athana in 1400. BC Minoan Crete. She can also be connected to Africa where she had a hidden, dangerous face, and her hair was represented as resembling dread locks. Libyan Amazons believed that no one could possibly lift her veil, and that to look upon her face was to glimpse one's own death as she saw yours.

My first selection is the “Rough Sea at a Jetty.” The reason I chose this piece is because of the colors and drawing techniques used, as well as the balance of the overall piece. The piece is a dark-hued painting (oil on canvas) made in the 1650s, depicting a very stormy sea with small sailboats in the background. The foreground consists of two men standing on a jetty that has a pole-like wooden structure standing on it; the two men appear to be conversing, probably about the storm. The painting is asymmetrical because if you cut it down the middle vertically then one side would have the wooden pole, most of the jetty and the two men in it, while the other side would have virtually nothing except some distant (almost obscure) sailboats, part of the jetty and a distant smaller jetty. The painting is unified by its theme: A stormy sea by a jetty. The waves are painted so as to show them crashing into one another by painting the caps white and using bold curves to emphasize the choppiness of the sea. The dark clouds in the background are a testament to the severity of the storm. The emphasis is on the jetty and men in the foreground. There are also about four sailboats positioned across the piece in the background to contrast against the dark grey sky and grey

I have chosen a famous oil on canvas painting: Venus and Cupid by Lorenzo Lotto made around the fifteenth and sixteenth century during the Italian Renaissance period. Overall, this piece is extremely intriguing to me, I cannot imagine how the artist created it with such detail and precision. Overall, this painting has this happy and positive mood, but it is also makes me curious as to what this painting is about. It also gives me this feeling to smile for Cupid and Venus in the painting, rather than with them, as there faces are conveyed as being happy together. Its colors similarly, just like the overall painting, has this beautiful bright and cheery color that seem to suit Venus and Cupid well.

There are several sharks surrounding his boat. There is tension and blood in the water. The sky is white. The scene that is depicted in the work is of a brave man that got stack in the ocean and is confronting the danger of being eaten by the shark or drowned by the new coming storm. The dominant iconography in the painting is the man and how he is confronting the situation of being in the middle of the ocean surrounded by sharks and almost reach by a storm.

Although the untrained observer may see The Raft Of The Medusa by Jean-Louis-Theodore Gericault and The Nightmare by John Henry Fuseli as belonging to the same artistic group for their dark color palette and scary, somewhat “gothic” imagery, they’re from two artistic movements that are actually very different; the Neoclassical Era (1750-1860) and the Romantic Era (1800-1880). The Raft Of The Medusa is very unique for a Neoclassical painting in that it portrays a then-contemporary event (and not a very noble one, to boot) rather than the era’s usual heroic ancient subject matter but, if you look very carefully, the Neoclassical elements are still there in full force. For example, while you’d expect the survivors of a shipwreck to be emaciated, probably diseased etc., Gericault portrays the survivors in the painting with more idealized, strong, healthy bodies which, while incongruous with the situation at hand as I said before, fits perfectly within Neoclassical ideals because it reflects the Classical tradition of always presenting the idealized human form, no matter what the situation. There is also a homage to Dante in the fact that the positions of a group of figures on the raft are meant to mirror those in a depiction of Count Ugolino and his sons. Also, Neoclassical paintings featured a heavy use of chiaroscuro (contrast between light and shadow for dramatic effect) and The Raft Of The Medusa has that in spades with the sunlight just barely peeking out behind the cloud

Aside from the dark shadows the painting is done in light, bright colours and once again Monet shows his skill in portraying a nice sunny day by the riverside. He has managed to give the impression of calm rippling water by using rough brushstrokes. He uses a mix of light and darker colours to show the sun glistening across the water. The painting creates a relaxing and the light colours, calm water and slow moving boats create pleasant mood, which I think. I like this painting and I especially like the way in which Monet has created many different areas that show a range of colours, techniques and all add something different to the painting. This variety draws you in and shows a real commitment and dedication to detail.

•A summary of the artists' personal philosophies of art (if they can be found in published sources), and the prevailing trends and schools of thought in the art world at the time and in the place the artist was working. For instance, discuss what was taking place in the artist's city, country, and/or church that may have provoked a reaction from the artist or the greater society. Include any information that might help the reader understand the artist's point of view or why the artist made his or her choices in this work of art.

The Large Bathers, 1898-1905 is the largest of Paul Cezanne's pictures and has been cited as an example of his ideal of composition and his restoration of classic monumentality after its lapse during the nineteenth century. Cézanne’s great achievement forced the young Picasso, Matisse, and many other artists to contend with the implications of Cézanne’s art. This essay will discuss how both Matisse’s Bonheur de Vivre (Joy of Life) and Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon are considered as inspired by and breaking free of The Large Bathers.