Elisabeth Condon’s Nocturne vs. Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night

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Recommended: comparing and contrasting artists

Similarity in theme and color first drew me to select Elisabeth Condon’s Nocturne (Bob Rauschenberg Gallery) and Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night (Frank 348) for this research paper. Initially I wanted to pick two pieces that were different enough in order to form a decent comparison and yet alike enough to connect them in some way. In the art gallery, Nocturne gave me a feeling similar to the one I experienced when I first saw The Starry Night; there was something otherworldly and mystical about it. It made you look at a greater expanse then the bit of landscape that was shown in an unexpected way. Though each work was made in over a hundred year gap from the other, both works use a brilliant use of color and a view of the sky that suggests what is beyond the everyday. What will mainly be discussed is the works composition and any innovations the artists have contributed to the styles they used. There will also be brief information on the mediums used, the artists themselves, and the styles they employed. With that said, let us begin.

Nocturne is an acrylic, abstract painting consisting dominantly of cool colors. Part of what makes it so abstract visually are the washes that blur the landscape bits and what appears to be the sky surrounding it; there is no vanishing point or horizon line to help distinguish. The wash effect makes it look as if bodies of water go through what little land is shown and spill out towards the bottom of the work. The concept of space seems lost and it is left up to the observer of the piece to work around what is shown within the picture plane. Nocturne combines the environment seen in the every day with the greater expanse of the universe and paints the picture as if everything is of ...

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...rebles’ Artforms: An Introduction to the Visual Arts. 10th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2011. 347, 348. Book.

Gaunt, William. The Impressionists. New York: Weathervane Books, 1970. 46. Book.

The Hermitage: Impressionism: A New Era in Art. Saint Petersburg: Alfa-Colour Art, 2002. 4. Book.

"Oil Paintings vs. Acrylic Paintings: an Introduction :: PicassoMio." Contemporary Modern Original Fine Art & Design :: PicassoMio. Web.

Thomson, Belinda. Impressionism: Origins, Practice, Reception. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2000. 252. Book.

Uhde, Wilhelm. Van Gogh. London: Phaidon, 1992. 9,18. Book.

Van Gogh, Vincent. The Starry Night. 1889. Oil on canvas. The Museum of Modern Art. New York. Figure 20.29. Prebles’Artforms: An Introduction to the Visual Arts. Frank, Patrick.10th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2011. 347, 348. Book.

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