Jan Van Noordt was, as some texts state, a rather prolific artist who specialized in portraiture. He was a 17th century Dutch painter who was heavily influenced by Rembrandt, and took inspiration from Italian works. Around 1670, he produced his third rendering of the Susanna and the Elders narrative. The narrative is included in the book of Daniel. The story goes that Susanna, a wife of a wealthy man, was confronted by two elders of the town while she is bathing. They threaten to accuse her of adultery with a young male if she does not have sex with them, but Susanna refuses. The elders follow through with their threat and Susanna is condemned to death. However, a young man named Daniel insists that the elders be questioned separately about …show more content…
Van Noordt painted three versions of this narrative “ in paintings in Utrecht, Leipzig, and Paris that belong to separate points in his career.” The painting being analyzed in this essay is the Paris version, which was his last known representation of the Susanna narrative. However, there is an evolution in Van Noordt’s portrayal of Susanna as well as the elders over the three paintings. He always focused on Susanna as the central figure, but over time, “he adopts a less ambiguous pose for Susanna.” She transitions from looking at the elders with a slightly surprised expression on her face, to arms crossed, face away and down from the elders, and an active pose of rejection towards their advances. This supports the theory that Van Noordt worked to refine the image of Susanna, and wanted people to focus on the moral messages from the story rather than on the erotic imagery that was associated with the narrative. There were several themes in the narrative of Susanna which did not present eroticism, and the popularity of this narrative could have risen “perhaps out of the highly charged combination of lering en vermaak, or edification and delight, the same pair of qualities that, on a lighter level, characterized so many genre themes in Dutch painting of the seventeenth century.” Van Noordt could have highly valued Susanna’s strength as “exemplified by Susanna’s preservation of her sexual purity, even in the face of threat of death.” Van Noordt could have also portrayed the elders as menacing and almost inhuman like to enforce the moral message which was “the criticism of lust in old men.” This condemnation of lewd behavior by men and celebration of strong women became a popular way to portray this narrative amongst 17th century Dutch
Carol Armstrong begins her essay by pointing out the two main points that come about when discussing A Bar at the Folies-Bergere. These two points are the social context of the painting and its representation of 19th century Paris, and the internal structure of the painting itself with the use of space. She then goes on and addresses what she will be analyzing throughout her essay. She focuses on three main points, the still life of the counter and its commodities, the mirror and its “paintedness”, and the barmaid and her “infra-thin hinge” between the countertop and the mirror.
I found The Raising of Lazarus and Annunciation to be interesting pieces on their own as well as to be compared. At face value, these paintings do not appear to contain many contrasting features. However, by examining these paintings closely, one can conclude that paintings with similar themes, mediums, and time periods can still differ in countless ways. Light, medium, subject, color, space, and viewpoint are just a few of the characteristics that can be considered when analyzing Wtewael and Caliari’s works. It is imperative that observers of art take a deeper look into the different features of artwork in attempt to uncover the intentions of the artist.
The painting depicts a mother and her four children, who are all leaning on her as she looks down solemnly, her tired, despondent expression suggests she felt trapped in her roles as being a mother and a wife. The woman and her children are clearly the focal point of the artwork as the bright colours used to paint them stand out impeccably against the dull, lifeless colours of the background. This painting appears to be centred around the ideology that women are home-keepers, whose main role is to satisfy and assist her husband while simultaneously minding the children and keeping the home tidy and ready for his return. The social consequences of this artwork could have been that the woman could have been berated for not taking pleasure out of being a mother and raising her children, as a woman should. She could have been made redundant as her husband may have felt as though she is no longer useful if she couldn’t adequately adhere to her roles as a mother and a
Despite its non-Italian origins and because of its timing and specific achievements in the portrayal of the human form, emotions, and artistic balance, Jean Hey’s “Annunciation” can be considered a natural representative of the culmination of the transition from the learning process of the Early Renaissance to the perfect execution of the High Renaissance.
The two painters Jan Van Eyck (c.1390-1441) and Hans Memlinc (d.1494) are both considered great masters of Northern Art. Van Eyck is known for his execution of naturalistic detail and creating translucency in his panels. Memlinc is known for his financially minded cornucopia of work and for revolutionising the genre of portraiture. However, their differences are more pointed than there similarities. Both artists are mindful of the traditions of the Flemish school, such a the use of light to create a sense of the third dimension on the panel and the importance of landscape and background. Both artists worked in Bruges at some point; Van Eyck was an earlier master who moved to Bruges in 1430 until his death. Memlinc was German but settled there in 1465 until his death. The paintings by Van Eyck that shall be discussed are The Ghent Altarpiece, Madonna with Chancellor Rolin, Portrait of a Man and The Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife. The paintings by Memlinc that will be discussed are The Diptych of Maarten Nieuwenhove, Portrait of a Young Man Before a Landscape and The Donne Altarpiece.
One of the most noteworthy northern European writers of the Renaissance was the Flemish painter, Jan van Eyck. Although there are few records about his early life and rise to prominence, the Van Eyck family was well regarded within the Burgundian Netherlands which allowed historians to surmise that he was born in the 1380s. After years of travelling through various northern courts and gaining esteem, Jan van Eyck painted perhaps his most famous work, The Arnolfini Double Portrait. This work has been the subject of a great deal of critical analysis as a piece of Renaissance art. Some historians have found that the work is demonstrative of artistic and social ideals that were both ahead of its time and touted the line of controversy. However, taking into account the painting’s patronage, symbolism, artistic style, and function, it becomes clear that The Arnolfini Double Portrait is an exemplar of the Renaissance era artistic conventions and is not as difficult to parse as some critics would believe. In order to discuss the painting in its entirety, it is necessary to explore the context of the painting’s creation.
Rogier van der Weyden, one of the three great Early Flemish artists and the most influential Northern painter of the 15th century, seems to be rejecting the detailed realism that is characteristic of the Northern Renaissance and is demonstrated in some of his own works. What are the consequences of Rogier van der Weyden’s choice to include a continuous grey wall for the meaning of the work as a whole? To answer this question it will be important to consider the sparse nature of the setting in its entirety, the color used throughout the composition, and the detailed portrayal of biblical characters. This analysis is important to consider because it can help interpret what caused Rogier van der Weyden to stray from the common style of the Northern
Many people may look at the same painting and all come away with their own understanding. Every person has their bias and preconceptions that will influence their personal experience. In this paper we will discuss how Anne Sexton described in a short poem her experience of viewing Vincent Van Gogh’s painting The Starry Night. We will observe how Anne Sexton’s poem based on Van Gogh’s painting speaks about death in darkness as the painting seems to emphasise the light in the darkness.
Women were not painted in candide in any positive manner. Everywoman we came across in the story had a story of either being someone’s lover like cunegonde or casualties of sex, violence or both.
“The Grafin von Scholfeld with her Daughter” is oil on canvas art piece painted in 1793. It is a painting of a woman holding her daughter on her lap, the woman being “The Grafin von Schonfeld.” The woman is dressed in clothing that is from the upper class or a royalty stature in the late 1700’s. The clothing looks rich in material and sleek like silk in the colors of wine and a rich green. She has a covering on her head that looks like an extravagant scarf that drapes over her shoulder on one side, also made of the same silky material used for her dress. The woman has pale skin, reddish brown hair, bluish eyes, and rosy cheeks. Her eyes look very real and penetrating when you examine the painting. The daughter is about the age of 5 or 6 years old. Her arms are around her mother’s neck and legs draped across her mother’s lap. The daughter is wearing a white fluid dress that looks thin in material with a red sash around her midsection. The daughter has the same reddish brown hair and rosy cheeks. The mothers and daughters eyes are equally as big in size, while the child’s eyes seem also very real and youthful.
His father was a devout Catholic and denounced his son’s works. This painting is displayed as rising out of their troubled relationship together but it resists precise analysis. His revolt against his father is highlighted through, “But, dear Father, for what reason are you so opposed to dreams…? It would seem to me that dreams are a bastion against the regularity and familiarity of life and interrupt the perpetual earnestness of adults with a joyous children’s game.”
The women of Voltaire’s Candide emphasize the exploitation of females in the 1800s. Cunegonde, Paquette, and the Old Woman are raped, forced into prostitution, and sexually exploited. Women are valued for their beauty and can only succeed if they have pretty face to recommend them. Women in the nineteenth century exist for the pleasure of men and are subjugated to these men.
Susanna Keysen’s little to no interest in what is generally traditional of society. Including her parents friends that she meets at a party her mother throws, it is shown that Susanna has been having casual sex with the husband of her mother's friend, she also views those people the same way as she does the graduation award giving. Due to all of the happenings around her, Susanna comes to the rash conclusion of committing suicide. However, she does not partake in anything gruesome, such as extreme slitting of the wrist, but rather simple.... ... middle of paper ...
Evaluate and respond to the presentations of women in the Romantic period. Feel free to discuss presentations of women, by women (such as Austen’s Persuasion) as well as presentations of women by men (such as the “she” in Byron’s “She Walks in Beauty”). Consider the following questions: are these presentations problematic? What do they tell us about the values and briefs of the Romantic Period? Do any of these presentations subvert (complicate, or call into questions) the time’s notions of femininity?
The women which Stephen comes across in his journey in becoming an artist define him and change him by nurturing him, fascinating him, and inspiring him. Stephen was forever changed by his mother, the Virgin Mary, Eileen, the prostitute, and the seaside woman. The object of the artist is to create the object of the beautiful, I argue that it was the beauty in the women of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, which created the artist in the end.