A brief formal analysis of A Greek Sage by Jusepe de Ribera (ca. 1630) reveals the structure of a man and his work presented in oil on a large canvas. Notably, A Greek Sage can be found in The University of Arizona’s Art Museum. Ribera’s A Greek Sage is presented in a gold frame, which offsets the use of the dominant browns and blacks that surround the older man focusing on a drawn plan on parchment paper with thin, linear lines above a book placed sideways on the gentleman’s workstation table. Ribera’s main focus points in art were those of paintings and drawings, where he used mainly used oil and print medium, but Ribera had used other types of mediums in his time. Furthermore, this essay will analyze the formal elements and principles of composition found throughout Ribera’s A Greek Sage. …show more content…
Throughout his painting, Ribera primarily uses dark tones. The colors are analogous, considering black, brown, and tan work together to create a well sought off piece of art, without an abundant use of vibrant colors. The use of a dark brown background allows Ribera to manipulate the effects of light by shadowing the man in the painting. The man’s clothing is of a brown, similar ‘dark chocolate brown,’ that contrasts with the man’s short dark brown and gray hair, light tanned skin, and burnt yellow color of the parchment paper. Focusing on the left side of the gentleman’s torso and head, the viewer may notice an area brighter than the rest of the painting, leaving a lighter tan tint on forehead, neckline and hands. This is because the tan has a higher value than the browns of the clothes and the dark background. In the low right-hand corner of the painting, one will notice a wooden desk with a lighter brown covered book sitting sideways under the parchment paper the man is holding in his hand left hand, with a compass in the right
The durability of clay has brought forth an immense abundance of Greek pottery, a craft mastered by Athenian artists. Archeologists have found hundreds of varieties in creation, shape, function, style, and artwork in Archaic vases. The museum has been blessed with one of these priceless artifacts; it is the duty of this establishment to accumulate as much data as possible surrounding the vase. In first identifying technique, dimensions, and condition, as well as describing shape, ornament, and figural scenery, one may then begin to analyze the vase. This serves the general purpose of understanding where the artifact stands in Greek culture and history. Through the examination and research of figural scenes, it is then possible to compare these to other scenes and styles of the same and other painters. Finally, one can then hypothesize where, why, and how this piece was used.
The colors used in the painting are dark and some parts bright illustrating a focal point being the skull in the center as well as the quill, both surrounded by darker colors in comparison.
The black background contrast with the predominate colors of blue and red gives these colors intensity. The red and green are complementary colors that give the painting visual appeal. The green juxtapose above the blue and red gives the artwork color balance as well as implies a triangular shape. The triangular shape and pattern is repeated throughout the painting by; the bend of the flute player's elbow, the head and shoulders of the guitar player, the head and shoulders of the lady whose back is to the viewer, the body of the guitars and the location of the three right-most musicians
Additionally, Lie placed tall trees in the foreground of the painting to give a sense of the scale between the observer’s perspective and surrounding objects. Furthermore, Lie used dark, cold colors, such as purple, blue and black, to depict the feeling of a winter’s afternoon. Lie also used snow on the ground as an obvious indicator of the time frame in which the painting is occurring. However, in contrast to the dark cold colors used, Lie also used subtle hints of orange, yellow and red to show that there is some presence of light in the piece. The background of the painting is a sheen of yellow, suggesting the presence of light and the forming sunset.
It is understandable that Vout took on a discursive tone when attempting to explain her point of view regarding the depictions of the youths in the Hellenistic age. The subject’s content is far too broad to be encompassed within a small range of thinking. This observation is evident in Vout’s temporary straying from the main points to wider subjects; however, she always brings her tangents back to the principal objectives. The primary ideas that she focuses on concern the rendering of children in art forms during Hellenistic times. This idea is then divided into differen...
The subject’s heads and the base of the banjo are positioned in the center section of the rectangle with both subjects looking downward at the instrument. The top of the banjo is pointing towards the right rectangle and leads the viewers’ eyes to the right side of the composition. Tanner used two different light sources that meet in the middle of the painting. To the right side of the painting there’s a warm light glowing from a fire that is just outside of the paintings view. For the most part, the artist used mostly earth tone colors in the painting. The two chairs, the floor, the cooking utensils, the coat thrown over the chair, the subjects and their clothing are all in various shades of brown and black. The exceptions are the use of white, yellow, gray and blue that are all used as sources of light. A warm light is washing over the young boy along with a stroke of white that streaks across his forehead. Most of the white and pale yellow (glow from a fire) is brightly illuminated to the right side of the painting while simultaneously throwing darkness onto the left side and front of the painting. Also to the left side of the painting, there are cooler colors of gray and blue that can be seen submerging the older man, the walls on the left side of the painting and in the shadows from objects in the entire background of the painting. In the very front of the painting, the light source is barely seen. The color
In the essay “Naturalism and the Venetian ‘Poesia’: Grafting, Metaphor, and Embodiment in Giorgione, Titian, and the Campagnolas,” Campbell explains the role of poetic painting, poesia, in Venetian artwork during the 1500s. Titian personally used the term poesia when he “[referred] to paintings he was making for [King Philip II] with subject matter derived from the ancient poets.” Poesia now refers to a type of sixteenth century Venetian painting, which Giorgione and Titian initiated and used within their works. Campbell’s main argument is that poesia is not simply aesthetic or reflective of poetry, but rather “grounded in the process of making – and in making meaning – rather than in an aesthetics of self-sufficiency or self-referentiality.” Like poetry, it is not self-contained; meaning lies outside of the work, within the interpretations of the viewers. He discusses the idea of grafting in poetry and how the same grafting model is utilized in the visual arts. Different images, such as pagan figures and contemporary figures and settings, are juxtaposed to create visual discordance and give an intrinsic meaning to the viewer. Campbell then uses many examples of writing, poetry, engravings, and paintings to explore his argument and the connections between artists during the 1500s.
During the Renaissance, people were dedicated to studying human works. They would observe from real life to gain inspiration, new ideas, and to try to recreate the world as they saw it in their art. New techniques such as scientific and atmospheric perspective were created, changing art forever. Artists would use their skills to create works for patrons, from the Church, various guilds, and other religious orders. During the High Renaissance, Julius II commissioned Raphael to decorate the Vatican Palace. The first of the rooms he decorated was The “Room of the Signature”, where he painted The School of Athens. Originally, this room housed Julius II’s personal library, but later on it would be the room where papal documents were signed. In 1508, Raphael began painting four frescoes that represented theology, philosophy, law, and the arts. As stated in Janson’s History of Art Volume II, This fresco “represents a summation of High Renaissance humanism, for it attempts to represent the unity of knowledge in one grand scheme.” Raphael’s The School of Athens is a prime example of humanistic art, as evidenced by the subject of the art itself, the classical elements in the piece, and it’s scientific and illusionistic rendering.
Johnson, Geraldine A. Renaissance Art, A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Taking place during the period of the Age of Reason and the French revolution, Neo-classicism consisted of artists who valued the old Greek and Roman culture. Straying away from the former Rocco period, the artists of Neo-classicism thought of themselves as new Greeks and Romans. As they admired the simple forms of Greek and Roman antiquity, the Neo-classicists noticed the ancient golden age where order, justice and morality prevailed (Koster 78). Clean lines, perfect contours, virtue and heroism were reflected during the remarkable Neo-classicism period. While demonstrating that frothy art was unnecessary, Neo-classicist artists celebrated history and civic pride (Hodge 73). Because they copied the works of the Greek and Romans, the artists of this period profoundly believed in science, nature and logical thought, they painted scenes from history and mythology with the hero always at the center of the action (Raczka 9). One of the major artists of the Neo-Classicism period was Jacques- Louis David. As he believed in liberty, equality and fraternity David often looked back at the moral values of the Greek and Romans. During the time of the Neo-classicism period artists flouri...
In conclusion, although Mycerinus and Kha-merer-nebty II and Augustus of Primaporta, do appear very different, come from entirely different geographic regions and were separated by thousands of years, they do have many things in common. When we consider subject, style, and function; perhaps other works of art have more in common than they appear to have.
The painting is organized simply. The background of the painting is painted in an Impressionist style. The blurring of edges, however, starkly contrasts with the sharp and hard contours of the figure in the foreground. The female figure is very sharp and clear compared to the background. The background paint is thick compared to the thin lines used to paint the figures in the foreground. The thick paint adds to the reduction of detail for the background. The colors used to paint the foreground figures are vibrant, as opposed to the whitened colors of the Impressionist background. The painting is mostly comprised of cool colors but there is a range of dark and light colors. The light colors are predominantly in the background and the darker colors are in the foreground. The vivid color of the robe contrasts with the muted colors of the background, resulting in an emphasis of the robe color. This emphasis leads the viewer's gaze to the focal part of the painting: the figures in the foreground. The female and baby in the foreground take up most of the canvas. The background was not painted as the artist saw it, but rather the impression t...
The object of this book, Early Medieval Art, is to convey the theme “tradition not only receives and transforms, it literally invents a tradition upon which it founded itself” (p. 15) concerning art of the early medieval era. The purpose of this book is to summarize and offer knowledge of medieval art, that will then be included in the greater series of books by other specialists for Oxford University Press. Lawrence Nees accomplished his argument successfully by following the chronological production of the art and the traditions that are imbedded within them. Although, his thesis is strongly supported, Ness’ failure is found in his over reliance on the artwork itself, which then leads to the masking of his personal arguments.
Color is used to draw attention to important characters and objects in the painting. The red of Mary’s shirt emphasizes her place as the main figure. A bright, yellow cloud floating above the room symbolizes the joy of the angelic figures. De Zurbaran uses warm colors in the foreground. The room, used as the background for the scene, is painted in dark colors utilizing different hues of gray and brown.
Castriota, David. The Ara Pacis Augustae and the imagery of abundance in later Greek and early Roman imperial art. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1995. (P. 64)