Analysis Of Dana II By Scott Noel

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"Danae II" by Scott Noel I chose a painting currently on display in The Eleanor D. Wilson Museum by Scott Noel named “Danae II”. I chose this painting because I was simply spellbound by the woman lying on her back; the subject was beautiful and her environment was entrancingly portrayed. When I realized the true subject was the mythological being I had assumed she was (the theme of the exhibition proved my assumption correct) I truly set my sights on this painting for this paper. Although this a contemporary piece I firmly believe it follows in the tradition of the Renaissance. I argue this because the presence of the Renaissance ideals in the artist's subject and his treatment of perspective, color and light and are too great to be ignored. …show more content…

In the Greek myth, King Acrisius was told by a prophecy that he would be killed by his grandson. To prevent this from occurring he locked his daughter Danae in a dungeon; it was there that the god Zeus came to the beautiful woman in the form of a golden shower and impregnated her. As a result of this encounter Danae bore a son named Perseus (CITATION). Noel depicts Danae laying on her back in front of a window, behind her a cityscape with bustling people and a great church command the rest of the viewer's attention. It is apparent that this painting precedes Danae's pregnancy, her body is rather thin and a small child is nowhere to be seen. The light resting near her genital area is reminiscent of Zeus' golden shower, this observation lead me to believe that this is the moment of (or the moment preceding) the conception of …show more content…

This piece was completed in oil paint; this medium was first perfected in Northern Europe and then gained greater popularity during the Late Renaissance. Natural perspective is illustrated rather perfectly; Noel paid great attention to space and placement to mimic the manner in which eyes present images. Objects closest to us are far larger than those further away. Noel flirts with the atmospheric perspective (a beloved technique in the Northern Renaissance) however the cityscape beyond the window is commandeered by tall structures-there is little to no sky. Shadows and highlights appear as they would in actuality, they are not manipulated and reflect the great precision that went into the making of this work. The only light source is the sunshine streaming into the room via the window. The only discernable manipulation to Noel's depiction of light is the amount of sunshine illuminating Danae's genital area. This of course was purposefully done to allude to the union between Zeus and Danae; the effect was executed with such naturalism that it would be easily missed by a viewer unfamiliar with the myth. This symbolism further connects this piece to the tradition of the Renaissance; the artists of Northern Europe littered their paintings with objects imbued with religious or secular

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