CRITICAL AND CONTEXUAL STUDIES AS Exam Submission By Brittany Parker
‘Tone’ is a formal element of art, craft, and design. It is central to the work of artist. For my project I will be researching variation of paintings and then producing an exhibition.
Tone is used significantly through paintings, It can be used to convey emotion and mood.; For example, light tones can convey happiness, an uplifting feeling, cheerful, however a photograph with darker tones can convey a feeling of melancholy, a more subdued image, maybe even a sense of mystery. A good Tonal image is normally detailed with a large tonal range. This means they have very dark shadows and very bright highlighted areas also known as chiascuro.
Jan van Eyck The Arnolfini Portrait 1434 818x597cm Oil paint
The Arnolfini Portrait was originally believed to be a portrait of Giovanni di Arrigo Arnolfini and his wife Giovannna Cenami, however, it is now thought that the couple married 13 years after the painting was painted. The painting shows a rich couple, both from the largest banking families in Lucca. It is evident that they are wealthy because they are finely dressed with fur. While the pair are expensively dressed, they do show some restraint. Besides the woman's plain necklace and rings, she does not wear a lot of jewelry which would have been kept for the aristocrats. The paintnig has a variety of interpretations such as: A wedding or an agreement of marriage of some sort. A memorial for a dead wife A gift for the Arnolfini that had the purpose of showing their wealth That the painting shows a betrothal and not a marriage Grant of legal authority from husband to wife to claim business in his name To show Giovanni's good personality and promote business relations The signature on the back wall is a legal document of a marriage
Hands positions: The joining of hands is thought to represent marriage this is supported by his other hand being raised which could suggest an oath in marriage. However, It has also been argued that the joined hands mean equal hands in business deals, and he is giving her the power to act in business.
Marriage?: More evidence that could indicate marriage could be that a woman in this time would wear her hair down if she was not married, where as this woman has her hair up. There is also a pair of clogs thrown aside. After marriage husbands usually presented their wives with clogs.
Gender roles: The position of the individuals suggests a representaion of gender roles. With the woman standing next to the bed this could suggest she is the caretaker, and the man by the window as his work is outside of the home. She looks at him head on which indicates equality, especially in this time.
Textures: Van Eyck used several layers of thin glaze to achieve his deep, rich colors. Working with oil paints, he had to layer the paint on top of itself many times until he reached the preferred tone, hence the painting is thicker where dark colors are present and thinner in lighter areas, which is evident in real life. Another reason to believe they are wealthy is that there are oranges (which would be expensive) in the painting, this suggest it is warm however they are wearing there best fur-lined clothes
Mirror: Here, I lightened the area of the painting where is shows the mirror. The mirror gives the viewer the most encompassing visual perspective in the paintings. In the mirror are two figures in the doorway possibly to represent witnesses for the marriage to make it legal. Note, we also have van Eyck's signature here which could act of that of a notary's.
Use of light: In this painting van Eyck uses both direct and indirect light. The light from the window provides the direct light into the scene which can be seen on the shading of the oranges and the reflection on the chandelier and other surfaces. The achievement of light rendered in this painting, again, is largely due to the minimalistic use of oil and degree of shading obtained by layering the paint.
Around the mirror small scenes of Jesus are shown. On the wife's side of mirror, only pictures of his death and resurrection are shown while on the husband's only those of Christ's life.
Pregnant?: Although the woman looks to be pregnant, it is thought that it was simply the fashion at the time. The more clothing a person wore the richer they were. Also of the possible women the painting could portray, all died childless; However, dog could be seen as the couple's desire to have a child or as a symbol of fidelity. There is also a carved statue of Saint Margaret on the bedpost. Saint Margaret is the patron saint of pregnancy and childbirth.
Candle: With one candle in the chandelier this could suggest the presence of god
Van Eyck signs the painting, in Latin it translates as 'Jan van Eyck was here 1434 '.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio Judith Beheading Holofernes 1598-1599
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was an Italian painter from the 15-1600s. He was formerly from Rome, where he worked for the church depicting old biblical narratives in different ways. Although he would have been recognised at church, it became evident he had a dark personality. Eventually, He had to flee Rome as he was accused of murdering someone. He was later accused of murdering more people later on his life while still producing paintings. Artworks from the Baroque time period (1500-1600) tend to show the most dramatic point of a narrative.
Baroque: Baroque could be considered Anything with a complicated design but it can also refer to a style of art, music, and architecture from 17th Century Italy. It comes from the portuguest word ‘barroco’,which means ‘imperfect peral’ although not all baroque is imperfect. Reformation: The protestant reformation of christianity happened after a monk -martin luther- nailed his protests against the church of rome to a german church door in the 1500’s. This devidied the chritstain church in to The catholic Faith and The Protestant Faith. A press called the ‘Guttenberg Printing Press’ was created in order for the bible to be able to be read in all language, this meant less need for art. Them became the counter reformation, this was where the catholic faith was encouraged by the council to produce more art.
The story: The tale behind Judith and Holofernes comes from the Bible. The Bible tells us that the king of Nineveh, Nebuchadnezzar, sent holofernes, his general, to vanquidh his enemies, which was the Jews. The Jewish people are encircled in Bethania and rapidly lose all hope of trimph. Judith, whose name means "Jewish woman", was a sbeautiful widow. Judith overheard plans for surrender and decided to "deliver the city". Using her beauty she seduced Holofernes and waited until he was inebriated, to cut off his head. She returns victorious, holding up his severed head as a trophy. The Jewish people regain their courage, and drive the enemy away.
The main focus of the painting is Holofernes, this is highlighted as the other characters in the painting have body towards him and are looking in direction, as well as their arms reaching towards him.
Light: This image shows chiaroscuro, this is shown by the light source positioning in this painting is coming from above .This creates deep shadows and highlighting which bring attention to the brighter, more important parts of the image. This oil on canvas painting shows three figures of various ages which stand out against the dark background. There is one youthful figure who is juxtaposed to the old woman next to her; The older woman highlights her beauty but also reminds us that beauty is not eternal.
The continuous use of the vibrant red colour could represent death as well as showing the blood and gore. The intense colour and shadows exaggerates the drama in the painting.
On the right side of the painting is Judith. Her face in disgust, she almost looks fearful while beheading Holofernes. Next to her stands her old maid who is waiting to receive the head.
In this painting Caravaggio uses a variation of pictorical devices, this includes dramatic spot-light action, shallow picture spaces which push the characters further forward, dramatic foreshortening creating movement and bringing the action towards us. Caravaggio has also used oil paints in a way to create a highly saturated pigment.
An Experiment on a Bird in an Air Pump By Joesph Wright of Derby 1768
Everyone is involved and reacting in the drama, apart from the young couple on the left who are obviously in love because they are only interested in each other and oblivious to what is going on. It is believed that they are Thomas Coltman and Mary Barlow, who were painted again by Wright shortly after their marriage as seen in the painting opposite. Figures The painting includes 10 people arranged about the table in pyramidal group; the centre figure of the picture could possibly be a scientist wearing a red robe, He's sometimes identified as Joseph Priestley who was a scientist, a doctor, an inventor, a philosopher but also the leader for the lunar society. In the painting this man is using his right hand to lure us in to what he is doing, he’s using his left hand to control the amount of air which enters the glass which a bird is in.
Apart from a very few years in Italy and Bath, Joseph Wright spent all his life in Derby. He painted many portraits and classical scenes, but his most famous works are a comparative few which show scientific, technological, and philosophical themes which were of interest in the late 18th century - the time of the Industrial Revolution and of the Enlightenment - and which demonstrate his total control of the contrasting effects of light and darkness. The industrial revolution began in England during the 1700’s‌.it was a time of great change and a discovery of scientific theories, this period was known as the Roocco or the enlightenment.
The Boy: The boy in the top right corner draws attention to the moon outside, this reference is important to the scientific legitimacy of this experiment. The moon also refers to those scientists who met on the Monday closest to the full moon and were called the Lunar Society (hence the term Lunatics).He is also holding a cage for when the bird is released and tries to fly towards the window,
Light: The single bright light is in the center of the painting, this bring our attention to the center of the painting and then on to the faces. Chiaroscuro is created from the bright light which intensifies deep shadow on their faces and the experiments out stretched hand. The use of light and tone in this painting emphasises the drama of the experiment as it is uses light as a spotlight. The candle which provides light for the whole scene is behind the large glass vessel on the table, and its distorted reflection can be seen on the inside left wall of the vessel.
We can tell that this group of people are wealthy as they are wearing Expensive clothing, they also use a rare white cockatoo which was more expensive than the equipment that they use to kill it
This man on the in the foreground on right is being used to frame the image. He is staring at the skull in the middle of the table, where the main source of light is coming from and act as a memorial
This is a painting from the 1400’s. It is a Renaissance depiction of the Baptism of Jesus Christ by an Italain artist called Piero Della Francesca. This also depicts a white bird
The man in the centre of the image is control of the air pump, he has pumped air out of the large glass flask which contains a bird, this creaes a vacuum. Some people beileve he is supposed to resemble a god like figure who has control over life and death, this is also supported by this man being higher within the pictorial space than the other characters.
The The 1700’s was a time described as the enlightenments, this concluded a period that brought change to the people. It is believed that this modernising period would bring light into the dark age of religious beliefs and superstition, now focusing on science. This time was also know as ‘the age of reason’ To the right we can see a girl who is obviously shocked by the experiment and is covering her face. Her supposedly father looks as if he telling her to looks at what is going on as he is pointing towards the main feature (the bird). From her facial expression and body posture we can tell the younger girl is also scared however, she is still interested in the experiment. Similarly to this landscape painting these two men on the left staring at the experiment act as a framing method, A familiar method of composition in art.
The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David 1793
The Death of Marat The death of Marat is described as an idealized painting of an assignation; David represents Marat as a young innocent man which is writing a check to charity when in reality, this is not the case, it is such a controversial painting that it no longer allowed to be displayed in France. French Message This painting is of a man called David Marat , who is represented slumped in a bath tub, the room is gloomy and in the foreground there are checks to charity placed on a box. In marah’s right hand there is a quill and his left hand holds a letter from Charlotte Corday; this letter reads “ill suffit que je sois bien malheureuse pour avoir droit a votre bienveillance” which translates to “given that I am unhappy I have a right to your help”. He wears a head scarf and one the floor there is a knife, this creates an unnerving mood
Technique The main colours are very muted and dull, the oil paint has been applied smoothly on canvas which makes the painting appear realistic. The light source coming from above and use of chiaroscuro in this painting portrays purity and an angelic ambiance. Where? Jean-Paul Marat saw himself as a friend of the people, He was editor of the magazine Ami du Peuple. He suffered from a skin disease and had to stay in a soothing bath. This is where David shows him, in the moment after the murder by Charlotte Corday. Symbols Iconography includes the study of elements within a work of art that act as clues or symbols to meaning. In this painting the use of iconography is shown thrown Marats trailing arm, It is reminiscent of Jesus’ position is commonly portrayed as when being removed from the cross.
Misconception David used his painting as a way to show people what had happened, however he did not always tell the truth. He often painted what he wanted people to see, not what had really happened. This is his self portrait when he was in prison for the painting, which portrays him as an innocent painter. Jacobins David had joined the Jacobins, a political club. During the Revolution. The Jacobins assembled a group of people against the monarchy who were known as the National Convention. controlled by Maximilien Robespierre, the Jacobins (including David) and the National Convention would eventually vote to have Louis XVI and his Queen Marie Antoinette killed; France then became a republic. neoclassicism Neoclassicism was a dominant art movement from the late 18th –mid 19th century, I was a recreation of heroic spirit of classical Greece and Rome. The poses and figures in art were copied from classical sources, the narratives have a strong moral tone and include stories of grandeur.
Flaws David opted to exclude Marat's physical imperfections. In depicting Marat final bath, David decided to portray his friend as an attractive young man -free of flaws -which was not the case as Marat would have been old and would not look like this
Background The painting’s background is dull; the walls are undecorated and scant of any color. In reality the walls of Marat’s were supposedly decorated with elegant wallpaper and decorations to beautify the interior however the dullness of the walls in the painting draw attention to the foreground knife It is clear to depict what has happened to Marat as there is a blooded knife in the lower left corner its said that Marat had betrayed the spirit of the great causeof the Girondists (which corday belonged to) you can sea the knife unmistakebly on the ground beside the tub, painted, smear reddened.
Guernica By Pablo Picasso 1937
Size 'Guernica' is a very large painting, measuring 3.5 metres in height and 7.8 metres in width. The painting is painted in oil and in monochrome colours of black, grey and white. The picture is full of symbols yet its overall theme is one of suffering. Suffering of innocent people and animals alike
The top of the image shows a woman who appears to be floating through a window with an oil lamp, to lighten the disorderly scene. Her face appears to be in a state of shock and bewilderment. She has been considered to be a ghostly representation of the Spanish Republic.
Cubism Style is also a large component of the message in the painting. Picasso, along Lighting with Georges Braque, is considered to be The main light source comes the father of cubism (Picasso's Life). from middle of picture with light Cubism is a style of art that displays many bulb and woman holding oil lamp geometric shapes incorporated into this is shown from the use of abstract designs. One of Picasso's most shadows in the painting famous cubist works is Guernica. Mother Picasso wanted to show how immoral the German Nazis and Franco were for aiming the bombs at innocent civilians. In the image we can see a mother is holding the lifeless body of her child. She has splayed fingers, has her mouth open wailing with her head arched back and her tear shaped eyes are looking upward to heighten the emotional impact, this could suggest she is asking God why the circumstances of her life are so miserable.
Guernica was painted in 1937 and first exhibited in Paris before being placed in the care of the Museum of Modern Art, in New York, as it was Picasso's expressed desire that the painting should not be delivered to Spain until liberty and democracy had been established in the country.
This woman on the far right of the image is look upwards like the mother, however, Her hands are reaching up as if she is pulled down by some force. The triangles around and above her, this could suggest fire created by the German bombs and that the fire is devouring the woman.
Bull The bull is depicted with a dark body and white head. The bull appears to be stunned or shocked at the horror surrounding him. When asked about the significance and meaning behind the animal, Pablo Picasso said it was to signify brutality and darkness
Dead soldier The soldier is made up body parts and is not a complete body. We can see his head, one of his arms and the left forearm. In one of his hands, the soldier is holding a broken sword and a flower. The flower could therefore be interpreted as a ray of hope amongst all of the destruction
Pidgeon The pigeon can be found between the bull and the horse. It is not a very clear symbol as it appears to be just a flash of white. In general, this symbol has been considered as a representation of broken peace.
Light bulb The light bulb is a particularly intriguing symbol. It has been said that it represents technological advancement, as in the technological advancement being tested during the Guernica bombings. If you were to learn Spanish in Spain, you would find that the word for bulb 'bombilla' is also very similar to the word for bomb, 'bomba'.
Kneeling woman This woman has also been described as the 'Injured woman' as her leg is clearly visible and appears to be dislocated or broken. She is bleeding from the knee although she is trying to stop the flow with her hand.
Horse Situated in the centre of the painting, it looks as though the horse is about to fall down. We can only see the head of the horse, with its mouth open. The rest of its body is overlapped by other images, which in turn form other images such as a human skull.
Goya The 3rd of May 1808 1814
SECOND OF MAY 1808
Francisco Goya (1746 – 1828) Francisco Goya was a Spanish painter who was initially employed by Charles IV and the Spanish Royal Family to paint them throughout their time in power. In the period France occupied Spain as he was working for the new French leader – Napoleon and his armies. Goya would not have been permitted to paint the horrifying scenes he witnessed until Napoleon was defeated.
THIRD OF MAY 1808
Goya was 62 years old when the French invasion of Spain began, which subjected Spain to six years of war and revolution. Goya was in Madrid during the tragic events of 2nd and 3rd May 1808 when the population rose against the French. However, It was not until 1814, that Goya actually painted these events. The first painting is about the confusion of battle; the second is anti-heroic and emphasises the brutality of war. Compared to Picasso's Guernica for its fearless depiction of the brutality of war, The Third of May 1808's estimation has only grown in the art world. Once sneered at for its departures from convention, today its blend of Christian iconography, its emotional chiaroscuro, and its influence on fine art and popular art have helped establish its reputation as a groundbreaking masterpiece.
Under the rule of the weak Charles IV, Spain fell into political and social corruption, which ended with the Napoleon and his French Army invading Spain.
The second of may and the third of may were both oil on canvas on a large scale (266 cm x 347 cm), this tells us that Goya was ambitious about this painting and wanted it to become important and seen by many
Man in white Its very clear that goya wanted our eye to look at the man in the white shirt first, His hand our outstretched as he surrenders to the gun men in front of him. He is also placed in front of a hillside, this forces the eye to look directly at this man with nothing distracting from him.
Iconography The central figure of the painting, who is clearly a poor laborer, takes the place of the crucified Christ; he is sacrificing himself for the good of his nation. The lantern that sits between him and the firing squad is the only source of light in the painting, and dazzlingly illuminates his body, bathing him in what can be perceived as spiritual light. His expressive face, which shows an emotion of anguish that is more sad than terrified, echoes Christ’s prayer on the cross, “Forgive them Father, they know not what they do.” Close inspection of the victim’s right hand also shows stigmata, referencing the marks made on Christ’s body during the Crucifixion
From the hillside our attention goes down the hill straight at the gun men, then back at the man in white.
The background of the painting shows a darkened Madrid
The people who have already been shoot have casually been tossed aside to make room for the next victims. The monk preys over their dead bodies, perhaps in an effort to give them some peace. The man with his arms spread in a "V" looks pained, even in death. He, too, is asking for peace from the troops
During this occupation of Spain Goya created another print series called The Disasters of War, begun 1809/10. Goya’s own title of these prints was; The Fatal consequences of Spain’s bloody war with Bonaparte. And other emphatic caprices. ( a caprice means to suddenly desire something )
The Raft of The Medusa by Théodore Géricault 1818-19
Romanticism Romanticism featured from late 18th to the middle 19th century and came after neoclassicism, it was a movement across all the arts for artists to express emotion and feeling, romanticism was a way for Artists such as Gericault and Henry Fuseli to paint what they were feeling. However, there is no definitive Romantic style.
Details The raft of medusa (1818-19) by Gericault is a oil on canvas painting sized at 491 x 716 cm, The vast size of this painting is surprising as usually such large paintings are of important people whereas the people in this image are ordinary; furthermore making this image more important. The story The Raft of the Medusa reveals the moment after 13 days of directionless floating on the raft. The painting includes the remaining 15 survivors whom view a ship approaching from a distance. The MĂŠduse was originally shipping 400 people, however there was only room for 250 in the boats. Ultimately over 146 men and one woman were loaded onto impulsively built raft which partly sunk once everyone was aboard. The captain of the ship and crew aboard the other boats intended to tow the raft, but after only a few miles the raft was turned loose. For sustenance the crew of the raft had only a bag of ship's biscuit (consumed on the first day), two casks of water (lost overboard during fighting) and six casks of wine. Out of the 15 rescued a further 5 passengers died shortly after. Fault Although the event was a political outrage, the farce was blamed on the stupidity of the captain who was hired by the new Bourbon King Louis XVIII. Gericault painted an impressive representation of the disaster.
Research Gericault has signs of a neoclassical and romanticism in his painting, there are studies of the survivors as well Gericault visiting the morgues to paint dead flesh, he did this In order to get the detail of drowned flesh correct. Gericault wanted the involvement to his research to be accurate so he even remade the raft himself.
Metaphor Gericault did some extensive research on the sinking of the meduse, he interviewed the survivors and found out that they had ate each other in order to survive so he included a bloodied axe in his painting. Theodore blamed the tragedy on the captain so he included a torn French officers uniform.
Hope The men toward the right of the painting look desperate for attention of a potential rescue boat so far in the distance its almost challenging to comprehend. This boat could suggest useless hope, since the boat is very far in to the horizon, there's no way a ship could see their distress signal, it is also believed it was the ship Argus on the approach of help. Positioning of the Raft Gericault did a number of sketches before The raft of medusa however one key change from the sketches to the final canvas is where the raft is positioned in the frame. An early sketch shows the raft higher up, while The Raft of the Medusa has the rafter lower, in the viewer's space. It's practically as if you could step right through the painting and be on the raft with the crew. Positioning of the people The crew members in the painting and positioned in a ‘pyramid of hope’, with the dead and dismembered at the bottom on the triangular shape, moving on to an old man holding his dying son in his hand, further more transitioning in to survivors helplessly reaching to the top of the pyramid where a youthful man is beckoning for help with a flag.
Liberty leading the people by Eugène Delacroix 1830
Liberty In the centre figure we have a personification of Liberty, a semi-nude muscular female. Who wears the red Phrygian cap of liberty. Which was worn during the first French Revolution. She also holds a flag in her left hand, which Charles X banned; delacoix has applied the colour with pure pigment tor create powerful colours. In her right hand she holds an infantry musket. Overall she is an unmissable symbol of the struggle of freedom.
Freedom The Liberty figure would not have actually been seen on the streets of Paris which tells us that Delacroix has used a mixture of reality and idealism to create this masterpiece. The woman in the center of the painting should not be recognized as an individual, however more as an idea- the idea od freedom. Background ‘Liberty Leading the People’ was about an monarchy being reestablished in France that was was politically despotic. The French revolution in July 1830 was against that king Charles the tenth and brought into power a constitutional dominion, doubtlessly, a king that would be more friendly to the middle class. This painting expresses one of the three days of beyond protest and endless conflict in the narrow streets of Paris. Eventually Charles the tenth leaves France and Louis Phillippe is put on the throne.
The painting shows the revolution of 1830 on the streets on Paris, what we can witness is a barricade which would have been their makeshift blockade The figure on the lower left of the painting is inhumanely left, its clear to see the man is in his night shirt with only one sock. A common tradition of the government was to enter the oppositions homes, beat them to death and drag them in to the streets as warning to others. Kings force On the right of The painting lies A member of the Kings focres. A Dead or wounded Solider in the Foreground is Important as it Remins that even Royal troops are not invincible and that liberty can strike forward.
Showing the range of people who participated in the revolution of 1830 Delacroix has include very different types of figures in his painting intentionally, showing a middle class man and next to him is a workman who probably cant afford a nice rifle like the member of the bourgeoisie can. This shows a strong message as they are together opposing the monarchy and that the power of the people can overthrow the government.
Idealism Idealism is seen in this painting as Delacroix would not have been able to look out of his window to see this. The figures are composed in the shape of a pyramid, just like ‘The raft of Medusa� this suggests hope for the people. Positioning The background of this painting contains very dull colours, as well as the foreground being gloomy as well as unsettling. However in the center of the image stand Liberty in bright yellow/off-white clothing, this persuades the eyes to focus on her first.
On the right of the image, you can make out the two towers of notre dame Rising above the smoke. You can also see the tricolor on that symbol of the kingdom And this is why the painting was deemed so radical and basically ended up going in to storage
Delacroix has painted Liberty in ancient tradition with a perfect profile just like a roman coin. He also shows us a great used of chiascuro with the light beaming on Liberty's face, coming from about with insinuates hope
The Execution of Lady Jane Grey by Paul Delaroche 1833
The execution of Lady Jane Grey (1833) is a painting by Paul Delaroche. The painting includes a woman in the centre called Lady Jane Grey. The painting was based in the 16th century when England had a choice in 1553 of who should take the Crown. Lady Jane grey was crowned, however, this didn't work because Jane's claim to the crown was much weaker than the more legitimate person who was Mary, the half sister to Edward VI. Mary and her officials had her tried for treason and was sent to the tower of London and sentenced to death. Lady Jane Grey was executed at Tower Green on 12 February 1554 when she was just 16 years old.
Who? The painting shows 5 people: Lady Jane Grey, who glows in the center of the painting. To the left of the painting shows figures who seem to be grieving, these figures emphasize the solemn mood of the painting. Holding Lady Jane `Grey is a significantly older man, Sir John Bydges who highlights Jane's youthfulness, to the right of the image we can see the executioner who is standing in an almost classical contrapposto stance. This stance is usually seen in sculptures of heroic figures from ancient classical art the room is dark and in the foreground there is a woman in white clothing the mood is depressing
Appearance The colours in the painting are very dull and dark except the main focus point – Lady Jane Grey – She is wearing white, which glows compared to the other dark figures, this suggests purity and innocence. The oil paints in the painting have been applied smoothly on canvas which adds naturalism making the painting look realistic and additionally shocking. The painting is sized at 246 x 297 making the people life size, painting this size suggests that it is an important image. The light is coming from the top left of the painting, the use of chiaroscuro highlights and adds drama to Lady Jane Grey Further.
Classical catrapposto stance
Lady Jane Lady Jane wears a blindfold and is about to kneel with her arms anxiously fumbling for the block on which she is about to rest her head. She is depicted with porcelain pale skin and is dressed in crisp white silk. She appears almost doll like. Below her lies straw which would have been intended to soak up the blood.
The salon ‘The execution of Lady Jane Grey’ has a aspects of both Neo-classical and romantic styles of art. These styles were favoured by The Salon. The Salon was an annual French exhibition of art that was open to all people and was a form of entertainment. To be considered a skilled artist you needed to be included in the Salon, however your art would be selected by judges. Delaroche Delaroche was one the most celebrated artists of his time, and was one of the greatest student of another artist –Gros. His paintings also combine his desire for the theatre, hence why this painting appears to be on a stage.
Paint The smoothly applied oil paint on canvas composes a realistic painting for observers. Size The size of the painting (246 x 297cm) suggests that this incident was exceedingly influential of that era.
Clothing Lady Jane stands out strikingly form her surrounds due to Delaroches brilliant use of chiascuuro. It is unknown if she was dressed like this at the time, however it seems unlikely as she was married. Instead of purity the white clothing would have been used to suggest innocence
Background The dark background compared to the bright white foreground creates an unnerving mood and accentuates Lady Jane further
Orphan Girl at the Cemetery By Eugène Delacroix 1823–1824
Eugene Delacroix, who was a French painter, created the Orphan Girl at the Cemetery in 1824. The painting in French is known as ‘Jeune orpheline au cimetière’. It is considered as one of Delacroix’s greatest pieces as well a famous outcome from the time of romanticism. As we can clearly see, the young girl is the main focus of the painting, she is looking upwards towards the sky. Delacriox has used oil on canvus to create a wet look to the girls eyes, which corresponds with the sad graveyard background. We can see through her eyes that she is crying, but wonder what or who she thinks about. The painter induces negetive emotions upon the viewer, such as grief or distress. This almost makes you want to help the girl. In the background we can see headstones. Like the foreground, the background uses muted colours too. The ground that surrounds her looks to be abandoned and in disrepair.
The use of dull looking colours are of much significance in Delacroix's Orphan Girl at the Cemetery. The participation of colour in the painting, and how it is exemplified on a canvas was one of Delacroix's many talents, and what he was most famously praised for - evoking emotions from pure colour.
The way the young girls body language shows vulnerability through her exposed shoulder, hand laid weakly on her thigh and shadows around her neck. Her muted clothing resembles the same, the harsh cold colour accentuates her struggle of loss. The sky of this painting is mostly white and cloudy, this conotates misery, however there is some blue sky, this could suggests hope
Wanderer above the Sea of Fog By Caspar David Friedrich 1818
Unlike the more conventional way of the horizontal positon of most landscapes, Friedrich has painted this in vertically instead.
For this composition Friedrich uses a slightly brighter palette than usual. He mixes blues and pinks across the sky with the mountain and rock in the distance echoing these colors. He paints the figure in a dark green coat - typical German attire.
Similarly to Ruckenfugen, Friedrich has used the technique of the figure with his back towards the viewer. This creates mystery around the figure as people wonder who it is. They are unsure what he is doing or thinking or even why he is there alone. By not showing the figures face this helps us focus on the gorgeous landscape. Rather than the figure. His stance creates a heroic sense; it’s the type of stance you would imagine after a battle. Fridrich mostly painted landscapes which hardly included people, Figures started appearing in his work more and more around the time he painted this. It is believed that Fridrich got married around this time, which may be the reason why he started including people in his work. Much like Friedrichs other paintins, the overall romanticism aura seems to fit perfectly as the forms stands still. It seems as though the man has been standing there for a while as he is poised and no movement is shown. He seems confident as he leans on his cane, and a relaxed hand rests in his pocket. The shear light is coming up from beneath the rocks, somehow illuminating the fog. Although this oil painting doesn’t show intense chiaroscuro like the other painting's I have analysed. The figure is mostly a silhouette, with little detailing compared to the background.
Intentions After exploring tone in a number of paintings, I now intend to create an exhibition based on the romanticism From this theme I will write guide to the exhibition, including themes and relevant historical and/or cultural research. I will also design plans for the display information and advertisement for example: posters, leaflets, a logo, ticket stubs.
In the top left corner the poster includes the logo for the national gallery, this is important as it brands the poster insuring the viewers know where the exhibition will be taking place, as well as relating the exhibition with the famous gallery. This poster includes a segment of ‘lion hunt’ by Delacroix, this conveys what the viewers will be experience during the exhibition. This has inspired me to also relate the background to the artist of my exhibition.
Delacroix was a romantic painter and links to artists I have already looked at. The painting chosen for this relates to romanticism with reds and other warm colours.
The same font has been used throughout the title of the poster ‘Delacroix and the rise of modern art’ despite how different the two parts look. The same font used creates a continuous theme which visually reinforces the general appearance of the poster.
Analysis of Delacroix exhibition poster
Lions are associated with supremacy and importance. A lion being the main feature makes it clear that this event is important as it is the main feature of the poster. The significance of the exhibition is also shown by the frame, this would make the poster stand out when advertised. The date of the exhibition must be added to a poster so the viewers knows the correct dates, the posters date is displayed bigger and bold that the exhibition details and stands alone as this would be more noticeable to the viewer.
The foreground of the poster focuses on the exhibition title. The translucent band over the painting presenting the name forces the eyes to focus on the red ‘Delacroix’. The red font is crucial so the viewer knows exactly who the artist paintings is. The opaque white writing under the red is brought to the foreground because of the translucent band, however it is slightly less evident.
In the lower right corner of the poster there is some information about the exhibition, this allows the viewer to have some information on what will be displayed there. It is important to have this information so the viewer knows what to expect.
Exploring Fonts Using www.dafont.com I exploring various fonts which could be used for the title of the poster
‘old London’
‘Ancient geek’
‘Fontaine de Diamant’
‘amethyst’
‘unicorn flakes’
‘Taken’
‘new order’
‘French grotesque’
‘Lemon milk’
‘TrajanusBricks’
‘Alice in Wonderland’
‘enchanted land’
For my poster I have decided to use ‘taken’ from www.dafont.com however I made the first letters of ‘Tales’ and ‘Romnticism’ capital, this changed the overall look of the font.
Click here to see more research on the imagery I used for this tehcniuqe
1. First I chose an image, my image was Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix
2. Using the quick selection tool I cropped Marianne out of the image
3. Using the lasso tool I drew where the rest of the flag would be and filled it with the ‘;content aware’ filter
4. On a duplicate layer, I used the content aware effect on mariannes arm too
8. Using ‘square brushes’ I picked a brush and altered it as I saw fit. Using ‘shape dynamics’ and ‘scattering’ 5. I cropped only the flag from the duplicate layer and distorted the flag so it would be larger than the original while still making the colours like up
6. Manage layer so that the layer which the dispersion will apply to is behind the main image
7. Using the layer mask tool shown above I added a black layer mask, this will hide image which its appled to
16. using the squared brush tool then going back with a squared rubber tool to create a fading effect
9. Using a white squared brush I coloured the the flag area so it would appear to be fading
13.
10.
14.
11.
15.
Outcome: Using a fading technique on Photoshop I created an image from liberty leading the people which I could use in my poster, however after trying this technique I decided to use the double exposure technique
Double Exposure Technique
Caspar David Friedrich, Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, 1818
Using a layer mask I got this effect
Orphan girl at the cemetry delacroix
Using the magic wand tool I cropped out the background
Click on either of the image names to find more info about them…
Using a layer mask over a duplicate of the ‘wanderer…’ I added some tone to the background
I then filled the ‘orphan girl’ in solid black
Using the ‘wanderer above the sea of fog’ I made a clipping mask over the top of the other painting
I transformed the orphan girl in to black and white and lowered her opacity.
To complete the poster I added some artists whose work would feature in my exhibition and also some social media stamps From dafont.com I added in my chosen font title
I then added some dates and location of the exhibition
My posters I also created another poster using Photoshop, I created this by using a famous romantic painting by Henry Fuseli named ‘The Nightmare’ (1781). I then filled half the photograph black then using the dates/ location of the exhibition and the artists names I selected the font shapes on the black layer so that the painting would show through the black. Out of the two of these posters I wanted to use the poster on the right as I thought the effects I used made the quality of the poster much higher. The tones and hues of this poster go very well together and I want the blue/ grey tones to be throughout all my work.
Analysis of Leaflet This exhibition guide includes a close up of the artists work, this adds mystery to the exhibition and encourages the reader to want see more. The guide shows a bold white titles so they stand out, it states the artist and the exhibition location
The next 3 pages in the exhibition guide include general information about the artists and their work, it discusses the artists journey in their artwork and how it changed. I will also include this in my exhibition guide as well as information about every painting within my exhibition.
First page of the exhibition guide includes an introduction about what will be displayed in the exhibition. The artists other artwork is displayed on the first place along with the name of the painting, the year which it was painted, the materials used, the size and where the painting is now located. The artwork on page 1 is not in the exhibition, like the front page this adds mystery to the exhibition. The last two pages of this exhibition This exhibition guide includes a lot of colour of guide include general gallery the front page to gain a readers attention, information, such as: other events, However the writing on the pages in the gallery talks, school programs, ‘now and exhibition design as simple, this gives the next’ at the gallery, eating and drinking, poster a clean and professional look which I shopping, pricings of exhibition and will copy in my exhibition guide guides as well as audio guides, the This guide was set out to unfold, where as my sponsors of the exhibition and the guide will be a book as I think a book would look information for the artwork on the front of more professional and easier to carry around the the guide. I will include this in my guide exhibition. As well as including a map, making it as it is important for my audience to easier to move around my exhibition with the know all the need information before the information in the correct order. exhibition
For my poster I wanted to use similar colours to my poster, I also used the wanderer above the sea of fog painting which I also used in my poster, the tones of this paintings also go with the colours of my poster. I included a summary of the Raft Of Medusa, 2nd Of May, 3rd Of May, The Death Of Marat, Orphan Girl At The Cemetery, Wanderer Above The Sea Of Fog, Liberty Leading The People, The Exuction Of Lady Jane Grey And Guernica. I included a map of how to get to the exhibtion as well as an address, dates and times. The leaflet also includes a simple layout of the exhibition, again, using the same tones throughout the guide.
For the van gogh musuem they use some of van goghs art work on the ticket design, this is effective as you can see a preview of his work before entering. This ticket includes the logo of the gallery in the corner but the information part of the ticket is kept simple. This ticket includes what the ticket is for, the date, how many the ticket is for and a barcode. Most tickets are usually in landscape, however this one isn’t.
Ticket analysis
For this ticket they have included that the ticket is for one person, what type of admission, the pirce of the ticket, which date it is on and when it was bought. They also included a barcode which would be scanned as they enter the museum. I like how they have kept the ticket simplistic and mysterious. The ticket has one minimal image which you would be unsure of, this is obviously something to do with the museum, or something in it but before entering you are unsure what it is, I could use this technique in my ticket designing by only showing a part of the image from the exhition.
Using inspiration from the tickets I have researched I the created my own ticket…
Using this photos I put it on a document size of 148x52mm and cropped it to the part I wanted.
Using the font ‘taken’ I place the title in to the stub part of the ticket. I put the name of the exhibition and the little slogan (which is also on the leaflet) I a blue box, and the bottom half in white.
I then added ‘single entry’, the date and the price of the exhibition. I also added a barcode to make my ticket seem more realistic.
Final Ticket
For my ticket I used the same colours as I had used in my leaflet and poster to make the whole project come together.
Animation Analysis Louis Vuitton and Jeff Koons collaborated to make a line of designs based on iconic paintings. To promote their designs they made a advert using the famous paintings and humorousless manipulating them, in one scene the Mona Lisa is winking and moving her eyebrows. They have used paintings from Van Gogh, Fragonard, Da vinci, Rubens and titan. Taking inspiration from this I will create my own animation by subtly moving parts of their bodies,
The selected area then goes on to a new layer, when we turn the layer off…
Firstly, I selected an image. I chose An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pum
It will look a little something like this
I then selected the part of the image I wanted to move using the quick selection tool.
Using the clone stamp tool I removed the white under layer, so everything blends together nicely.
Taking the selection I right clicked and chose ‘layer via cut’
Converting the layer with the head on in to a smart layer gave me the option to transform the image.
Pressing entre here creates a key frame. When you move to the end of the clip and transform you the head to where you want it to move and press enter, this creates another key frame.
When you press play, it should look a little something like this..
Press play
I then repeated this for the woman head (left). The mans eyes, the bird wing, the young girls shoulder, the clouds in the window, and added some dripping bubbles where the light source is. Watch these parts in the next slide.
To view the final animation scan the GR code
OR CLICK HERE
Gallery Layout Using an online model maker I created a floor plan for my gallery. Taking inspiration from the layout of the Van Gogh Gallery where the rooms flow in a way that makes you enter every room of building. In my floor plan I also marked colours of the walls and floor, the white parts of walls are where the doors would be.
On a trip to Van Gogh Gallery I observed the layout of the building, this included studying where the paintings where in the gallery and how the correlated to each other in the order of which you saw them. I wanted the order of my paintings in my gallery to represent a story through time and each revolution. At the Gallery I noticed the walls and flooring showed pastel colours and minimalistic dÊcor (bench's), this I also what I wanted my gallery to be like as the muted colours look clean but don’t take the attention away from the art work.
Using a 3d model maker I designed how I wanted my exhibition to look, with the colour of the walls an flooring, I also added in where I wanted the paintings. Using this type of software makes my design looks more realistic.