I have chosen to look at paintings within the Vanitas topic. There paintings are within a genre of still life paintings that flourished in the Netherlands in the early 17th century. A 'Vanitas' painting includes a range of objects symbolic of the inevitability of death and the transience and vanity of earthly achievements and pleasures. Although a few Vanitas pictures include figures, the vast majority are pure still life's, containing certain elements; these being symbols of arts and sciences (books and musical instruments), wealth and power, and earthly pleasures (playing cards), symbols of death or transience (skulls, clocks, burning candles, soap bubbles, and flowers) and, symbols of resurrection and eternal life (usually ears of corn or sprigs of ivy). Objects were often tumbled together in disarray, suggesting the eventual overthrow of the elements that they represent.
Antonio de Pereda – Allegory of Vanity c. 1632 An artist who's work stands out greatly when it comes to Vanitas symbolism, was Pereda. Antonio de Pereda was a Spanish man born in Valladolid, the oldest son from an artistic family. As well as his still lives and religious paintings – which demonstrate symbolism, Antonio was also well known for his historical paintings, such as the Relief of Genoa. Antonio (1611-1678) produced many historical pieces, including, The Allegory of Vanity. Which I will now be analysing, produced in c. 1632. The word Allegory, mentioned in the title is another word for stories, Antonio named his painting this because of the many hidden messages in this piece of work (symbolism). For example, the figure in this painting can be represented as an angel, due to her wings and angelic profile portrayed. Angels can be associated with heaven, which can be associated with death, which can also be associated with religion, which Antonio was well known for portraying within his artwork. However, this angel is looking at us with a very unsettling stare, representing danger.
To the left of the angel, you can see a candle which has been put out, which Antonio has used to represent the passing of time or even death. This could perhaps be linked to the unsettling stare upon her face.
To the left of the figure are many skulls, in this painting the skulls symbolise death also, but the fact that they are placed on top of books, which have been opened and read, portrays the fact that knowledge isn’t everything in life, and when you’re dead, none of those things ever mattered, and that they are pointless. The gun in this artwork gives across another strong message towards war and fighting, just like the armour does. The gun suggests power. In front of the gun there is an hour glass, Antonio has conveyed a strong message with this, as all the sand is at the bottom, meaning that time is up. The skulls also show this message. The figure is also seen to be pointing at a specific spot on a globe, meaning she could be trying to convey a message or warning to the world about this man in the portrait – this could also be shown by her face. Placed on the table to the right of the painting is a time piece, which is relevant in the message being put across backed up by the hour glass and skulls. Also placed on the table, money and jewellery, which as well as the gun represent power and great wealth within the artwork. All these aspects reflect the Vanitas elements within the artwork.
Jan Van Eyck The Arnolfini 1434 Oil on Oak Panel
82 x 60cm The Gallery of London Jan Van Eyck was known for having a variety of skills, those in which allowed him to be the artist he was. He is able to capture faces with minutely realistic depictions of surface effects and natural light. This was made possible by using an oil medium, which allowed the building up of paint in translucent layers, or glazes.
Much of the powerful wealthy impact of this painting also comes from its exceptional sense of realism – as stated previously. Oil paint also dries slowly, which allowing Van Eyck to apply layers of transparent glazes to build up forms, and to create realistic textures and give the illusion of light. The texture of the green dress is heightened by placing it next to its complimentary colour, red, which is the colour of the object draping next to her. Green can also symbolise fertility, showing that she is pregnant, the tiny dots of paint also suggest that the intricate design was decoratively cut and perfected within the dress, also symbolizing wealth. The polished chandelier suggests the wealth aspect of this painting, with the light reflected on its polished surfaces, even showing the tool marks. By Van Eyck including this in the painting, this shows that whoever he was drawing had the money to hire him – purchasing immortality. The little dog situated at the bottom of the painting, represents the couples want to have a child, but may not be able to have one – despite the fertility symbols, or a sign of loyalty. The dog is looking directly at the viewer, unlike the humans, this giving an unsettling effect. The delicate brush strokes of the dog help to convey the skill of the artist, as they have been done so precisely.
Harmen Steenwyck 1612 – 1656 Vanitas of Human Life 1940 Oil on Oak 39.2 x 50.7cm (Not on display) This painting is a good example of Vanitas art, it has all the elements to enable it to be one, for example, the symbols of death within the skull, and the symbols of arts and sciences, through the book and what looks like a recorder instrument.
Harmen Steenwyck (1612 – 1656) This painting is known as An allegory of the Vanities of Human life, and was painted around 1640. The main element of this painting is the skull – the Vanitas of death. It is at the front of the table in clear view, whereas the rest of the objects are painted behind, overlapping each other. The skull is dominating all the other objects, this is because it symbolises death, and when a death occurs, it can dominate somebody’s life. Positioned behind the skull in this painting is a Japanese sword, this also symbolises war and death, but also an element of wealth in Vanitas, due to its great worth in the 17th century. The expiring lamp also helps to symbolise this.
The skull represents the passing of time, a Memento Mori (reminder of mortality), or a Latin reminder of death. This is also an important factor within Vanitas as it can lead to death.
Most of Steenwyck’s work consists of the same style of oil painting, quite small scale as they would be situated in houses, and including the focal point of skulls and death figures. A lot of his paintings have very deep philosophical meaning. Some other paintings of his are to the right of this page. This small pocket watch is hidden in Steenwyck’s painting, also represents the passing of time and wealth within Vanitas, due to the fact that only wealthy people in the 17th century would be able to afford to own one of these.
A few items in this painting are also placed towards the edge of the table, this symbolises danger and vulnerability, Steenwyck has done this with the skull in my opinion because we can always be on the edge of death, which is an important Vanitas figure. The paintings to the right side of the slide are other pieces of Steenwyck's Vanitas work – they all include the same symbols, particularly the skull and books which dominate the paintings (death, arts and science).
Willem Heda 1631 Still Life (Untitled) Oil on Canvas
This painting by Heda includes many Vanitas elements mentioned in the previous slides – these being the lemon peel and expensive food (wealth) also, the half full/empty glasses, these can be viewed to represent the passing of time – or death.
Willem Claez Heda (1631) Heda was a Dutch Golden age artist from Haarlem who was devoted exclusively to the painting of still life's. He is best known for the 'late breakfast' genre of still life, due to the fact that most of his oil paintings involve / are based around food that has been eaten or left to rot. Many things in this piece of work are also placed along the outside of the table, which shows a symbol of danger within the Vanitas period, also the candle base has fallen over, demonstrating how fragile life is. The light is also beaming down from above, this symbolises heaven, and a light shining down after death – another prime symbol of Vanitas. To the right of the painting there is a lemon that is shown to have been peeled, this item conveys the fact that some things can be sweet on the outside, but actually very sour. Lemons in the 17th century were also a very luxury object and only people that have wealth or members of the Bourgeoisie would be able to buy them. The glass of what looks like champagne also represents wealth.
The pie that is situated on the table looks like it has had a piece just grabbed out of it. Heda conveys the passing of time through the involvement of food in his paintings because food does not last forever, it is a temporary taste and can sometimes leaves us feeling unwell. This also represents the wealthy, as they are the only group that would be able to afford all the expensive luxury food, such as pie, champagne and lemons.
These two items would also be viewed as wealth and power, early pleasures. This is because they were to only consumed by the middle classes – due to their expensive price tag (very different from todays art). This symbolises wealth within the Vanitas period.
Hendrick Andriessen (1607 – 1655) Hendrick was known for his still life paintings. He was known as crippled, but his paintings didn’t reflect this as they were highly regarded. All of his paintings represent a Memento Mori, which is a Latin reminder of death, this reflects through the skulls and ancient monuments within his art. Andriessen’s paintings fall under the category of Vanitas. ‘Vanitas Quiet Life’ is a reference to the death of King Charles 1, this is also represented through the skulls and crown of his paintings. The Vanitas Quiet Life emerged in the 17th century in the Netherlands and grew to become Momento Mori (which are reminders of mortality). All of Hendrick Andriessen’s paintings are very similar, they are all produced on canvases using oil paints, and they all emphasise time running out, or the passing of time.
Hendrick Andriessen (1607 – 1655)
Still Life with Skull Painting This painting symbolises many Vanitas elements, the mask – which could be the mature replacement for the skull, also bubbles are seen to represent death and transience. Elements such as the trophy could also be seen to represent wealth and achievement. Also the candle holder which has been tipped over, again symbolises that life is precious, and could end at any moment (Vanitas of death).
All of Hendrick Andriessen’s paintings include champagne bottles with bubbles emerging from the top. I believe this could also represent the passing of time, showing that luxuries like champagne are not needed in life, and that life is short, therefore these things have no meaning. The candle stick that is shown to have fallen over is foreshadowing. This creates 3D depth within the painting. The candle also appears to have gone out, as the candle wick has completely ran out, this also emphasises the passing of time, as a candle, like life, only lasts a certain period of time. At the bottom left of the painting, a flip up watch is presented on its side, slightly disguised and hidden within the painting. These were seen as a luxury in the 17th century because of their expensive history, the flip up watch also represents the passing of time, as it is an actual time reader. Many things within this painting, such as the trophy, and mask, globe and the flip watch represent the Bourgeoisie (the upper class) as these are all luxury items that only they would be able to afford. All these items have no meaning after the passing of time, they’re only luxuries for a certain amount of time.
Hans Holbein The Ambassadors 1533 Oil painting
Very large (207 x 209.5 cm) The National Gallery Symbolism within portraiture.
Hans Holbein – The Ambassadors (1533) As well as this painting being a double portrait, it has many aspects of still life and symbolism within it. This painting presents two very wealth people of the 16th century; On the left is Jean de Dinteville, aged 29, French ambassador to England in 1533. To the right stands his friend, Georges de Selve, aged 25.
The skull was added as a symbol of a visual puzzle, which you can only see in the painting, if you look from either the right or left bottom corner. This is because it has been stretched out enormously; this can be so it is not as obvious within the painting – or just a puzzle for the eyes. It was intended to be a Vanitas, or Memento Mori, the Latin reminder of death.
The Anamorphic Skull however, is the most memorable piece of this painting, to the right is how it was restored in 1998.
While the skull is seen as a Vanitas, it is unclear as to why Holbein gave it such a large part within his painting, one explanation to this is that it represents three different levels, one being the heavens, which can also be represented with the globe, on the top left of the painting; the living world, as conveyed by the books and musical instrument on the lower shelf; and death, shown by the skull itself. Holbein may have intended the skulls and the crucifix in the upper left corner as a symbol to encourage contemplation of one's impending death and the resurrection. The painting is in a tradition showing educated and wealthy men with books and instruments. The objects on the upper shelf include a globe, a portable sundial and various other instruments used for understanding the heavens and the measuring and passing of time. Among the objects on the lower shelf is a lute, a case of flutes, a hymn book, a book of arithmetic and a terrestrial globe. Such items would only be owned by the incredibly wealthy, rich and superior members of the Bourgeoisie, this symbolising the wealth element within the painting.
I have looked at a number of key examples into the 17th century to do with time and symbolism; my intention is to now produce a body of work focusing only on symbolism within pieces of work. Symbolism is the untangling of invisible means of visible sensuous representations, revealing aspects within paintings that aren’t always obvious, and also the expressing of emotions and states of mind through the use of symbols to then interpret a deeper meaning to the particular piece of artwork. I now intend to further develop my exploration into the topic by creating an exhibition focusing on pieces of work involving symbolism that I express great interest in. I also intend to further my information of the 15th century and analyse many pieces of artwork from that time period, including that from the Italian Renaissance. I intend to create my own movie style poster with my own technique and develop my knowledge of fonts to include within my design.
All the paintings that I will be analysing are a part of what is known as the Italian Renaissance. The Italian Renaissance was the earliest manifestation of the general European Renaissance. Italian Renaissance paintings are the paintings of the period beginning in the late 13th century and flourishing from the early 15th to late 16th centuries, occurring in the Italian peninsula, which was at that time divided into many political areas. The painters of Renaissance Italy, although often attached to particular courts and with loyalties to particular towns, nonetheless wandered the length and breadth of Italy, often occupying a diplomatic status and disseminating artistic and philosophical ideas.
Many of the painting from the Renaissance period were commissioned by or for the Catholic Church. These works were often of large scale oil paintings. Additionally, Renaissance art was driven by the notion of "Humanism," a philosophy which had been the foundation for many of the achievements (e.g. democracy) of pagan ancient Greece. Humanism downplayed religious and secular dogma and instead attached the greatest importance to the dignity and worth of the individual. These Italian Renaissance pieces also include great deal of hidden symbols within, and uncovered messages.
Primavera Sandro Botticelli
1478 Large Panel Painting
The first painting in which I will be analysing is Primavera – which is Italian, and means 'Spring'. This painting with holds a number of symbols in which relate to the Italian Renaissance.
Primavera - Sandro Botticelli c. 1478 One of the first focal points of symbolism within in this painting is Mercury, Botticelli's representation of the heroic male physique is perfectly portrayed though his hand on hip pose from a contemporary statue.
The Three Graces are linking hands to dance in a circle, they float above the lawn, and they are hardly bending a blade of grass beneath their feet. They have been positioned with two figures facing towards the viewer and the other, in the middle, having their back turned as they all link hands. This is their typical grouping.
An elegantly dressed Venus stands in the centre, set back from the other figures, suggesting that all the attention revolves around her within this situation. Venus's swollen stomach suggests that she is also pregnant symbolising fertility. Venus is the goddess who protects and cares for the institution of marriage. The myrtle plant surrounding her body is traditionally thought of as the plant that represents sexual desire, marriage and child bearing, which helps to convey the message that she is pregnant. Venus supports the fact that marriage is where sexuality is experienced, the Three Graces, to the left of her, also portray this. They portray the female virtues chastity, beauty and love and their long, flowing coverings are characteristic of Botticelli's painting style. Also, just behind Venus the trees are parted in such a way that the light is shining through, appearing to be in the shape of lungs, Venus is in the middle, therefore suggesting that she is the heart of the painting.
This figure covered in flowers is Flora, the goddess of flowers and blossoms. Flora's former name was Chloris, she was in the woods when, the God to the far right of the painting, Zephyr, found her and raped her. The West Wind, is what he was known as, his face is blue and contrasts with the delicacy of her face, her face showing surprise and fear. Flora, the Goddess of Spring, is also shown with flowers out of her mouth as another sign of delicacy, also conveying the transformation from Chloris to Flora. To prove to Chloris that the West Wind was sorry for his violence, he married her and declared her Flora, the goddess of flowers. The story of Chloris shows that this painting was meant to symbolise the celebration of a marriage. The fact that Chloris was not the one to choose who she falls in love with reflects 15th century culture where women had very little control over who they got married to. The painting also reflects marriage and happiness by the large garden of fruit above in the trees, and the ground being covered in flowers and petals. These flowers also symbolise fertility, which is relevant as Venus is pregnant. The flowers as an artists technique, also help the figures stand out against the rich backdrop. Botticelli's naturalistic observation of beautifully individually sketched Spring flowers growing from dark lawn beds, help towards creating the idea that the figures are performing against a tapestry. This detail of Botticelli's Primavera represents Cupid, the Roman god of love. Cupid is here portrayed as a winged baby. He is blindfolded and shown in the act of shooting one of his notoriously powerful arrows into the group of Graces who stand, unsuspecting, below him. This symbolises the aspect of love within the painting, this may also be linked to Venus's pregnancy.
Sandro Botticelli Botticelli was a Florentine Renaissance painter and most esteemed artist in Italy, known for his life size Italian Renaissance paintings such as 'The Birth of Venus' - pictured below. He was given the name Botticelli meaning 'small wine cask' which could suggest great wealth within the family. Throughout the period 1478 – 90 he was at his most creative, producing works such as 'Venus and Mars' pictured below. In these pieces of work, the influence of Gothic realism (an artistic movement which combines fiction and horror, death, and at times romance or happiness) is tempered by Botticelli's study of the antique. During the last 15 years of his life, Botticelli's work appeared to undergo a crisis of style and expression. Botticelli had then rejected the ornamental charm of his earlier works in favour of a more simplistic approach that seemed crude and heavy-handed by contrast comparing to the work he once produced. These later more crude paintings, included deep moral and religious overtones, also suffered a comparison with the sophisticated aesthetic of artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael – who were also Renaissance painters.
The Birth Of Venus Sandro Botticelli 1486 Tempera on Canvas 172.5 cm Ă— 278.9 cm (67.9 in Ă— 109.6 in) Florentine Renaissance
This painting was composed just 8 years after La Primavera however also includes many aspects of symbolism within it.
The Birth of Venus. Botticelli – 1486 Another mythological painting by Botticelli, which uses symbols, is The Birth of Venus. This is undoubtedly one of the world's most famous and appreciated pieces of work. It has become an element of XV century Italian painting, with so much meaning and allegorical references. Venus is shown to be emerging from the sea onto a shell aligned with the myth that surrounds her birth. Her shell is being pushed onto the shore by Gods that are around her, you can see this by the way their mouths are positioned, also the roses around the canvas seem to be heading in Venus' direction. As Venus is shown to be stepping onto the sand, another Goddess from the right is shown to be covering her with a cloak. This smbolises her modesty. On the left hand side, a Goddess Is being held by Zephyrus, who is blowing wind, to stop the cloak, being held up by Pomona from covering over Venus's body, preventing her modesty. The overall layout is similar to that of the Primavera, with Venus being situated in the middle, as the center of attention; also being isolated against the background so that she stands out from the rest of the painting and none of the other figures overlap her. Her head is slightly tilted, and she has a quite awkward position compared to the rest of the figures in the painting.
Much attention was payed to Venus's appearance. Which reflects the Botticelli's love for women, through the long golden blonde locks. He also gave Venus a symbolic idealized face, with perfectly symmetrical features, also perfect skin with not a single blemish. He has also painted her with a beautiful light skin tone, this also helps Venus to stand out from the background and other characters. Her image could also be a symbol of innocence, with no evidence of any make up or modifications done to her body, she could be argued the perfect woman in the 15th century. Although this image of Venus is nude, she is still showing an aspect of innocence and purity. She is doing this by trying to cover herself like a gesture of modesty. Around the outside of her body, a dark line has been painted, this makes her milky skin tone more visible and also helps her to stand out from the background more. Botticelli's intention with this is to create the illusion that her skin tone is made from smooth marble stone rather than actual skin. On the right there is a female figure who is floating slightly above the ground, the floral pattern on her dress could suggest that she is the 'Hora of Spring', other predictions is that she is also Floris, due to the flowers on her dress and her cloak. She looks quite similar to Venus, with the same long flowing golden locks, indeed this could symbolise the possibly of her aspiring to be her, and her level of beauty. Many artists around this time period based many of their figure portraits on already existing statues. To the left presented is a statue of Venus created before Botticelli created this artwork, this could be where he gained his inspiration from to illustrate Venus in such an elegant way. The statue of Venus shows great similarity to that of the artwork by Botticelli. The way in which the statue is attempting to cover it's modesty with a piece of fabric is similar to how the painting of Venus is, however Venus is using her long hair and not any item of clothing. The statue also appears to have portrayed Venus having perfect smooth skin and an idealized body, which reflects that of Botticelli's work, he has incorporated this factors and recreated them by giving Venus a smooth, one toned skin, with mirroring bodies to the statue.
The time period in which Botticelli's undertook his work was the Italian Renaissance; Renaissance meaning 'rebirth'. For the first time, paintings were giving an illusion of three dimensions, with solid looking figures in a unified space. This can be reflected through Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, which I have looked at previously. She has been portrayed with a soft black outline to make her stand out from the background, this is also why her skin is seen to be so bright. Botticelli had been shown to copy the style of the early 15th century portraits, many artists during this time period used such techniques to enable their figures in their paintings to almost look like they're made from stone, such as an airbrushed skin texture, just like Venus. The photograph, bottom right, is called St. George, by Donatello, this has many similarities to Venus. Concluding that Botticelli used similar techniques to the statue. Throughout the 15th Century, Florence is often described as the main element in the Renaissance. Florence was Italy's most innovative and productive art center. In the early 15th century is was home to a remarkable group of artists who brought about a revolution in style and set the agenda for much of the following, Masaccio in painting, Donatello in sculpture, and Brunelleschi in architecture. For much of the early Renaissance, Rome was also a massive secondary importance, when Rome was being rebuilt many artists were attracted to come to the city. The greatest of these artists being Michelangelo and Raphael, these two artists, and Leonardo da Vinci, were responsible for creating the grand High Renaissance style, examples of their work shown to the right.
The School Of Athens
Raphael 1511 High Renaissance Work/Florentine Renaissance 500 cm Ă— 770 cm (200 in Ă— 300 in) Like Botticelli, Raphael uses similar techniques within his work conveying symbolism within the Italian Renaissance period.
Raphael – The School of Athens 1511, High Renaissance The School of Athens is a painting that crosses both the Renaissance in Florence and the high Renaissance in Rome. The painting represents all the greatest mathematicians, philosophers and scientists gathered together sharing their ideas and learning from each other. These figures all lived at different times, but here they are gathered together under one roof. The figures all hold attributes, or symbols to represent their characters.
The two thinkers in the very centre, Aristotle (on the right) and Plato (on the left, pointing up) have been enormously important to Western thinking generally, and in different ways, their different philosophies were incorporated into Christianity. Plato points up because in his philosophy the changing world that we see around us is just a symbol of a higher reality that is eternal and not changing. Plato holds his book called the Timaeus. Aristotle holds his hand down, because in his philosophy, the only reality is the one that we can see and experience by sight and touch, his gestures symbolise that. Aristotle's Ethics, being the book that he is holding "emphasized the relationships, justice, friendship, and government of the human world and the need to study it."
Pythagoras (upper right) believed that the world operated according to mathematical laws. These mathematical laws symbolise the ideas of musical and cosmic harmony, and to God. Pythagoras taught that each of the planets produced a note as it moved, based on its distance from the earth. Together, the movement of all the planets was perfect harmony, known as "the harmony of the spheres." Ptolemy (he has his back to us on the lower left), holds a sphere of the earth, next to him is Zoroaster who holds a celestial sphere. Ptolemy tried to mathematically explain the movements of the planets. His theory of how they all moved around the earth remained the authority until Copernicus and Kepler figured out (in the late 16th century) that the earth was not at the center of the universe, and that the planets moved in orbits the shape of ellipses not in circles. Raphael included a self-portrait of himself, standing next to Ptolemy. He looks right out at us. This is to symbolise himself with the great figures within this painting.
Venus of Urbino Titian
1538 Oil on Canvas 119 cm × 165 cm (47 in × 65 in) Many artists within he Renaissance period looked to paint Venus. As well as Botticelli, Titian took on a similar perspective of painting symbols within Venus – centering her within the painting. However including many symbols around her.
Venus of Urbino - Italian Renaissance - Titian - 1538 Venus of Urbino is one of the most celebrated of Titian's work. A young woman staring frankly at the beholder painting her, she is naked except from her jewelry, symbolising wealth and power, she is seen only wearing a ring, a bracelet and earrings. The roses in her hand allude not only to the Goddess of Venus but the constant of love. Titians technique earned a reputation for extending the expressive effects of oil painting – especially in his later paintings. He uses thick paint for the effect he gained, the broad areas of colour are offset by crisp details, it is a technique that helps to construct all the picture space. Titian has created a balanced composition dominated by two diagonal lines, which I have added in to the right. One is formed by Venus and the other by the two maids. Together they create a dynamic cross-like composition. The maids in the background have an important role, counteracting Venus and making her appear the main element of the painting although there are other figures. Similar to this the dog on the right counterbalances the strong point of interest caused by Venus's face and pose on the left. Venus's face also stands out from the dark of the background due to the darkness of the curtain just behind her. The darkness of the curtain is also balanced by the light sheet in the bottom right corner.
Titian's flesh tones catch the viewers eye, due to the smooth pale tones with that realistic feel to them. The soft white highlights to the rose coloured leg shadow tones symbolise a sensuous allure to the body.
The story of this nude figure has been debated over the centuries. Roses and the tree were traditional attributes of Venus. The maids in the background that are keeping themselves busy with the subject's clothes suggests the temporary nakedness of a mortal rather than the ideal nudity of a goddess. The two maids add a lot of mystery to this painting, they're seen to be taking clothes out of a bridal chest. Such chests of these were often painted with erotic scenes similar to this painting. Critics see this painting as an allegory of martial love have suggested that the maids are involved in their mistresses (Venus) nuptial preparations. Venus is shown to be staring straight at the viewer, with somewhat of a blank expression. This could symbolise danger. She seems very unconcerned with her nudity, she seems to challenge others, rather than be challenged by. Her face has been painted beautifully, showing depth and tone in the right places, the skin of her face seems to be darker than that of her body, suggesting a light contour across the cheek bones, however she seems as if she is completely bare faced, revealing her whole persona, not being covered up at all by make up or clothes. Venus is shown to be holding roses, these roses are associated with Venus in all paintings, as she is the Goddess of Love. These roses hold a strong deep red colour and a strong tonal contrast. This same colour is repeated in the mattress and in the maid's dress. Love being symbolised more than once in the painting. Venus's chestnut hair defined in individual strands shimmer in the light, falling very seductively over her shoulders, the hair and the roses create a very erotic charge to the entire painting. The detail in these elements also creates an overall very impressive look and feel to the entire painting, thus symbolising great wealth.
Masaccio The Trinity 1425 Fresco
667 cm × 317 cm (263 in × 125 in) Santa Maria Novella, Florence
I am now going on to analyse this painting as it holds similar aspects within it to Venus of Urbino. These include the composition into the geometric element. This painting is seen to have two sections to it – on ground, also underground, where the corpse is presented. This is similar to Titians' work as that included four sub sections, where the painting was broken up. This painting also holds many aspects of symbolism similar to the other paintings I have analysed. This painting, as well as Primavera by Botticelli – are also good examples of work within the early Italian Renaissance, however, I will focus on the symbolism element of this painting.
Masaccio – The Trinity (1401 - 1428) This painting shows the Christian Holy Trinity of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Masaccio's interpretation shows how medieval ideas are starting to give way to new ways of thinking and seeing. This painting shows a great deal of symbolism. This painting offers an illusion of a vaulted ceiling that has been precisely calculated according to mathematical rules of perspective. The intricate grid lines under the plaster can still be seen. This shows new optimism as God the Father is shown supporting the dead body of Christ as if to raise him up, to deny death and prove existence of an afterlife and rebirth. This new optimism contrasts with the old gloomy depressing dominance of death. Within this painting there are two life like donors, positioned to the bottom right and left. The kneeling figures are assumed to be Lorenzo Lenzi and his wife. Although they are placed low down in the painting, suggesting they are lower down on the hierarchy of people within this painting, they are still perceived at the same scale showing some equality. Their lifelike presence shows the view of a man's position in the hierarchy, right at the top in the centre, with the world around him.
Masaccio had modelled the donor's robes with light to symbolise solidarity and weight rather than defining their shape with a flat outline. Their gestures and facial expressions seem very serious and stern and closely observed, reflecting the overall atmosphere of the painting.
The setting is based on a study of the classical buildings of Rome, during the Renaissance and shows the interest the artist had of antiquity. Whilst also showing great wealth in the actual surroundings of the painting. Masaccio's work was presented on a two dimensional canvas however, due to the sophisticated manor of his work. His mastery of foreshortening is also evident in this painting. This work has been described as "a barrel vault drawn in perspective, divided into squares with rosettes that diminish and which are foreshortened so well that there seems to be a hole in the wall" this suggests that his work in creating a three dimensional piece of work was successful and very effective. The dove represents the Holy Spirit within this artwork. Masaccio's modern interpretation of the Trinity makes the great mystery more humanly accessible in a world where intellectual and emotional relationships were changing rapidly. This could perhaps be why the dove is seen to be flying just above the dead body of Christ, representing the Holy Spirit taking his body. At the bottom of this painting, there is the remains of a corpse that has been decaying over time, this has great relevance in this painting due to the body of Christ being taken by death. Behind the corpse, there appears to be some very faint writing on the wall, perhaps a mystery runs into what that piece of writing actually reads.
Rubens Peace and War Late Renaissance Work
1629 Oil on Canvas I will now be looking at this painting to compare symbolism within the early/mid Italian Renaissance to the end of the Italian Renaissance.
Rubens- Peace and War - 1629 Peace and war was created to prevent war against the European nations. In this piece of work, Rubens acts upon ancient Greek and Roman mythological subjects and symbols. To the far left of the painting are two women traditionally dressed as the followers of Bacchus, a fertility God. One holds a basket full of jewels and cups signifying indulgence in good wines and spirits to celebrate the good things in life. Next to them is a satyr who holds up fruit for the children and cupid is seen next to him picking up the fruits ready to enjoy, signifying the great things that life has to offer. Below lies a leopard who acts like a domestic cat playing with the vine. It's wild nature is tamed by the events taking place in this scene. It symbolizes the untamed spirit in docility and serenity. Peace is the main focus within this piece of work and is mainly represented by the person Ceres, the Goddess of the Earth. She is presented squirting milk from her breast into the mouth of Plutus, the God of wealth, represented as a child. This gesture shows that peaceful relations nurture prosperity amongst the people and that mankind can prosper socially and economically from peace. Behind Peace and Wealth is the goddess of wisdom, Minerva. She is presented as a soldier holding up a shield to ward off Mars, who is the god of War and Alecto, the fury of war. Minerva protects the scene from potential destruction that looks to break the harmony created.
To the bottom right of the image Rubens paints children as symbols of the future of mankind, as they are the ones who will benefit the most from peace. To the left of the children we see Hymen, god of marriage, who places a wreath upon the head of a girl which comes to represent the prospect of marriage and life and a worthwhile future. Rubens continues to use his signature composition as this scene lies upon a slanted horizontal plane from right to left. By creating this angle, Rubens was able to add more drama to the image and also more space amongst the figures, to create depth and tone, almost a real feel to the artwork. The viewer is first drawn to the lighted back of one of Bacchus' followers to the left, symbolizing peace. As she looks down we see the feeding Plutus and their arms directs us to the satyr. The satyrs' bold and muscular arm take us to the fruit, whose vines point to the playing leopard. This creates a circular viewing process. To achieve the rich narrative and dramatic effect present, Rubens uses the most sumptuous colours available. An abundance of rich reds, deep browns, golds and greens are used to create the various textures and fabrics to define emotions within the characters present. Rubens' choice of colours results in a harmonious piece of work that is highly sophisticated. Furthermore, it is evidence of the artist adopting a new technique by using a bold color palette to define depth, volume and natural flow.
Fragonard The Swing 1767 Late Renaissance Period Oil on Canvas 81 cm × 64.2 cm ( 31 7⁄8 in × 25 1⁄4 in) I will now be analysing this painting as similarly to the last, it was painted within the late Renaissance period and includes many symbols within it.
Fragonard – The Swing - 1767 This painting is a fine example of symbolism in an example of Frangonard's work as an independent artist. The theme is playful; a young woman is shown kicking off her shoe in abandon while her lover watches, concealed by the bushes beneath her. The sunlight was mastered by the pleasing effect of dappled sunlight, illuminating many areas within this painting. This emphasises a seductive style within this painting with emphasis on the lady's youthful beauty and virtuoso handling of dapped light. Frangonard's technique and versatility enabled him to master a variety of different styles of work. Usually, he would use the technique of rapid, fluid brushwork, but in this piece of work he has chosen to paint in unusually fine detail, perhaps influenced by the 17th century Dutch masters. These trees painted are said to owe more to the artists upbringing and memories of childhood and student years rather than the perception of nature. Frangonard was raised in the flower filled region of Grasse – being the center of the perfume industry. These trees also show great signs of sophisticated professional brushwork, as do the bushes. The slipper flying through the air after being kicked off by the lady is a brilliant touch, adding a focus of visual attention and also sums up the playfulness of the subject.
Rococo in the 17th century Rococo, less commonly Roccoco, or "Late Baroque", is an early to late 18th century French artistic movement and style. Fragonard incorporated this in his work. Artists tended to use a more florid, and graceful approach to the Baroque. Their style was delicate and used light colours, asymmetrical designs, curves, and gold. However, unlike the political Baroque, the Rococo had playful and witty themes. The interior decoration of Rococo rooms was designed as a total work of art with elegant and ornate furniture, small sculptures, ornamental mirrors, and tapestry complementing architecture, reliefs, and wall paintings. To the right is an image of the typical Rococo architecture. The two paintings below are Rococo paintings, they are both similar in the fact that they both stick to the same colour scheme, mostly greens and deep browns, creating an elegant effect. The first painting also has a playful and witty theme, however the second painting seems a lot more serious, less similar to the Rococo design.
The stone statue of Cupid catches the sunlight and seems to have come alive due to this. He is shown to be raising a finger up to his lips as if to warn us of the forbidden secret of the baron hidden in the bushes. Just below Cupid situates the three graces appearing as a classical relief. In Greek mythology, the Graces were attendants of Venus herself, the Goddess of love. Fragonard is half hiding them, as if to emphasize his lack of interest in the art of classical antiquity. The Baron de St. Julien has provided very specific details for the painting. Indicating his misstress he says "Place me in a position where I can observe the legs of that charming girl" this highlights the humor element behind this piece of work. Fragonard enjoyed adding hidden details to his pieces of work, these details wittily develop the theme of love. The two embracing putti that ride a dolphin are easy to see, but the lap dog beneath them is a lot less easy to find. The luxuriant curves of the dress, the delicate pastel colours, and the theme of youthful love are essential characteristics of the Rococo style, which deliberately appealed more to the eye than the intellect. Fragonard has portrayed the females unsuspecting of what is going on with her husband in deep shadow in the background, whereas a shaft of bright sunlight illuminates the flushed face of the baron. Nevertheless, it is the husband who manipulates the swing, propelling it towards his rival.
William Hogarth Marriage A La Mode
Rococo Style Painting A Series of 6 Paintings, however I will be focusing on the marriage element and the symbols within it. This is also due to the fact that this painting also holds Rococo symbols. Artists tended to use a more florid, and graceful approach to the Baroque. Their style was delicate and used light colours, asymmetrical designs, curves, and gold, which is included in this painting.
William Hogarth – Marriage A La Mode Marriage A La Mode is taken from a series of six pieces of work painted by William Hogarth between 1743-1745 conveying a piece of upper class 18th century society. This moralistic warning shows the disastrous results of an illconsidered marriage for money and satirises patronage and aesthetics. The paintings are exhibited in the National Gallery, London. To the bottom of the slide are the other five elements of the six set piece of work. They are all painted in a similar manor, similar colour schemes and from a distance, all look very similar. Definitely showing that these six paintings are all from what looks like the same event and building. The element of these series of work that stands out the most to me is number two, the Tete a Tete, due to the amount of symbolism within.
This painting translates to Shortly after the Marriage, conveying what looks like to be a scene of panic. Within this image are signs that the marriage has already begun to break down. The husbands and wife's posture and expression suggest that they are already no longer interested in one another, amidst evidence of their separate overindulgences the night before. A small dog, which could be seen to convey commitment, contradicting the mood of the painting, finds another lady's cap in the husband's coat pocket, indicating his adulterous ventures the previous night before. A broken sword at the husbands feet also shows that he may have been in a fight, perhaps with his wife the night before, which is why he ventured out with another woman. Unfaithfulness is also portrayed by the wife, with her posture. This is due to the way she is sat, looking open, just like she treated her relationship.
As Hogarth once noted: "A lock of hair falling thus cross the temples ... has an effect too alluring to be strictly decent, as is very well known to the loose and lowest class of women." This shows also how he has painted the wife, not decent and very loose and open, therefore a lower class woman for cheating on her husband, also explaining his anger within the painting. The disarray of the house and the servant holding a stack of unpaid bills shows that the affairs of the household are a mess. Just like their newly married relationship.
I now intend to further develop my exploration into the topic by creating an exhibition focusing on pieces of work involving symbolism. I also intend to further my information of the 15th century and analyze many pieces of artwork from that time period, including that from the Italian Renaissance. I intend to create my own movie style poster with my own technique and develop my knowledge of fonts to include within my design. ​
These art exhibition posters are all inspiration to me because they're all very effective, they are all very bold, get the point across in one quick glance, and use short and snappy techniques. Most of the posters also involve a bold title in the middle of the poster, which stands out from the background. The fonts are used in colours that also contradict the background colour and therefore stand out easily. Many images on these posters are also overlapping, which gives a more modern and professional technique to the poster. The background of overlapping images also include relevant pictures in order to draw the viewer in, the important information is also included in a professional manor such as the dates and times and also the whole topic of the exhibition. When creating my own poster I will make sure to include many of these elements in order to create a successful exhibition poster.
As I'm looking at popular movie posters, I notice that they all are very similar in many ways, and are also similar to art exhibition posters. The movie posters mostly all involve a full cover of either the main character/characters of the film, or something that highly represents the film, with the font overlapping the image, but not stopping the image from standing out. All of the backgrounds also usually involve something to not take the attention away from the character or title, such as smoke, light or fire etc, not things like patterns with bright colours which will draw people's attention away from the main element of the poster. When creating my art exhibition poster I will look closely to all the designs of these posters as they are similar in a way, they all use contradictory colours in the title and background to make the writing stand out, also contradictory colours in the background itself, such a blue and red next to each other.
This posters artwork illustration was created by Roy Lichenstein, his famous pop art style of work was use to promote the art of the 60s exhibition. Roy Lichenstein's graphic trends were very popular around the time period of the 1960's so he was the most relevant. His work defined the premise of pop art through parody. Inspired by the comic strip, Lichtenstein produced precise compositions that documented while they parodied. Although, in the early 1960s, Lichtenstein was often casually accused of merely copying his pictures from cartoons, his method involved some considerable alteration of the source images. The imagery chosen for the poster is also very relevant I believe due to the face that the speech bubble references a studio, similar to what the poster is advertising. I believe that the font used for the speech bubble is SEGOE UI LIGHT in capitals and italics due to the fact that it is quite tall and thin, adding a real dramatic tone to what she is thinking and the overall image. Furthermore, her hair is made out of words in small and large fonts, I believe this is also a powerful technique to use, creating that extra bit of needed detail. I intend to use aspects like this in my poster design along with the collage effect to make the most detailed design possible. I believe this image was chosen to represent an art museum due to the fact that it is very eye-catching, seeing this around would draw in people's attention due to the bright colours, the stippling used within the face and skin gives a very pop art feel to the piece of work – in which Lichenstein was famous for. Also, although the background is quite bright, the figure stands out dramatically in front of it which I think helps the overall boldness of the piece of work. I intend to create my poster in a similar way, eye catching and bold, with the correct contradicting colours, not necessarily pop art however.
To begin with in creating my initial poster design, I chose to base it around the Goddess Venus as this is the most relevant to my analyses. Firstly, I decided I wanted to remove the background of this image, to make the main focus Venus herself. To do this, I highlighted the image using the quick selection tool, when the image was highlighted I then pressed Ctrl X to remove the background. To the right is what the image looked like after the background was removed. The next step for me was to then turn the image black and white, which I did by pressing Ctrl + Alt + J. I think the black and white effect looked more professional, and the font was more likely to stand out against a monochrome image. After this I also turned the background black instead of white, then cropped the image to ensure that the main focus is the face rather than Venus's hair. I did this by selecting the background and then changing the forecolour. This was a useful step due to the fact that the font I am adding is in white, and I didn’t want it to fade into the background at all. Next, I created my word art font which allowed me to paste my own words onto the Photoshop document, I ensured that some were bigger letters and some smaller letters so it looked more professional. I then manipulated the font into one that was suitable, and changed the colour to white. The words I included were taken from one of my analysis on Venus, I included words such as innocence, perfect, beautiful, modesty and blonde, all these words relate to the Birth of Venus. In the middle of the word art I included 'Venus' in large font so that the main element of the poster is clear without actually reading any of the other smaller words.
Here is the same word art image in Photoshop, which I created a new layer for. My next step was to then drag this image across onto the layer with Venus in monochrome on. I needed more than one layer of this, so I made sure to duplicate it as many times as I needed, to the right there is a list of how many layers there were, you can also see the background layers with Venus on. Below are my final posters, I added over twelve of the word arts to overlap on the images to fill the whole poster up. Furthermore I intend to add a large bold font over the top, and a glitch also just underneath the font, to create a more sophisticated approach to my poster design. To the left is one of my final poster designs, this is my preferred one, I believe this is because I added the font around the background and the hair rather than the face – this similar to the Roy Litchenstein one I had previously looked at, this has a positive effect because it is not blocking out Venus's facial features like my other design is. This way her expression and emotion is presented and looks more professional. On the other hand my poster to the right holds mystery, due to the fact that Venus's facial expression is unknown. This poster's words are also difficult to read, due to how overlapped and overcrowded they are, and they're on a light gray background, meaning they do not stand out as much as the other posters, which are on black and dark grey.
When looking for inspiration for a second poster design, this film poster appealed to me due to the bright glitch effect in the center. Adding a bright element to the poster right in the middle draws the attention towards this image, intriguing people in with bright and bold colours like these enable more people to view the poster. In my poster design I intend to use a similar colour scheme, especially blues and reds. These are the brightest contradicting colours and stand out well against each other. This overall allows the poster to be very eye catching. The imagery of the main character behind the glitched triangle is shown in an almost monochrome effect, this is good because if colours were added into her, it would take most of the focus away from the glitch. This would be a weakness to the poster due to the fact that it would be too bright, the overall poster would be messy and not straight to the point. The title of the film, situated at the bottom of the poster, could however I believe be slightly bigger, the font is not as bold as it could be, leading to it not being able to be read from a distance. To improve this factor on my poster I will ensure that the font is big enough and bold enough to be read from a distance. The poster also doesn't include a whole lot of relevant information about the film like normal movie posters do, such as elements to expect during the film, in my poster I will ensure I add these at the bottom of the poster in a small font to not remove the attention from the main aspect. Parts of the fonts on this poster do not also stand out against the background, for example a small portion of the title at the bottom does not stand out. When creating my poster I will ensure to use the correct fonts against the backgrounds.
Firstly, I have taken the Allegory of Vanity produced in 1632 by Antonio De Pereda, and on Photoshop, I have taken an image of a glitch, my intention was to overlap these images in a way to make the Allegory of Vanity look glitches and distorted. To begin with, I added each picture onto Photoshop, each on a different layer, so if I were to click on the eye tool, one layer would disappear, and I would be left with the original image. This came In very handy when showing the process in which I created the glitched painting. Of the glitch image above, I reduced the opacity of it to 40, so it would be slightly more see-through and allow for the original image to show through quite nicely. Below my first layer, the glitch, presents the hue/saturation setting. My next step was to manipulate the saturation to make the image all over blue, this adds to the glitch effect and gives the overall image a very different look.
Without the lines the glitch looked rather blocky, like it hadn’t been blended in properly. The placement of these layers in my digital work is a key element within the image as it ensures the image looks fully touched up and professional. To create the lines over the image I duplicated the background layer which is the painting, and created another vector layer for the line work. To create the actual lines, I went to filter gallery, which there are many different effects and filters to choose from, the filter then adds to the current layer present, It does not create a separate layer for itself, which was handy in the long run. ​ Now that my image is blue, I used the eye symbol to remove the glitch so I could display the process a bit more clear. The small box to the right shows my three layers, one being just the glitch, one the saturation/hue set to blue, and the other the original painting and and layer effect that I had added to make the image appear more of a glitch, to make the image overall more put together.
​ I chose the Allegory of Vanity as my picture to distort because this painting is already a mystery to me, due to the many hidden messages within the painting which are specially unfocused on within the image, so adding the glitch effect really added to the overall mystery of this painting.
Overall I'm pleased with the turn out of this Glitch effect poster, as I believe it represents an actual glitch quite well, and you can still see the original image, and also the colours are shining through over the blue of the original glitch image, but very faintly, so they don’t overpower the whole image with colour, just a subtle hint. I believe this is very effective.
I used blue to represent the colour of the glitch as this is the most common colour, this and red, you would expect a glitch to be, I also made sure the background was still black so the whole image was not over powered blue.
This font for an art exhibition poster would be perfect, especially for my glitch effect poster, due to the font being pixelized, it fits in quite well with the whole glitched design, as it looks glitched itself. The bottom glitched font is also effective, but can be hard to interpret and read, so on my glitched poster I intend to use the top one. This font for my exhibition poster may be appropriate for my first poster design including Venus and the writing making up her background. I chose this font due to its boldness. As there is already writing over the image, a font that easily stands out is needed. This font differs from the existing fonts over the image so adds a nice effect and does not blend in. This next font however, is a similar design to that of above, however is a bit too thin for the poster I will be applying it onto. It may not stand out as much as needed or be as easy to read due to its thickness. This next font is relevant to my analysed paintings as it is named 'Renaissance' I used the website 'DaFont' to find it. It has a very old fashioned almost Italian renaissance feel to it as well meaning that it is relevant to use on my poster/booklet designs. This font is also effective due to the first letter. Any capitalised letter turns to a square image with an embellished version of the letter inside it, which was also very common during the Italian Renaissance period. The font is easy to read and is bold enough to be able to read from a distance too.
When creating my final poster design I took my inspiration from the image to the bottom right, I intended to disperse the image below of Venus, from 'The Birth of Venus' to give her a grainy effect. I will create this effect using Photoshop. I will incorporate my chosen font into the final design. I will then go on to further use the design for the front cover of my exhibition booklet. By adding this effect to Venus I am modernising the painting and making it more relevant to the 21st century, along with the 21st centurys graphic trends.
Final Poster Design
To begin with I took the painting 'The Birth of Venus' by Botticelli to use for the front of my exhibition booklet, which I will later edit in photoshop to create a water colour like effect over the center of the image, where Venus is standing.
After this, I changed the filter of the image by going to Filter in the top menu, then to 'Stylise' then finally to 'Find Edges' this reverted the colours to black and white and sharpened the edges.
I then created a new layer in which I added multiple effects to the original image to create a mosaic kind of effect. From the filter list on the right hand side, I selected 'Cut out', 'Dry Brush' and 'Palette Knife'. These three effects combined helped me to achieve that old fashioned mosaic effect that I wanted for my front cover of my booklet. As well as this I then merged this final image with the sharpened black and white layer.
Next, I added a layer on top of that image, which can be removed with the brush tool to reveal the image underneath. To the right is a screenshot of the drop down menu in brush tools, using this feature I was able to select a variety of brushes to paint over the blank screen to reveal the image in different effects. To begin with, I added the mosaic effects all at 100%, which is why the first two images below look so sharp and firmly shadowed. I believe however, the final three designs along the bottom row are more effective, as there are still elements of the original image. The brush tools I used also look more smooth and not blocky like the first two. The last design (the largest image) is the one I will be taking forward to use on the front of my booklet, this is because it smoothly transitions from the background into the artwork without any rough edges.
When creating my poster I decided to use the Birth of Venus as the image, then manipulate it further to fit my theme. I went with this image as I have previously analysed it within my work and Botticelli is a large body of my work.
To begin with, I loaded The Birth of Venus onto a photoshop document, then as the first step, I removed the background around Venus as she will be my main focal point within the poster. I did this by using the quick selection tool around Venus, I then used the select and mask feature and output to a new layer with layer mask (‘Background Copy’ Layer).
I then turned off this layer and highlighted the original layer (the background one) then added a layer mask. Next, I downloaded a brush tool in which I was going to use for my poster. I used 'broken glass' as I thought it would have a good effect. Next, I highlighted mask on ‘Background’ layer, set the foreground colour to black and with Broken Glass Brush tool, set the size to 3000 and apply brush tool over background, this erases it to look like broken glass.
I then turned back on the background copy layer – which is why Venus got covered by the glass effect. I then created a new photoshop file for the poster, A3 size as that is the size I will be painting it. I then dragged the ‘Background Copy’ and ‘Background’ layers from Original file to new Photoshop Poster file. This created the image to the left.
Ticket Designs When creating my ticket design, I took other designs of art exhibition tickets and incorporated them into my own. I used my chosen font as I believe that it fits the theme well. I included the relevant information within the ticket, keeping it short and snappy. I have just added the title, time and date to my ticket, this was it is more simplistic and fitting to my theme.
Exhibition Room Design Inspiration Before I consider creating my own exhibition room , I am doing some research into real art exhibition rooms and different elements within. When creating my exhibition design, I will ensure to keep it as minimalistic as possible, I believe this has a good effect because as the surroundings are quite basic, the pieces of art around will shine and stand out a whole lot more. The open roof in these images is also very effective I believe, because of the light shining through, in an art gallery, lighting is an important element, and natural light is the best. These images also contain spot lights for when it is dark outside. These rooms look overall very neat and tidy, clean and professional. There is also a lot of space so the area is not restricted at all. I intend to involve elements like this in my exhibition, also with bright walls and flooring. The white walls and light wooden flooring also help to remain the room in a light state. If the walls were dark, the sunlight wouldn’t have such a good effect. The paintings around the walls are laid out well too. They're the correct distance apart and at eye level. In my exhibition design this is a crucial step in creating the best room possible for the viewers. The area also looks incredibly clean and sharp, I will include this in my design also.
Wallpaper and floor ideas for my exhibition
Here are all the potential minimalistic wooden floors that I have to choose from for my exhibition, as you can see, most of them would be too dark, this is because I want to enable my artwork to stand out a lot more than anything else in the room, so I will keep wall and floor designs to a minimum, also furniture. To the right is the floor design I went with I chose this one due to the fact that it is quite light, and will keep the entire room quite bright also, which is the aim. I also think this floorboard would be effective because all the boards are not going in the same direction, so it creates a non-flat effect with the floor. If they were all just one flat colour they could run the risk of blending into the walls, creating a very tedious looking room. For the wall paper on the other hand, I wanted that flat effect, so that the paintings that are hanging on the wall stand out, and don’t fade into the background, or even clash with the bright or patterned colours of the walls. Due to that factor, all of the patterned wallpapers were completely ruled out. Instead, I was aiming towards one flat colour. Quite naturally, I opted for a white wall because I am aiming to achieve a minimalistic design for my exhibition. Any bright or even dull colours on the walls may clash with the artwork. However, I was hesitant, as I didn’t want the room to look too dull, but I thought with some bright spot lights and white walls a nice professional effect will be created.
Here I have started to create my exhibition design. To begin with all I have done is ensured the walls are grey – similar to my inspiration design, added a minimalist wooden floor, and added some doors and windows where the artwork will not hang. I have also added a small waiting room, which you enter into. Although my inspiration design did not have one of these to show, I imagined it would look like this.
Here is my completed exhibition room from a 2D perspective, I intended to stick to the design of my inspiration as much as possible. I have added benches scattered around the exhibition to break up the room a bit, so it is not just a large empty space. The two grey circles are also a sculpture of two people, my inspiration had things similar to this. I also believe that this incorporated well within my theme. I have also divided the room into sections with small dividers, in which I will be adding my chosen paintings to.
Here is the finished exhibition room but in 3D, I have intended to stick to the inspiration design as much as possible within my creation. I have however added extra things such as the spot lights to ensure the paintings stand out more on the walls. Also, glass doors between room to admit more light. My next step is to add the paintings onto the walls via Photoshop.
I added the paintings to the walls of my exhibition 3D space by using Photoshop. I added both the image of the blank exhibition and the painting to a document, then I went to 'edit', 'transform' and then 'skew' this allowed me to manipulate the edges of the paintings to make them look as though they are actually hanging on the wall. I believe that overall my design looks similar to the one I took inspiration from. I took into account many features of it, for example the oddly shaped room, with dividers in which to hang paintings. Also, including seating and architecture within the room, not just paintings.
Second Exhibition Design Inspiration When further searching for exhibition designs, this one caught my eye because it is quite different to the norm. This involves a very dark room, in which the artwork is projected onto screens, and on TVs', also, any written artwork is on the walls with LED lights shining down on it. This is a very effective room design, I will incorporate aspects like this in creating another room design, the complete opposite of the first one. The paintings will stand out due to the LED lights, and the other aspects of the room are darkened out with dimmed lights and dark floors and walls. This way the projected artwork is able to shine into the wall. The overall layout is good too, there is a lot of walking space and clear areas. The floors are tidy and clean as well. However, if I was designing this room I would ensure that there were a lot more seated facilities, as everything is spaced apart with no seats or refreshments. Another aspect I do like that I will be using in my design is the writing on the wall explaining the artwork instead of there just being artwork with no explanation. This gives an in depth explanation of the artist, their other work and the meaning behind the picture.
When creating my second exhibition design, I intended to stick similarly to the design I have previously analysed. This includes dark rooms and flooring. I have also opted for a 'octagon' shaped room so it is very different from the norm. I have also added multiple rooms within this. In the image below it is clear that I have added one room at the front of the octagon which is all white. This will become the room in which people enter first, where they can sit and wait, hang up their coats etc. I have also added all glass doors to the room, so the remaining light can travel through them, instead of there being any windows.
Although I had no inspiration for a 'waiting room' from my examples, this is how I would imagine it look. I tried to keep this room as simplistic as possible, only including eight chairs and two welcome signs as an area for people to wait in before entering the exhibition. I also added two plants either side of the room for a small amount of colour.
When you walk from the waiting room through the glass door – within my exhibition you enter into a small information room. Here I have included a round table to keep to the effect of a round room, and placed some information booklets onto it. Also, on the walls there are four information posters about the exhibition, this is similar to the room I took inspiration from. Also, four black benches against each wall.
Here is my finished exhibition room along with the paintings placed on the walls. I did this again on Photoshop, by going to 'Edit', 'Transform' and then 'Skew' in the same technique as before. I have also added spotlights as I noted that my inspiration exhibition included LED lights upon each painting, to enable it to stand out on the dark wall.
Booklet Analysis Cover This booklet cover inspired me when creating my own booklet for my exhibition. I really like the nine image collage. I will incorporate this into my design by instead of putting the pictures presented here, I will put the paintings that I have analysed previously, that are also in my exhibition and booklet. I will also include the relevant information in a white box so that it stands out against the background, this will include the title 'Symbols Within', in my chosen Renaissance font, the date of the exhibition and the National Gallery logo – this is to keep the amount of information minimal, as most of it is on the ticket/poster. In terms of the background, I will opt for a black and white (to not contradict the paintings in the squares) mosaic design, that links well to my overall theme and is more exciting to the viewers than a basic grey.
Here is my finished booklet front cover design, I kept my design quite similar to the one I took for inspiration, however, I incorporated more factors within it to make it a bit more exciting. Such as the mosaic background, which is similar in a way to my poster design (the background of the Birth of Venus). I also like the way that the paintings turned out, all symmetrical and fit my theme perfectly.
Booklet Pages Analysis Within my booklet design in and outside of the book, I intend to keep the design to the plain side and quite minimalistic so that it reflects the design of my exhibition. I intend to stick to a white clean looking theme, so that the writing and the paintings stand out well, and the background does not clash. However, I do intend to use interesting intriguing fonts to keep the viewer interested, while including interesting and relevant information about the artist also. I intend to add a border around the text like the image to the right. This breaks up the page a little so that it is not just block writing. I intend to add the grey mosaic background that I used for my front cover of the booklet. This helps keep the booklet simple and professional looking. The writing will also stand out well against the plain white box I will add over the background. In the text I will include all the relevant information about the painting that I am presenting.