Death Intention For my personal investigation I plan on studying artworks that are concerned with the theme of death. My ultimate aim is to create and design promotional material for an exhibition on this theme and I plan on creating a poster, a booklet and designs for the display.
For my personal investigation I have decided to look paintings that contain the theme of death. I have curated examples of Death within artwork in various artistic eras. From this I have learnt that Death and it's interpretations plays a big role within the artistic world, as there were an abundance of examples to pick from some centered primarily towards Death and explored it throw their art work whilst others used it to extenuate their work. Throughout this project I have explored many artistic styles, such as, The Enlightenment era, Mannerism, Baroque and more, which have all incorporated botany within their work. Within the first section I will be presenting and analysing artists and their artwork that I have chosen, whilst directly assessing their use of botany in their work.
Allegory of Vanity Antonio de Pereda 1632/1636
My first example is an allegory which heavily features death as its theme, this depiction is classical yet unique.
Pereda and the Spanish Court Pereda visually elevates these seemingly insignificant objects, arranging them on a slightly tilted table so that they appear to tower over the viewer, while theatrical lighting adds drama to the scene. The table is covered with a red velvet cloth, a colour associated with the monarchy and a staple of royal portraiture at the Spanish court, as well as blood and passion. Together, this contributes to the visual glorification of these objects, and by implication, of the social custom they illustrate. In the seventeenth century still life paintings were among the most exciting genres of painting. Known to have existed in antiquity only through written descriptions, the painting of fruits, vegetables, and other inanimate objects appeared new and fresh to artists and audiences of the seventeenth century, accustomed, as they were, to paintings that portrayed edifying narratives based on the human figure. One of these paintings was by Steenwyck and is titled the Vanity of Human Life. In order to contextualize the Pereda image I feel it is necessary to analyze this one next. Italian still life painting is based on an aesthetic of natura in posa (nature suspended). Occasionally created to show the artists skill, and or to create symbolic meanings by including objects that reference the transience of human life. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ monarchy-enlightenment/baroqueart1/spain/a/a-still-life-of-global-dimensionsantonio-de-peredas-still-life-with-ebonychest
Pereda separates the skulls with amour and guns on one side of a table compared to the gold, pearls, and money on the other side. Suggesting, that in death you cannot take materialistic items with you. Comparatively, the aesthetical difference between the two tables is also significant; for example, the table that holds the skulls is a simple wooden slab that appears worn down and chipped, compared to the other that is a royal red with gold detailing in the corner, which juxtapose with each other but represent what they hold. The colour pallet of the painting is homogeneous signifying that that possessions, although carrying varying value possess the same pricelessness. The painting is highlighted from an unseen light source from the top left, suggesting an omnipotent and Godly figure to the painting coupled with the angel figure which set the Biblical tone of the painting. Pereda uses the unrealistic lighting to highlight the object in the foreground making them the centre of the painting and allow the audience to decipher the meanings and metaphor's the artist is attempting to convey. Additionally the lighting also adds to a sense of loneliness, dread and isolation as the background is completely black and empty, and we as viewers are unsure of what awaits. Vanitas depicts a message of mortality that reminds the audience of the fragility of human life and the inevitability of death.
During the period of this painting wealth was a highly important thing to acquire and maintain as the Spanish economy was in decline due to it relying heavily of its export of merino wool, and tension between the upper and lower class who believed that the upper classes were exempt from paying taxes. The economic and social situation in Spain could have triggered Pereda to use wealth and vanity as a symbolism through his painting.
The hourglass is also a very notable figure in the painting as the sand sits at the bottom it, signifying that time has ran out and there is none left, consequently death awaits.
'Vanitas' is an Italian word for vanity which philosophically translates to the redundancies of life on earth and the importance of all physical and emotional aspects of life. The unlit candles could be interpretted in several ways one being a metaphor for death as the light is gone, or the passing of life and time which interwinds with the theme of death as it is situated on the table with the skulls. Additionally, the skulls are a very blunt and blatant depiction of death, noticeably the number of skulls is reminiscent of the number of heads and portraits on the opposite table.
http://laurathomsonart.weebly.com/uploads/5/0 /3/9/50394073/student5comparativestudy.pdf
In Ictu Oculi (In the twinkling of an Eye) ValdĂŠs Leal 1637
In continuation of death, I have chosen another painting that uses allegory within the theme of death.
In 1663 the Sevillian nobleman was named Hermano Mayor de la Santa Caridad - a charitable brotherhood and put all his efforts into concluding the work on the brotherhood's new church which had begun in 1647. He contracted the best artists of the time which included Valdes Leal. The iconographic programme began with a reflection on the brevity of life and the triumph of death. ValdĂŠs Leal was entrusted with painting these images. The paintings were executed for the lower choir of the Sevillian church of Caridad and can still be seen in their original location today.
The lower part of the painting shows an array of objects that represent vain pleasures and earthly materials. Holy and pastoral glories are unable to escape death. Which is why we see the staff, mitre and cardinal's hat all appear. Nor royal nobility represented by the crown, sceptre and Golden Fleece is inescapable either. In death everyone is equal as indicated by death stepping on the globe. Wisdom, wealth or war is not used to escape death. The baroque "vanitas" philosophy is represented impeccably. The painting is finished off with a semi-circular arch and follows a triangular compositional pattern that contains a large number of diagonals which give the scene greater rhythm.
The semi-dark background creates a more dramatic and symbolic effect as it suggests that death emerges from the shadows and advances towards the spectator. The contrast between the black of the background and the vivid colouring of the objects and fabrics also has an allegorical meaning. As a result of such works ValdĂŠs Leal is famous for being a painter of death, a fame which he does not deserve as he was only complying with the client's demands, creating a visually and spiritually striking image.
Similar to Antonio de Pereda's Allegory of Vanity, Valdes Leal creates a vanitas to judge the vanity and wealth. In Ictus Oculi is a painting that addresses the subject of how one is judged after death.
The skeleton stands over the coffin almost trying to gain the audience's attention to the array of materials that lay inside the coffin solidifying the skeleton as the central character; on the floor lies an open coffin and symbols of wealth and power. The skeleton could also be seen as a 'grim reaper'. It is seen extinguishes a candle which represents life furthering the connotation. Above the taper is written the Latin motto.
A volume of Rubens' designs for Antwerp's triumphal arches for the 1634 reception of the new Spanish governor, Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand, stands as a symbol of political disillusionment. The other painting of the pair is Finis Gloriae Mundi, "End of worldly glory," which depicts a dead bishop and a knight. Even religious figures such as the arch bishop are not exempt from death and judgement as Leal depicts the tattered remains of the Arch bishop suit and cane. The phrase In ictu oculi is a Latin expression meaning in the blink of an eye. Leal could be suggesting that death comes unexpectedly in a blink of an eye. The lighting speed with which death arrives to extinguish life which is represented by the candle. The arrangement of the garment signifies the unimportance of material gain and objects as they are carelessly arranged around the mocking skeleton.
Baroque Baroque art is most notably associated with the Catholic Counter-Reformation in Rome during 16301680. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism, but preceded Rococo often referred to as late Baroque and Neoclassical styles. The Catholic Church encouraged as a form to contrast the simplicity and austerity of Protestant art. Despite originating in Rome Baroque was influential throughout European art and architecture. Baroque style used contrast, movement, exuberant detail, deep colour, grandeur and surprise to achieve a sense of awe.
During the 17th century France became the most powerful state in Europe and bean to rival Italy for artistic leadership. Whereas in Italy the most characteristic Baroque art was religious, in France it was used in the service of the state – specifically to glorify King Louis XIV. His palace at Versailles is one of the great monuments of style. The two most illustrious French painters of the century – Claude and Nicholas Poussin worked mainly in Rome, but they were highly influential in France, helping to create an ideal of classical dignity and restraint that had a profound and enduring impact on the country's art.
Although it declined greatly in political power, Spain had a glorious flowering of art in the 17th century and the Baroque style was well suited to the religious fervor of the country. Religion dominated its art, although the greatest Spanish artist of the time, Diego Velazquez was primarily a portraitist. His work sometimes has a rhetorical ---
An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life Harmen Steenwijck
To continue the theme of allegory's and death I have selected an additional vanitas painting to analyse.
This painting, similarly, to Pereda's Allegory of Vanity, combines many object's holding implicit connotations in order to portray an allegorical meaning to the viewer. The Dutch Vanitas still life symbolises memento mori; how vain and insignificant human concerns are and therefore how important it is to God . The term comes from the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity."
Still life began to become an art form in itself during the 16th century but becomes important in the Netherlands in the 17 th Century. A non-religious image, with highly detailed realism and the possibilities for layers of symbolism. So, a Vanitas painting urges us to reflect on the inevitability of death, the futility of worldly ambition especially accumulating riches, knowledge and power. In some ways it can be seen as an expression of a society that had achieved great affluence but found this spiritually wanting. The purpose of this Vanitas, Is that we are meant to reflect on the inevitability of death, the futility of worldly ambitions especially accumulating riches, knowledge, power.
The light effectively focuses on the objects arranged on the table. This light comes from an unknown and unseen source within the painting, and is sufficient in highlighting the objects well, focusing on the intricate details of the objects. The lighting comes from only one aspect of the painting leaves darkness around the painting, this creates a dramatic tone, which are chiaroscuro.
At first glance the objects appear to be an odd array of materialistic items, but once examined they hold symbolic meanings of time and death. The placement of the book represents human knowledge, the book is unsealed and has probably been used therefore making it invaluable, this signifies the uselessness of human knowledge is if it is not of the Biblical God. The several musical instruments for instance, the recorder, part of a shawm, and a lute are seen in the mid-ground embody the pleasure of senses. The Japanese sword and shell are contrasting placement's as they would not be native to the Netherlands or the surrounding era this highlight's the period of the painting as this knowledge of other cultures was due to the Dutch golden age. Additionally, they are both collector rarities and a symbol of wealth. The sword alludes the theme of war, indicating that war is trivial. The shell could signify the 'shell' of the human body this is made more poignant by the emptiness of it suggesting that human life is empty and devoid of meaning and the emptiness of human life. The skull is the main focus of the painting dominating it. It is highlighted most by the light and is in the foreground of the painting, looking directing at the viewer, a horrifying memento mori of death.
Following on from the Dutch golden age 17 th century vanitas painting I have decided to look at the anatomy of Dr Tulp by Rembrandt as it shows how science was progressing during this time.
Rembrandt The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp 1632
The Dutch Golden Age The anatomy of Dr Tulp was painted during the Dutch Golden age. The Dutch Golden Age took place during the 17th Century, which were the Dutch Republic period of great wealth. The Netherlands in the 17th century became socially progressive in social classes, and the religious tolerance comparatively to other western countries during this period. Since the beginning of the Dutch Republic in 1581, the Netherlands experienced the emergence of a national and cultural identity, of which, religious freedom and open trade were highly valued, which was also known as the Dutch Golden Age. This enlightenment period opened new markets as well as birthed a new class; who had not only developed a taste for secular desires (such as knowledge, music, and art) and worldly goods (like paintings, books, and the exotic), but, more importantly, a class that had a growth in disposable wealth and had the purchasing power to pursue desires and consume and collect material goods. It was in this economy and under this culture that Dutch artists and Dutch scientists were able to experiment and flourish without papal condemnation and financial poverty. It had been driven by the new independence from Spanish Catholic Rule. This departure from Spanish Catholicism also effected art; instead of the Catholic grandeur, newly independent Dutch art emphasized on ordinary life and realistic treatment's, some scholars refer to Dutch Golden Age painting and artworks as Dutch Realism. Still life became the most popular, it was used to imaginably express both objects of beauty and the emerging philosophical climate of the era through carefully and deliberately placed arrangement's and grouping. Still life developed into a numerous subtypes such as the most popular floral still life, presented with scientific accuracy.
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp by Rembrandt was commissioned by the Amsterdam Guild of Surgeons during the time Dr. Tulp held the office of Praelector in Anatomy. Dr. Tulp, a well-known civic leader and anatomist, was also in charge of apprenticing surgeons. Most of those portrayed watching the dissection paid to be in it. This was to help offset the cost of Rembrandt as he was quickly becoming a highly sought-after artist. According to records, two of the onlookers in the painting were actual surgeons, while the rest were influential people of the area.
Anatomy lesson's where a very highly regarded public occasion which would be displayed and gawked at in a similar manner to theater. Rembrandt is depicting a common social occurrence within Netherlands society. They were originally aimed for students for educational purposes, the annual event became a staple of the Dutch Republic social life. The anatomic theaters annually grew in size to better accommodate the important guests. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC 4746154/
The corpse in Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp gives the painting a more macabre feeling. The body being dissected is that of Aris Klindt (an alias for Adriaan Adriaanszoon), an armed robber sentenced to death by hanging. A public dissection was only a yearly event, and all bodies being dissected were that of criminals. Due to the lack of proper refrigeration, the event solely took place in the winter, when temperatures would help to preserve the corpse for the several days. In Rembrandt’s painting, the hands and feet are easily seen and there is no care taken to respect the deceased, with exception to a cloth laid over the genitalia. Gazing at the over-emphasized enlarged arm allows one to reflect on the gruesome nature of the act at hand.
Rembrandt immaculately captures every detail of the gathering even down to shadows and highlights from an unknown light out of frame. This create a more three-dimensional feel to the painting. The figure appear to be almost jumping out of the frame with their quite, yet fascinating expression's. The dark interior camouflaged with the dark clothes of the onlookers make the lighter colours and hues poignant within the painting, most notably the ghastly pale complexion of the dead man lying in the center. However, with the positioning of the patient, the audience almost dehumanise the patient as simply another object within the painting, with his head slightly cut off. Despite, being Rembrant first painting it perfectly capture his signature use of lighting that he is most notable of, dramatically capturing every person with the painting. The umbra motis or shadow of death fills the center of the canvas. Rembrant innovatively transforms group portraiture by focusing on the event in mid action, instead of a posed scene, therefore the work becomes a mise-en-scene.
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/dutch-golden-age/ https://hekint.org/2017/01/22/rembrandt-the-anatomy-lesson-of-dr-nicolaes-tulp/
The foreground of the painting is dark in the corner's and outer layer but light in the center Rembrandt creates a circular vignette that places the multiple observes in the middle as the main characters in the painting helping to highlight and individualize those that could easily be forgotten and crowded if this was any other painter. The white collars that line around the men's neck's also serve to highlighting, individualize and further define each onlooker within the painting. However, the white collar's around their necks also indicate their wealth and statue's this compared to the probable lower class of the corpse of the man executed for armed robbery, show the class divide in this new Dutch Renaissance.
Joseph Wright of Derby: ‘Experiment on a Bird in an Air Pump’, 1768 To continue in the theme of Science experiments I am analysing a painting that also was created during and enlightenment period similar to the Dutch Golden age in a society that began more secular.
The Enlightenment In Britain For this new period came a new wave of art that became known as Neoclassicim, before this was the dominant artistic style; Rococo, which was quickly shunned and demeaned immoral, indecent and indulgent to make way for the new wave of artistic style and social norms and ideas. Neoclassicism is characterized by clarity of form, sober colours, shallow space and strong horizontals, a far cry from its predecessor Rococo. It depicts classical subject matter or classicizes contemporary subject matter. They believe that strong drawings are rational, therefore morally superior and art should be cerebral not sensual.
The Enlightenment period lasted from around 1650 to 1800 and is also known as the Age of Reason, it was a movement that began during the 18th century in European and American colonies. They sought to reform society using the power of reason and promote, science, reason and intellectual exchange. This idea of advancing knowledge with reason was a response to new technology, globalization and the ability to exchange information easily from mass printing.
Experiment on a Bird in an Air Pump by Joseph Wright of Derby is his most well renowned works of art. The painting depicts a travelling scientist demonstrating an experiment on a bird to what appears to be a family. The bird will die if the demonstrator continues to deprive it of oxygen, and Wright leaves us in doubt as to whether the cockatoo will be reprieved. An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump reveals a wide range of individual reactions, from the frightened children, through the reflective philosopher, the excited interest of the youngest on the left, to the distant young lovers transfixed with each other. The central figure breaks the fourth wall of the picture as an attempt to invite the spectator's participation the within the painting. This breaking of the fourth wall is unique. Wright is transgressive and unique in his artistic style, which has yet to be imitated in such close similarity. The central lit scene is a device used by Wright in what he called his ‘Candle pictures’. In addition very many of his pictures use as focal points depictions of active volcanoes, furnaces, kilns, alchemist’s fires, as well as central lighting of the Christian Nativity. The painting could be described as gothic due to overall dramatic effect from the contrast of bright light in a darkened room. The light is situated at the center and carefully highlight’s the expressions of the subject’s in the painting. To add to the gothic element is the complimentary light from the moon lit sky, that is desperately trying to be covered by the young boy. Wright made this a candle and moonlit scene, setting the whole event in dramatic chiaroscuro.
The painting could be thought of as a vanitas, referring to the passing of life signified by the cockatoo and the skull in the candle-lit receptacle.
Another important detail about this painting, is the pyramid shape Wright creates with the characters within the painting. This pyramid is a significant part of the painting that can be easily missed at just a surface look however, it is an important aspect of the meaning behind the painting. For example have the scientist at the top of the scale could show that science is at the best and most influential it has ever been during this period. The painting is also seen as a historical documentation for the cultural influences of the era it was composed in. The placement of the old man in the bottom right corner becomes significant as he contemplates death compared to the positioning of the scientist. What will happen to his soul and body after death.
The dove is the centre of the painting both within the composition and metaphorically. The white dove is seen as a representative of the biblical holy ghost. This biblical connotation is referring to the death of biblical dogma during this period due to the enlightenment era in Britain. It is the visual representation to the death and control of religion. In this moment, the scientist must decide between life and death, a decision which classically belongs to God alone. What Wright created from this experience draws the viewer in, making them feel like a witness to this experiment, but this drama is the product of great unique artistic license coupled with careful observation of nature and a great respect for art history. Wright immaculately captures the depths between the light and dark in candle lit scene’s in rich contrast. He skilfully uses chiaroscuro and dramatic tenebrism, in this painting in particular Wright uses and extensive array of red’s which can connate to the theme of life and death and have a horror element.
From the corner right hand side we see an Old man looking pensful at the skull situated inside the water glass. Wright place's this man in this position for a reason. The one of the painting is the struggle religion and science, Wright choice of characters within the painting which could be a metaphor questioning his time on earth death and were death will take him. The human skull in the large glass bowl and the candle are believed to constitute a memento mori (a reminder of death), a motif commonly used in Vanitas painting to highlight the transient nature of earthly concerns, compared to the eternal nature of Christian values.
https://allenfisher.edublogs.org/files /2018/02/Wright- Experiment-on-a-Bird-in-the-Air-Pump-analysesand-notes-24qt5bt-1wtqm7p.pdf
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/experiment-on-a-bird-in-the-air-pump.h
Joseph Wright of Derby Derby was an important manufacturing centre that was actively engaged in current intellectual and scientific pursuits. Wright played his part in both spheres. In the mid-1760s he joined a group that came to be known as the Lunar Society. At monthly meetings on the Monday nearest to the full moon, members witnessed and discussed scientific experiments involving astronomy, chemistry, electricity, and medicine. The group included Josiah Wedgwood, the pottery manufacturer; James Watt, the engineer who made fundamental improvements to the steam engine; Dr. Erasmus Darwin, physician, poet, and Charles Darwin's grandfather; and Joseph Priestly, famous chemist, clergyman, and political theorist. During the 1760s he started painting candlelit scenes rich in contrast between bright light and dark shadows, he became well-known for his paintings depicting scientific experiments attended by awe-struck observers. In his skillful use of chiaroscuro and dramatic tenebrism, he was greatly influenced by the works of Caravaggio and the style of Caravaggism which he introduced. Other notable influences included Dutch painting of the 17th century, especially the Dutch Realism of Rembrandt and others.
The two previous paintings address the separation of divide towards Catholicism within society. To follow the theme of drawing away from God I have decided to study‌
Fallen Angel
by Alexandre
Cabanel 1868
The Fallen Angel (1847) by Cabanel is a personal, late romantic masterpiece inspired by Milton's paradise lost. It depicts a nude fallen angel laying in anger as the bourgeoise angels hover over him at a distance. The contrast between the fallen angel and the angels flying over is highlighted by the clothes or lack thereof. The fallen angel has been stripped of material items and is punished and humiliated by his nakedness. The pose is rebellious and sulkier than constrained. His head is raised, we see that tear in his right eye, but the eyes themselves are smoldering with quiet rage at the audience and the clasped, joined hands, the raised elbows suggest the fight isn't over. His iridescent, lustrous, elegantly-flowing feathered wings are magnificent. He's ready for take-off. The angels hover above him in a judgmental tone so demurely and fully covered in beautiful cloth in comparison to Lucifer's beautifully naked physique. //His nakedness is a shunning of his sin’s, similar to that of Adam and Eve being stripped naked after eating the apple are stripped naked. Cabanel appears to be continuing the biblical punishment of one’s sins. They recoil like outraged angelic bourgeoisie as if from the negative energy he creates as he clasps his fingers together, presumably trying to get his wings ready for action again and escape from the barren rocks and the sharp thorns amongst which, fatefully, he has fallen.//
Cabanel was inspired by John Milton's epic poem 'Paradise Lost'. The 'Fallen Angel' is also biblically known as Lucifer, which means "the morning star, the bringer of dawn". Milton describes Lucifer's fall from grace beautifully From morn/ To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve,/ A summer's day. This show's that despite cultural despise towards Satanism and the Anti-Christ Lucifer is nevertheless depicted as a beautiful creature at the point of physical peak, instead of a grotesque monstrous animal.
http://victorian-era.org/alexandrecabanel-biography.html
There is a distinct contrast between the light blue sky that the unjudged angel's look down upon compared to where Lucifer resides, further separating and chastising Lucifer from the still pure, clothed and godly angel's that surrounding him, whilst he lay's aimlessly on man-made concrete surrounded by untamed ivy leaves. Another, distinct difference between Lucifer and the angel's is the colour and tone of the wing's is distinctly dark and contains a wider array of colour compared to others. This is to signify that he is tainted and ruined. The choice in colour also indicates the connotations of white and paler colour's with purity and Godliness, whilst Lucifer completely contradicts these. This would not be Cabanel's last depiction of Milton's Paradise Lost as, he used this literature as inspiration repeatedly. On the left is a sketch he created of Satan; similar to the Fallen Angel Lucifer is depicted as a beautiful physically masculine man.
Alexandre Cabanel Alexandre Cabanel was a French painter, who focused mainly on painting historical, classical and religious subjects in the academic style, he was also known as a portrait painter. He is the best representative of the L'art pompier and Napoleon III's preferred painter according to Diccionario Enciclopedic Salvat. After his debut he became a favourite of the Paris Salon.
The Birth of Venus (1863)
Cabanel showed a proclivity for drawing at a young age and was enrolled at the local art school in his hometown of Montpellier at the age of ten. At age seventeen he entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1844 he exhibited his first painting at the Paris Salon and won Prix de Rome scholarship at 22 years of age in 1845. As a successful academic painter his 1863 painting The Birth of Venus is one of the best-known examples of the 19th-cntury academic painting, which was bought by the infamous emperor Napoleon III.
Crucifixion of Saint Peter Caravaggio
For my next painting within the theme of Death I am looking at the Caravaggio piece that also based on a Biblical telling.
The picture is based on a set of diagonals created by the wooden cross, the rope being hauled on by the figure in the brown top, and the arm and legs of the bottom figure. The colours are muted, as befits this low-key judicial murder. But perhaps the most insidious feature of the painting is the anonymity of those tasked with the execution, and its almost mundane implementation. With all the pushing and pulling and lifting, one almost loses sight of the fact that a man is being put to death. In another minute or so, Peter will be left hanging upside-down and he will start to die.
Additionally, the crucifixion is depicted more graphic and horrific compared to Masaccio 1426 version, which also depicts the preparation of his death. In the pre-Baroque version, the figures have a passive and emotionless. Saint peter has a stoic and uninvolved in his persecution. This emphasises on facial emotion shows the change during the counter reformation view of dramatic biblical scene’s.
The three figures shielding their faces (perhaps from the audience) could also be a sign of shame of their sinful deeds. Additionally, unlike Moses they are very dimly light, forcing the viewer to focus and sympathies with Moses. Contrastingly, Moses is shown naked and exposed compared to the other subjects in the painting, this further alienates and dehumanizes Moses making his pain in full view of the audience.
https://www.caravaggio.or g/the-crucifixion-of-saintpeter.jsp
Carvaggio carefully constructs the painting by using geometric anatomy and shapes, which is seen by the diagonals from the wooden cross and ropes tying the main focus Moses. The paintings atmosphere is concentrated in the uncomfortable act. The colours and tones of the painting fit the subject matter and emotional tone, using subdued colours.
Saint Peter insisted on being crucified upside down to not imitate the crucifixion of Jesus as he believed he had betrayed Jesus before his death. http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciati on/still_life/harmen_steenwyck.htm
Caravaggio has created an almost completely dark background to focus all attention on the plight of St Peter. Peters expression is highlighted by the 'heavenly light whilst the faces of the others in the painting are covered or darkened to further place emphasis and sympathies with Peter's plight. The dark background is foreboding and what lies beyond it is on known, signifying the biblical connotation of the painting.
Carvagio is best known for his naturalistic style of Baroque painting, which used Mannerism and revolutionized large-scale religious art in Rome, and later Naples. the four figures in the picture and see how Caravaggio uses chiaroscuro to make his figures more three-dimensional. Another hallmark of Caravaggism was the use of strong contrasts of light and dark to produce intense drama. Known as tenebrism, this technique allowed Caravaggio to dramatize certain areas of the painting.
Caravaggio Born Michelango Merisi or Amerighi da Carvaggio was an Italian painter in Rome, Naples, Malta and Sicily from the early 1590's to 1610. Carvaggio interwinds a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with dramatic lighting which has a formative influence on Baroque painting. He used a close physical observation with dramatic use of chiaroscuro that is also known as tenebrism. The techniques had become a dominant stylistic element, darkening shadows and transfixing subjects in bright shafts of light. He vibrantly expresses crucial moments and scenes, often featuring violent struggles, torture and death.
He worked closely and actively with models as he preferred to work directly on canvas. In his twenties he trained as a painter before moving to Rome were, he developed a name as an artist and as a violent sensitive and provocative man.
Judith Beheading Holofernes 1599–1602,
Death of Moses Alexander Cabanel
I am studying this painting for my next analysis because of the biblical theme that it delves into, additionally the depiction of the death of a Saint.
Interestingly Cabanel uses colourful vibrant colours to depict such a sorrowful and depressing event. Cabanel’s work is distinct due to his use of movement in art; the figure rarely look stagnant, instead more as if they have been paused in a point in time. Rather than depicting death in a negative nulled formed. Cabanel depicts it in a beautiful and vivid view. With angel’s descending from heaven to whisk Moses to the afterlife. The 'Death of Moses' is Cabanel's first work made in Rome, during 1851 at his study in Venice.
Cabanel depicts Moses lying in the arms of angel's as he dies slowly, his arm's widespread perhaps to embrace them or more specifically to embrace God in his last moment's, as God descent's down gracefully to embrace his servant. Cabanel focuses intensely on the physique of the subjects. This shows the power dynamic between Moses and God. God appears more masculine in his dark foreboding appearance, his gesture is all encompassing commanding, further proven by the gaggle of angels that surround him and do his bidding, Cabanel well capture the power God has in this painting alone. Cabanel kept few academic and Neo-Classical characteristics in his painting. For example Moses lies very long and rigidly on the ground. The angels around Moses are upright. He took care to use a diagonal in his composition. His areas of colours are well delineated. He used only slight chiaroscuro. His background is almost non-existent, as it consists of a blue sky and a dark Canaan, with a hint of black Mount Horeb on the right. Critics of Cabanel’s picture mostly disliked his reminiscence of Michelangelo’s ‘creation of Man’ and the confusions of forms. https://mydailyartdisplay.wordpress.com /tag/the-death-of-moses-by-alexandrecabanel/
https://www.theartofpainting.be/AOTMoses_Death.htm
This detailed sketch differs from the finished painting in several areas. For example, the arms and head of God and the poses of the angels on Moses’s right. A scale drawing is frequently identical to the final painting, this represents only a preliminary study that Cabanel later modified. The drawing’s curved top line suggests that Cabanel originally contemplated an arched frame for the painting. In this sketch we can see the mathematical aspect of Cabanel's masterpiece, every subject in the painting is placed geometrically to create a concise and humongous final piece.
Cabanel intertwined fluidity of forms that expressed Romanticism, such as the curved lines of emotions and of tragedy. (He represents ostentatious feelings in Moses’ acceptance of God’s will, in his pathetic opening of arms and in God’s almost similar response). An overt display of emotions is not accepted by modern, or the critics of the middle nineteenth century. These are found mainly in Baroque paintings of the seventeenth century but not in Neo-Classical imagery. (Perhaps Cabanel wanted to leave or modulate at least a little the straight lines of academism,) the clear and easily recognizable forms accentuated by bright contrasts of hues, as he had been taught at the Academy. (He brought in his picture many figures,) even though there are only two important personages: God and Moses.
Lady Liberty Leading the People Eugène Delacroix
In the theme of death I am looking at death with painting’s that address protest and the consequences of war.
It provides a combination of the elements, such as a juxtaposition of allegory with gritty detail. The Notre Dame silhouette is identifiable in the background, its presence serves as a juxtaposition the chaos of the outside world compared to the Catholic cathedral of the . The rebels are a mixture of social class, which can be identified by their clothes, attire and weaponry. For example, we can see by the man waving a sabre is a factory worker, the top-hatted figure holding a gun is a member of the bourgeois, the man dressed in three colours and on his knees is a worker from the countryside, perhaps a builder. This indicates that the revolution was a national issue within France and problem that not only the proletariat addressed. Alongside the Notre Dame in the background is a Polytechnicien, whose school distinguished itself in the rebellion is wearing a typical cocked hat.
The identity of the man in the top hat has been widely debated. The suggestion that it was a self-portrait by Delacroix has been discounted by modern art historians. In the late 19th century, it was suggested the model was the theatre director Étienne Arago; others have suggested the future curator of the Louvre, Frédéric Villot; but there is no firm consensus on this point. Several of the figures are probably borrowed from a print by popular artist Nicolas Charlet, a prolific illustrator who Delacroix believed captured, more than anyone else, the peculiar energy of the Parisians.
In the foreground lay two dead soldiers that are wearing the uniforms of the regiments of royal troops combatting the insurrection, a Swiss guard and a cavalryman. The small boy is associated with the Victor Hugo's "Gavroche" in "Les Misérables", despite the book being published over twenty years after the painting was produced, the presence of the boy could signify the youthfulness of the rebellion as we see mostly young people, leading this rebellion his closeness to Lady Liberty, indicates the next generation's continued fight. The fighters are from a differentiating social classes, ranging from the bourgeoisie represented by the young man in a top hat, a student from the prestigious École Polytechnique wearing the traditional bicorne, to the revolutionary urban worker, as represented by the boy holding pistols. What they have in common is the fierceness and determination in their eyes. Aside from the flag held by Liberty, a second, minute tricolore can be discerned in the distance flying from the towers of Notre Dame. The painting commemorates the July Revolution of 1830 and was painted between October and December 1830, the revolution overthrew King Charles X of France and brought his cousin LouisPhilippe I to power.
Delacroix skilfully uses colour to characterise composition, such as the white broad straps over the rebel's shoulder, the shirt on the dead body and the uniform cuff, against the overall grey tones of the painting, highlight and accentuate the red of the flag, further the political tone of the painting. Liberty strides barefoot and bare breasted leading men front and center being an allegoric figure of a Goddess. Traditionally, in Romantic paintings, having women’s breasts on show indicated power and supernatural strength. The erotic realism of her nudity alludes to ancient winged victories. She spurs the men to their final victory.
Furthermore, Lady Liberty being barefoot in the painting hints at her class background; which is working class poor. She represents the proletariat rising up against the bourgeoisie. Intrinsically, this painting is also revolutionary due to its portrayal of women during this era, making a feminist painting. Despite being in a conflicting and violent situation the posture of Lady Liberty is angelic and smooth which greatly contrasts with surroundings chaos. Liberty as both an allegorical goddess-figure and a robust woman of the people. The mound of corpses acts as a kind of pedestal from which Liberty strides, barefoot and barebreasted, out of the canvas and into the space of the viewer. Liberty's red dress is reminiscent of classical drapery, which would be seen classical statues such as Venus de Milo which some art critics claimed that Delacroix drew inspiration from as the statue had only been recently been discovered and was then on display in the Louvre. The figure of Liberty is the dominating main figure. Delacroix depicted her as a modern Joan of Arc, grimy, half-naked and muscular activist instead of the beautiful idealized woman which cause controversy. Visitor's at the Salon described her as a fishwife or prostitute due to her nakedness.
Context The Tricolour Flag waved by Liberty is particularly populist the new July Monarchy took as it's emblem. The national symbol of the French Republic is Marianne who is personification of Liberty and reason, furthermore a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. In France she is displayed in many public spaces she particularly holds a place of honour in town and halls. She is engraved on the French euro coins and French postage stamps. The French Revolution of 1830 at times known as the July Revolution concluded in King Charles X being overthrown as the French Bourbon Monarch, and the rise of his cousin who would also overthrow in 1848. It was significant shift in the constitutional monarchy under the restored House of Bourbon, to a different replacement of the principle of heredity right with popular sovereignty. The Kingdom of Belgium was established after the separation of Brussels, and the Netherlands after the renewed French Revolution instigated uprising in both countries.
The painting is considered to have inspired Bartholdi's Statue of Liberty (1870-86) which depicted Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom that was later given to the United States as a gift from the French people. Today it is considered to be a universal work symbolizing the triumph of the 'popular will', and an important forerunner of 20th century works like Picasso's Guernica (1937, Reina Sofia Art Museum, Madrid).
The fighters are from a differentiating social classes, ranging from the bourgeoisie represented by the young man in a top hat, a student from the prestigious École Polytechnique wearing the traditional bicorne, to the revolutionary urban worker, as represented by the boy holding pistols. What they have in common is the fierceness and determination in their eyes. Aside from the flag held by Liberty, a second, minute tricolore can be discerned in the distance flying from the towers of Notre Dame.
Eugene Delacroix Born Ferdinand Victor Eugene Delacroix on the 26th of April, is regarded from the beginning of his career as a leader of the French Romantic School. Delacroix is distinctive with his use of expressive brushstrokes and study of the optical effects of colour deeply influenced the work of the impressionists whilst his love for the exotic inspired artists of the Symbolist movement. In addition to his many talent Delacroix was an excellent lithographer, shown by his many illustrations of works by William Shakespeare, the Scottish author Walter Scott and the German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Delacroix’s artistic style came in contrast with the Neoclassical style of his rival such as Ingres. Rubens and the painters of Venetian Renaissance with a specific focus on colour and movement instead of clarity of outline and carefully modelled form. After his painting Massacre at Chios (1824) Delacroix was quickly recognized by the authorities as a leading painter in the new Romantic style and was later bought by the state. He was a friend to Théodore Gericault, and shared a strong identification with the ‘forces of the sublime’ of nature in a regular violent action. With Ingres, Delacroix is considered one of the last old Masters of painting and one of the few who was ever photographed.
The Raft of The Medusa Theodore Gericault
The cluttered bodies stacked upon each other highlight the death and need to survive such turmoil. Despite being in a collective group the expressions and body language separates one from another, further highlighting collectiveness yet separateness with each individual with the chaotic painting. A silhouetted figure against a dramatic sky features in many of Gericault's works. This figure draws the eye up from the bottom of the painting to the dramatic focus at the top.
The storm clouds are broken by light, a symbol of hope. The lowering cumulus cloud on the left reiterates the shape of the tumultuous wave beneath it. Unfortunately, Gericault's masterpiece is badly damaged, and many areas such as this have lost a great deal of original detail. Gericault applied a tar-like pigment called bitumen to produce rich, dark colours. However, it soon bubbles and turns black and tragically, there is no way of repairing the damage.
In the far corner we can see the sister ship the Argus. Suggesting to the audience that the suffering is almost over on the raft; this is Romanticism. Gericault breaks the fourth wall by putting the audience in the awful situation.
The sail echoes the shape of the large wave behind it, and so gives it greater power and force. The billowing sail and violence of the sea emphasise nature's destructive force. In order to study the sea's motion, the artist made a trip to the coast of Normandy.
Most of the men are faced away from the viewer however we can see the profile of those already dead or who have given up on the situation. Gericault paint's this tragic event in most neutral dark warm tones and colour, the use of the muddy yellow and orange tone's make the event more hellish in nature. He exquisitely capture's every detail of the men's deteriorating body's and the blood soaked, decapitated limbs of the men.
ThÊodore GÉRICAULT (b. 1791, d. 1824,) French painter, one of the prime movers and most original figures of Romanticism. He studied in Paris and was influenced by making copies of the Old Masters at the Louvre,, ( the main art museum in France) developing a passion for the baroque art of Rubens. In 1816-17 he was in Italy and there became an enthusiastic admirer of Michelangelo and the dramatic paintings of Caravaggio.
To pursuit authenticity, Gericault visited the local hospital, l'Hospital Beaujon interviewed the survivors and found out that they ate each other. So he included a bloodied axe in the painting, to show the extent to their desperate suffering, of having to eat the remains of the men they served with. Gericault does not sway from detailing every grotesque aspect of what these men endured.
In order to get the detail of drowned flesh correct, Gericault visited the morgues to paint dead flesh. This is romantic as he wants the experience to be authentic.
Gericault interviewed the survivors and found out that they ate each other. So he included a bloodied axe in the painting. He also included a French officers uniform as he blamed the event on an old captain who caused the Medusa ship to sink. Central theme was the belief in the value of one's individual experience. A move away from the rationalism of science and the enlightenment and looking into the unknown.
The painting proved highly controversial at its first appearance in the 1819 Paris Salon, attracting passionate praise and condemnation in equal measure. However, it established his international reputation, and today is widely seen as seminal in the early history of the Romantic movement in French painting.
The Death Of Marat Jacques-Louis David
Next, I looked at this painting as it follows along with the theme of social justice and the French revolution.
Marat had a skin condition some assume to be dermatitis herpetiformis that causes the skin to itch constantly, which the only way for him to subdue the constant itch that would stretch to pain, additionally, he wore a head scarf soaked in vinegar. Due to his regular discomfort he would use his bathroom as an office and spent most of his time writing out long lists of suspects that would be tried and executed. Marat was responsible for the death of hundreds post the French Revolution. The idealisation of Marat is continued by Jacques-Louis as the painting contains no sign of his skin problems, his skin appears clean and unblemished. Additionally, Marat lies dead in a Christ like manner conotating back to classical Biblical paintings that featured Jesus Christ during or after death lie in a similar form. David used features commonly used in religious paintings of the lamentation of Christ, such as Jesus post being cut down from the cross, which immortalized the painting and made it an iconic image for the French Revolution. The knife cut below his collarbone, reminisce thr cut Jesus had after being cut down from the coross. The composition of his body is adapted from the traditional style of the pieta (for example Pieta 1500 Michelangelo), by doing this David takes a messy and chaotic assassination and transforms it into a peaceful martyrdom. Due to the close relationship between the two, items that actually belonged to Marat are still included within the painting, such as the green rug, the papers, and the pen. Nevertheless, David removes all ornante dĂŠcor in Marat grand bathroom, which created an austere theatrical, darkened void of a background against Marat's pale skin that is presented to the audience. As he lays limp his with a soft glowing light bathing over his face. His facial expression is met with a sweet beatific smile on his mouth as his last breath escapes. Despite being frail haggard in real life David paint's Marat as having long muscular arms.
The artist Jacques-Louis Marat was a close friend to JeanPaul Marat. This familiarity with one another would create a bias that has effected the portrayal of Jean- Paul Marat as he is seen in a sentimental and saint, for example, he is depicted with a check signed to a charity in his hand. Furthermore, he is seen as a victim of his circumstances and environemnt; trapped in a small enclosed bath, soothing his illness showing that his death is sudden and abrupt.
The Death Of Marat depicts Jean-Paul Marat slowly dying in his bathtub after being murdered by a woman called Charlotte Corday. In his hand is a fragment of her letter to him, his slightly bloodied fingerprint stain's the letter, which is held in the dying man's left hand.
Context Jean-Paul Marat was a Swiss agitator, journalist and self-styled physician. Additionally, Marat was one of the architects of the September Massacres (1792) and the reign of Terror. On the 13th of July 1793 he was stabbed to death by Charlotte Corday a young Girondist, who had gained entrance into his whom by deceitfully offering to list counter-revolutionaries living in her hometown of Caen, which was then followed by a fifteen-minute interview Marat promised that the listed traitors would be executed within the following week, consequently Corday unexpectedly brought out a 5-inch kitchen knife and stabbed him, severing his carotid. Corday did not attempt to flee and was therefore guillotined a few days later.
To Charlotte Corday, Jean Paul Marat was a traitor as he was a Jacobin and she was a Girondist . The Girondins, Girondists or Gironde were members of a loosely knit political faction during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnards, they initially were part of the Jacobin movement. A Jacobin was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary political movement that was the most famous political club during the French Revolution. The club was so called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue Saint-Jacques in Paris.
Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David was a French painter in the Neoclassical style during the 1780s. He was best known for his cerebral brand of history painting which changed away from Rococo frivolity toward classical austerity and severity and heightened feeling mixed with the moral climate of the final years of the Ancient Regime.
Later David became an active supporter of the French Revolution and a friend of Maximilien Robespierre and under the French Republic was a dictator of the arts under the French Republic
As well as being the leading French painter of his generation, David was a prominent Montagnard, and a Jacobin, aligned with Marat and Maximilian Robespierre. A deputy of the Museum section at the Convention, he voted for the death of the King, and served on the Committee of General Security, where he actively participated in the sentencing and imprisonment of many and eventually presided over the "section des interrogatoires". He was also on the Committee of Public Instruction. In the three decades of the French revolution Jacques-Louis David became the most influential figure in French painting by exemplifying the new style of neoclassicism whilst additionally creating the nature of academic art, promoted by the French Academy. David was the winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome (1744), his three early masterpieces; 'Oath of the Horatii' (1785) Death of Socrates (1787) and The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons (1789) marked his climax of neoclassical painting in France. Death of Marat is his best-known work that transformed a violent and ruthless revolutionary into a political martyr. After the execution of David's protector Robespierre (1758-94), which lead to him being briefly imprisoned before being rehabilitated under The Directory (1758-99).
For my final painting analysis in my examination of death within paintings I am studying a Goya Saturn Devouring His Son Goya 1830
Goya depicts a gruesome and primitive state in the Greek inspired Roman myth of the Titan Cronus were Saturn devours his son as an answer to his fear that he will be over thrown by his children, consuming each child upon their bearing. We see the carcass slowly disintegrate as the child's right arm is already devoured, the other arm hides as it is folded by Saturn, who is in the mist of feasting on it’s head. The painting has elements of chiaroscuro as Goya focuses on the subject and it’s prey leaving everything in the foreground absolved of darkness, the brightness coming from the lifeless flesh and the vibrant red blood of the corpse, held by the white knuckles of Saturn as he feverishly digs his fingers into the remainder of the child. From evidence it is suggested that the original painting featured the Titan with an erect penis however due to deterioration of the mural being transferred to canvas it eroded, now the groin area is indistinctively perhaps being deliberately painted over before being presented for public display; however the inclusion of the erect penis could symbolise the erotic nature of such a incestual act. Despite being based on the story of a Greek God, there are distinct biblical elements of father eating son, for example God sending his only son to earth knowing the painful end to his life that come, but was needed to further his cause. The painting could be interpreted as a warfare between youth and old age, the wrath of God, and time as a devourer of all things. The gender of the child is unknown as the genitals are turned away from the audience. Peter Paul Rubens painting of the same name may have provided as inspiration for Goya's piece, which is contrastingly is more traditional and luminous take to the myth, for example Saturn is framed as less cannibalistic barbarity than in Goya’s interpretation, who Saturn is driven mad by the numerous incestuous killing of his own children for his vain gain, where's Ruben’s is more insidious as it shows Saturn as calculating and remorseless God who feared for his own position of power resulting in him devouring his own children, additionally the body of the child is that of an adult who is evidently trying to flee compared to Peter Paul Rubens' more Baroquethe helpless infant in Rubens piece. In 1796-7 Goya created a replica of the painting in chalk that was a style Saturn Devouring His Son (1636) closer interpretation to Rubens piece, showing Saturn in a similar interpretation casually nibbling on a son of his whilst holding a chicken leg on the other, with none of the gruesomeness we see in the final piece.
The period in which Saturn Devouring his Son was created was that of troubled times the 18th century was riddled with catastrophe, The French Revolution (1789-95) destroyed the peace within the continent and led directly to inter continental disasters such as the Peninsular War (1808-14), when Napoleon armies overran Spain. Additionally, from the age of 46 Goya experienced abstruse deafness and sporadic stretches of depression, which resulted in his form of dark Romanticism shown by the different sets of artwork which were a multiple of small-scale paintings on tin which were noted as his ‘Fantasy & Invention series’ (1793); his ‘Caprices’/’Los Caprichos’ etching sequence (1797-99) ‘Disasters of War’ engraving collection (1819-23). Most displayed various elements of Hogarth-style caricature art, a nightmarish fantasy pictures and graphic details of bestial cruelty, which represented Goya's bleak and desolate response to life; particularly due to the cruel and tragic events happening in Spain. The names of paintings throughout his walls were not named by him, as he did not write about them and there is no evidence to show that he spoke about this period of work, the name was chosen by others years later after his death, which were inspired by the presumed content and meaning of each piece, the paintings remained untouched on the walls for almost 50 years, it was until 1874 that they were transferred from wall to canvas.
The grotesque imagery is highlighted by Saturn’s rough nakedness, movements that show a state of hysteria and madness, shown the him tightly gripping the child body that the blood oozes from its decapitated limbs, we see that the god is unable to control his homicidal behaviour. Due to the roundness of the buttocks and thighs of the half eaten victim it can be assumed that the victim is a woman, and perhaps is not a child either, but a fully developed young woman.
Goya has created a brutal image that can be interpreted in various ways, some art experts believe that he may symbolise the autocratic Spanish state devouring its citizens, however some interpret Saturn as the French Revolution, or even Napoleon. Unfortunately, Goya left no indications to the answer.
Francisco Jose de Goya is regarded as Spanish romantic painter and printmaker who is regarded as one of the most important artists of the late 18th and early 19th century, he is often considered as both one of the Old Masters and the first of the Moderns whilst being considered one of the great portraitists of his time. Goya studied painting from the age of 14 with Jose Luzan y Martinez as a mentor then later moving to Madrid to expand his knowledge with Anton Raphael Mengs. After a sever and undiagnosed illness left him deaf in 1793 his artistry became consistently darker and pessimistic, seen by his later easel and mural paintings, prints and drawings appear to reflect a bleak perspective on personal life, social and political levels.
The Third of May 1808, 1814
Goya came into artistic maturity during the age of enlightenment under the Spanish Crown ruled by the Bourbon King Charles III (1759-88) who ruled Spain as an enlightened monarch –sympathetic- to change by employing ministers that had radical change to economic, industrial and agricultural reform. As a steppingstone in his artistic endeavours Goya experimentation with sixty-three painted cartoon for the royal palaces that included nine hunting scenes for the dining room at San Lorenzo del Escorial and ten cartoons for tapestries destined for the dining room at El Pardo. The tapestries romanticise leisure activities of the rich, poor, young and old in a playful Rococo manner similar to the style of Tiepolo. Goya’s mastery and talent showed in the work he created for the royal patronage, where he received more commissions from the aristocracy. At forty Goya anointed as a painter to King Charles III, where he later became a court painter under the newly accessioned Charles IV in 1789, which also marked the fall of the French monarchy consequently declaring war on Spain in 1793.
Poster Design
Title of exhibition and why For my exhibition I have chosen to name it Death as it is coherent to the theme of death that I am studying in art history. I am going to take heavy inspiration from the previous paintings that I have studied that address the theme of death whilst also taking artistic inspiration from horror and thriller film posters as creative and artistic inspiration.
Intention for promotional material My intention for promotional material is to create a cohesiveness between the theme of death throughout the promotional material. Additionally, I wanted to create something that draws people into the exhibition and is creative and unique in its pursuit. I aim to create something professional and innovative for my promotional material.
For my poster design I have been heavily inspired by horror posters as they have a theme of death. The horror aspect will be a unique and eye-catching spin on an Art Exhibition poster. For my exhibition poster's, I looked at the key elements used in the painting's that I studied and have a strong and obvious connotation to death; which was the presence of human skull's. The colours red and brown were most prominent in most of the paintings. Red has a dangerous feel to it and it is a connotation to blood therefore death and life. Brown especially dark brown is a universal as it is a mix of many other colours and it's closeness to black can evoke a mysterious element which fits well with the theme of death.
Similar to the starter poster I took the image of a skull and transformed it into an overlay this helped the image blend in with the gradient and textured dark red background I did this multiple times to create the layer effect, this also gave a range of tones and colour's to each skull that was layered on top of each other. For the choice of typography I chose something simple and something the reader can identify or recognise with typography in other art gallery booklet's or posters.
The overall poster was inpired by previous horror film poster's that I studied for inpiration. The colour red is the standout componant of the poster as it signifies death and blood which fits in with my overall theme of death throughout.
For my next experimental poster I took Goya’s Saturn Devouring his Son and transformed. I experimented with the gruesome image in Goya’s painting.
I chose Urban Poster as a font as it is easily distinctive and can be read from afar however the brash and chaotic style which was fitted the theme.
The colour red is the main feature and draw to the poster, this is eventuated by the blood drip.
To achieve the graphic look of Saturn I used canvas Screen tool and changed it to ‘lino’ this brought out the black and white details of the painting, I additionally placed a red hue over the edited I wanted the poster to represent the disarray and horror of the painting yet still capture the details of the Greek god.
Photoshoot I plan to create a photoshoot that is inspired by the theme of death using inspiration from paintings that I have studied.
Experimentation To further expand my personal investigation, I did a photoshoot inspired by the painting's that I had studied and analysed by doing this I was able to compile objects and colour's inspired by the previous artists. I used a red toned brown background cover as it is similar to the colours and tones used in the previous paints I have studied and analysed the tone and colour fits well with the theme of death and decay.
I positioned my DIY studio near the window to let in natural light the object's that I placed to give it a more dimensional. As this was a makeshift studio it became difficult to capture the intense colour's and tones I wanted. From this make shift studio I was able ti experiment more with my ositioning and lighting of the various subject's. I knew that I wanted the skull to be the main focus of the photograph therefore I positioned and altered various different items around it. I took inspiration from the paintgs that I have studied for what item's to place with the photograph and where for example I used a candle, fruit and birds feather's which connotes back to the paintings of vaity that I have previously studied.
Outcomes These are my ouctomes, because I have various object's arranged differently I have many pictures to choose from. In the shoot I rearranged the items that I selected carefully I did this to gain the best composition and arrangement of item's and subjects. Each item that features in the different arrangements of the connotes back to the paintings that I have studied, especially the vanitas that signify a memento mori. This can be seen in the display of the skull and the candle holder which remind the viewer of the shortness of life and the inevitability of death. Though I experimented with different object's I still made sure to keep the skull at the center of the photographs. The use of fruit's is a visual metaphor for the fruit of life and refer's to the apple taken by Eve in the biblical Graden of Eden, the books refers to human knowledge and its lack of significance after death, and the bird's feathers refers to the leftovers of death.
Symbolism in Photography As previously said and noted my still life shoot was heavily inspired by Vanitas till life paintings that I had been studying, I carefully chose the items that I would feature in my . A skull for example is the most notable representation of death.
I used a peacock feather to symbolise the beauty and fragility of life, the feathers used to be attached to a living creature no they are nothing more than a reminder of the creature's life and death.
The books were a representation of human knowledge and how they fade away and become worthless after death. Due to human knowledge many have turned their backs on God.
The golden candle holder represent wealth, which is erased with death.
Before Out of all of the series of photographs I took I chose this one to be the main focus and use to create a poster or a booklet. I chose this image out of the others because it clearly shows the detail of each object, and the colours complement each other.
After
In the light room I alter the tones and lighting of the image. To achieve the final image I made the corners darker and the tone more reddish as I believe this give it a creepier and horror-like look to the image, resembling the poster's that I have looked at and analysed.
To create this poster I created a layer over the text with the photographs I had taken and layered it within. I highlighted the text by putting a white board beneath it. I was inspired by the traditional poster and art booklet for art museums. I am please with my outcome as I believe that it has mixed to element’s together well however It is not experimental and boring.
By putting the image into the text it gives the overall image a seamless and professional look and feel to the poster.
Horror Poster Inspiration
The main villian of the film is presented in a bright red hovering over the portagonist, this is significant as it red is usually seen as an oppresive colour which is usually used as a metaphor for negative attributes such as danger, sensuality and death. Furthermore the red contrast's greatly with the turquoise blue of the protagonist, indicating to the audience that these two characters are rivals.
The typography remains simple but bold, the use of pink for the film title indicates the predominent female character's throghout the film. Pink is also a unique colour to pick for a horror film poster indicating the alternative elements of the film.
The group of women dancing at the bottom gives the image some fluidity and movement whilst still merging wth the overall image, for example the green hues merges well with the blue of the protagonist, as we also see her in the center of the group further highlighting her significance.
This is my second attempt at a poster inspired by the initial Suspiria poster. The different colours layer together well whilst also highlighting the definition of the objects.
I took elements from each painting that I had studied for example, such as the skull and candle in An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life. I also used aspects of the photographs I took to create my overall desired look.
Process of Poster
To create the coloured layered effect I used the effects in Canva and selected the Colour Mix section which colourized the image whilst still keeping the shadows and texture of the image. I lowered the transparency of each to gain a similar style from the Suspiria poster, which also helped the images to layer on each other yet be seen through the layers without completely overshadowing others.
I separated aspects of the painting such as the skull and candle from An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life by Harmen Steenwijck and made them transparent images to help create the poster. I chose the skull as it connotes to death and the candle can be seen as an allegory of life and times passing by.
I chose a font that had a Victorian elements to it whilst also had a grungy distressed effect to it as I believe it fits into the theme of death which is chaotic. I chose simple mostly primary colours for each image, and font which I chose an orangey yellow for as it fitted the overall poster image.
Graphic Exhibition Guide
This is an example of another Art Exhibition guide. The use of only secondary colours such as green pink and orange, makes it simple yet eye catching. I prefer the cohesiveness of the design, with only three main colour's which are all secondary and the familiar black and white that stand's out and is easy to read and comprehend for the audience.
The vibrant colour mixed with the bright make it less intimidating and approachable. The pictures and descriptions are easy to see and don't distract from the artwork. However, one flaw from the leaflet is that it can be seen as boring due to its onedimensional design and simple typography. Th leaflet uses geometric shapes well with the gradient to create an optical illusion, that can interpret number's or shapes and filling in space whilst not being to cultured or claustrophobic, with the white plain background beneath it all.
http://www.studiofnt.com/following/posts/studiofnt.com/exhibition-guide-for-National-Museum-of-Modern-and-Contemporay-Art
For another poster idea and I looked at this image as inspiration. The image is layered with multiple images that are distorted with textures and colour’s, this can easily look convoluted and hectic however the colours and tones blend and contrast well with each other, making it a coherent image despite the chaotic feel of the poster. The nuclear green contrast vibrantly with the pink it makes the poster appear colourful and abstract despite being only two colour, but because of the brightness and colour it gives it a punk aesthetic to the poster.
The eye gives the poster a mysterious and intriguing, which is repeated throughout the poster. The graphic lines going throughout are reminiscent of s comic book panel, the colours cream and baby pink are inviting and approachable despite the poster being harsh and edgy.
How the Booklet/Brochure was made To achieve the grungy affect I cut out specific pieces from paintings that I thought would fit in well together, I used the effect's setting on Canva and set the picture to screen and chose halftone and semitone, which gave the images a graphic comic book style effect. I did a similar thing to transparent picture of masking tape. I did a similar thing to transparent picture of masking tape. This creates an edgy look, which I contrasted with the pale pink colour as the background. I kept the colour simple and plain as I wanted to focus mostly on the painting’s and the highlighted words. I used the same skull from Harmen's Similar to the poster inspiration I vasnity of Life and edited it by using used a skull as the main focus and the semitone effect on Canva to made it dark brown, so it contrasted create the final look which is the fron with the pale pink. The skull also page of the booklet. references back to the theme of death that I used.
BOOKLET
This is the booklet I created for my exhibition which is heavily influenced by the previous poster that I analysed.