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Contributed by: Ordoña, Jan Anthony H. April 7, 2009 AESTHET-TG2
In Quest of Salvation: Hispano-Flemish Gothic Painting
Last Supper Jaume Huguet
c. 1470 Tempera on wood,
172 x 164 cm Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona
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1. Discuss the motivation: a. What art form is it?
The art form is Hispano-Flemish Gothic Painting. b. What medium was used? The medium used Tempera on wood. c. What techniques were used?
Adjacent color zones have their own modulations of light and shade that are never to become confused.
The effect is grandiose, but never harsh. 2. Identify the subject matter and list the objects portrayed. a. Subject matter:
Jesus Christ
12 Apostles/ Disciples b. List objects:
“The Last Supper” table & the longed chairs
Chalices
Breads
Wines
Roasted lamb (in the center of the table)
Apple
Cat
Bird
3. Select the strongest art element and describe its qualities. a. Art element:
Color b. Describe qualities:
The colors used by Jaume Huguet are contrast to each other that prevent the color similarities between each object. Here, each disciple of Jesus has different colors of cloaks they wore while Jesus has the only dark blue cloak.
4. Select the strongest design principle and analyze how it contributes to the composition. a. Design Principle: Harmony b. Analyze its use in the composition:
It is harmony because the visual elements of objects have similarities in nature which results in unity. A representation of Christ at table with his disciples: Christ is still the central figure in the composition but this is no longer emphasized by the halo or a difference in size; the means are now purely pictorial - a cloak darker in hue than those of the disciples, the eyes looking straight at the spectator, and the movement of the disciples as they lean towards him.
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5. Interpret the work by discussing what you think it is about and how you feel as you look at it. a. I think this work is about Jaume Huguet’s version of the Last Supper of Jesus
Christ with his disciples.
b. I feel serious because as I look at this work I compare Leonardo Da Vinci’s version of the Last Supper. Huguet’s and Da Vinci’s version have different and unique interpretations on the Last Supper as I look the differences and similarities of Jesus and his disciples. 6. If you were to evaluate the work, what three criteria would you select for judging quality?
a. Jaume Huguet certainly did not achieve the unity seen in Leonardo's great work, but this painting does show that he was striving to group his figures effectively.
b. The colors used very well. c. The techniques used by Jaume Huguet are done creatively simple.
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Contributed by: Ordoña, Jan Anthony H. April 7, 2009 AESTHET-TG2
Emerging Art: Renaissance Painting
Noli Me Tangere
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) 1511-12
Oil on canvas 101 x 91 cm
National Gallery, London
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1. Discuss the motivation: a. What art form is it? The art form is Renaissance Painting. b. What medium was used? The medium used Oil on canvas. c. What techniques were used?
The techniques used were to a much bolder, freer style with more highly charged brushwork; he handled the paint increasingly broadly, creating an effect almost like mosaic, with patches of color.
2. Identify the subject matter and list the objects portrayed. a. Subject matter:
Jesus Christ
Mary Magdalene
b. List objects:
Plants
Trees
Houses
A Hoe in Jesus’ hand 3. Select the strongest art element and describe its qualities. a. Art element: Color b. Describe qualities:
The texture quality of the painting has showed and looked realistic to me because of the right shades of color are used very well especially with Jesus and Mary Magdalene. However, the farness and nearness of the landscape was showed properly.
4. Select the strongest design principle and analyze how it contributes to the composition. a. Design Principle: Emphasis and Balance
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b. Analyze its use in the composition:
It is emphasis and balance because Jesus and Mary Magdalene were mainly focus in the painting and the actions they doing were symmetrical. Thus we see here the meeting of Christ with Mary Magdalene in the middle of a landscape which seems to be one with them, such do the lines of the natural setting continue or rhythmically complement those of the two people. On Mary's side, the curve of a hillside and an earthly settlement is echoed by the inverse curve of her body thrown forward to the ground. Christ's side of the painting opens out onto the blue tinged distances of infinity. But these two different worlds - human and divine - suggested by the division of space are subtly linked to each other: the bend of Christ's body is a direct continuation of the curve of the inhabited hillside; the line of Mary's raised torso continues that of a tree which, while balancing the right side of the landscape, directs the mind of the observer to the idea of a new life. Everything in this highly sophisticated composition is designed to underscore the importance of the gestural and verbal dialogue taking place in the foreground and to highlight the novelty of the message it conveys.
5. Interpret the work by discussing what you think it is about and how you feel as you look at it.
a. I think this work is about the appearance of the resurrected Christ to Mary Magdalene which Titian shows the surge of emotion that casts her to the ground, an impulse just as quickly suppressed by Christ who draws back, speaking the words, Noli me tangere, 'Don't touch me. For Christ is just passing by. His dance like steps are directed towards the front of the painting, not towards Mary but towards us, the viewers. We thus find ourselves facing the Lord's approach, also invited to recognize him and to announce the joy of his resurrection.
b. As I look at this work, I feel 50:50 happy and sad. 50:50 happy because Jesus was resurrected while 50:50 sad because Mary Magdalene can’t touch Jesus where as Jesus preparing his way to the Lord, His Father. 6. If you were to evaluate the work, what three criteria would you select for judging quality?
a. The artwork was successfully done well by Titian. b. The principles, emphasis and balance, were used well which the figures of the painting are symmetrically proportion to each other.
c. The colors were used properly in the artwork.
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Contributed by: Ordoña, Jan Anthony H. April 7, 2009 AESTHET-TG2
Emerging Art: Romanticism Art
Wanderer above the Sea of Fog Caspar David Friedrich
1818 Oil-on-canvas
94.8 cm × 74.8 cm (37.3 in × 29.4 in) Kunsthalle Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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1. Discuss the motivation: a. What art form is it? The art form is Romanticism Art Painting b. What medium was used? The medium used Oil on canvas. c. What techniques were used? It used Romantic techniques which it were developed to produce associations in the mind of the viewer. It encouraged individualism, emotions, and nature. Friedrich held personal spirit and creativity above formal training and saw the artistic process as a transcendental journey and spiritual awakening. 2. Identify the subject matter and list the objects portrayed. a. Subject matter:
The Wanderer
b. List objects:
Rocks
Smog
Sea
Mountain 3. Select the strongest art element and describe its qualities. a. Art element: Color b. Describe qualities:
The color elements of the storms, turbulent seas, torrents moved emotionally towards to the viewers. The texture of the artwork showed a rough movement especially the waves of the sea.
4. Select the strongest design principle and analyze how it contributes to the composition. a. Design Principle:
Rhythm
b. Analyze its use in the composition: It is rhythm because the artwork has continuance of flow of movement. It is achieved by the repetition of regular visual units. Representation of Friedrich’s feeling of the sublime. It is solitary and spontaneous. We are only participating in the re-telling of this feeling of sublimity, i.e. the beauty of it.
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5. Interpret the work by discussing what you think it is about and how you feel as you look at it.
a. The artwork depicts a man, Friedrich himself, standing a top a high mountain, before a great mass of fog. Peaks of other mountains can be seen above the surface of the fog, while a range of huge mountains can be seen in the background. The large expanse of sky above the heights of the mountains in the background covers much of the painting.
b. As I look at this work, I feel emotional because Friedrich’s captivation by the idea that self-expression was to be bonded with physical and spiritual isolation became more apparent, awesome in magnitude, yet still sublime. I think he appeared to be quite attracted to the idea of seeing and experiencing nature in isolated and wondrous places like at the edge of the sea or lakes or on the pinnacles of mountains.
6. If you were to evaluate the work, what three criteria would you select for judging quality?
a. The texture of the artwork is done well which I felt the emotional movement of the waves of the sea.
b. The use of colors in the artwork is calm and vivid. c. The imagination was superior to reason and beauty. Friedrich loved and
worshipped nature and were dedicated to examining human personality and moods.
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Contributed by: Ordoña, Jan Anthony H. April 7, 2009 AESTHET-TG2
Art of Changing Era: Filipino Painting
Spoliarium Juan Luna
c. 1884 Oil on poplar
400 cm × 700 cm (160 in × 280 in) National Museum of the Philippines
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1. Discuss the motivation: a. What art form is it? The art form is Filipino painting. b. What medium was used? The medium used Oil on poplar. c. What techniques were used?
Juan Luna used Impressionist techniques which he made:
Short, thick strokes of paint are used to quickly capture the essence of the subject, rather than its details. The paint is often applied impasto.
Colors are applied side-by-side with as little mixing as possible, creating a vibrant surface. The optical mixing of colors occurs in the eye of the viewer.
Grays and dark tones are produced by mixing complementary colors like green.
The surface of the painting is opaque. 2. Identify the subject matter and list the objects portrayed. a. Subject matter:
The bodies of dead gladiators
b. List objects:
The people who pull and drag the corpses
The people who watch
A woman who mourn
3. Select the strongest art element and describe its qualities. a. Art element:
Color
b. Describe qualities: Luna creates a harmonious relationship between the intensity of the color red which is very overwhelming and the shades of green in the darkness. Light is also balanced because of light colors used in the left side of the painting against the grim-darkness of the right side. Almost all of the colors used are warm colors, which are thought to be intentional on the part of the artist. Luna has been known to use colors not simply for reasons of aesthetics but also for their symbolic value.
4. Select the strongest design principle and analyze how it contributes to the composition. a. Design Principle:
Emphasis
b. Analyze its use in the composition: It emphasized the violation of Human Rights by the colonizers of Spain. Juan Luna, one of our National heroes expressed his patriotism by painting one such masterpiece to enlighten the Filipinos out of oppression.
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His painting portrays defeated gladiators in the arena being dragged into a pile of other corpses. On the left side, there are many spectators viewing the spectacle with a variety of expressions, while on the far right side of the painting is a grieving woman in torn and shabby clothing. Horizontal lines are seen in the walls and the people watching the scene. But diagonal lines that denote movement are very obvious and can be seen in the gladiators’ slain bodies, in the men dragging them and in the floor tiles. There is dominant use of contour lines as shown in the muscles of the arms, legs and backs of the gladiators. In the use of color, there is a governing use of red, mostly seen in the center that is one of the first things to attract the attention of the viewer. The use of green on the weeping lady's dress creates contrast against the gladiators’ red dresses. The shape involved in the painting also creates a point of interest that harmoniously relates to the color of the painting. The color having expressed the center of the activity, the shape creates a bolder scene. The corpses that are dragged is painted with a ratio 9:1, the body is nine times bigger than that of the head. The same also is true with regards to the aged man who watches at the side. This is because Juan Luna expresses life thru the body. By painting the body larger than any other parts emphasizes life. And in doing so shows dominance to attract attention. The painting as a whole becomes a united one with asymmetrical patterns of elements because it provides a comparison between light and darkness, the horror of dragged corpses against the mourning of a lady, the thin almost skeletal bodies of aged men versus muscular soldiers slaughtered in their prime. With everything pointing to the message: the carnage of human rights violation.
5. Interpret the work by discussing what you think it is about and how you feel as you look at it.
a. The canvas depicts a chamber beneath a Roman arena, where bodies of dead gladiators are being dragged into a shadowy area, presumably to be put in a bigger pile of dead bodies.
b. As I look at this work, I feel sorrow because the gladiators’ life were instantly
lost as you know that most of them are slaves who used for entertainment in killing beasts or other person within the arena.
6. If you were to evaluate the work, what three criteria would you select for judging quality?
a. The painting as a whole becomes a united one with asymmetrical patterns of elements. b. Juan Luna is able to unite his painting into expressing his message by correlating every element with one another.
c. The canvas was successfully done well by Juan Luna.
