6
Hannah Ruby
[email protected]
408 MacOdrum Library
ARTH1101
Mondays 11:30 – 12:30
Hannah Ruby
[email protected]
ARTH1101
6
408 MacOdrum Library
Mondays 11:30 – 12:30
EXAMPLE ONLY
[1] The painting I chose to write about for my essay is St. Francis and Brother Leo Meditating on
Death by El Greco. The painting was done between 1600 and 1605.
[2] In this painting, there are two guys. One is holding a skull and the other one is looking at the
guy holding the skull. One guy is probably St. Francis and the other guy is probably Brother Leo. There
skin is pretty grey, which makes it look like they’re sick. It looks like they’re sitting on a rock and there’s
a thunderstorm happening in the background. I think the point of the painting is to show that St. Francis
and Brother Leo are devoted to God, because they’re out praying even though there’s a thunderstorm. For
me, the painting evokes a lot of emotions. It makes me feel scared, sad and nervous.
[3] The painting is 168 by 103.2 cm, so it is pretty big. I think the size of the painting is important
because it shows how important God and praying are to St. Francis and Brother Leo, and shows their
devotion. The people in the painting look realistic but there is not too much detail in the painting. I don’t
know why El Greco did this because the painting would be a lot nicer if there was more detail in the
background. St. Francis has long fingers. The colour shows that it is a High Italian Renaissance painting
because it is very dull and grey looking. The two men in the painting look sick, like they’re about to
throw up.
[4] El Greco did a good job of using depth and perspective. There is lots of light and shadows in
the painting and there is a lot of texture and drapery in their clothing. This is because there is a light
source in the top right corner of the painting. It is darker in the opposite corner because there is no light
there. This is a great technique to use because it’s different from Medieval art which looked very flat.
There is good linear perspective.
[5] I also like the way El Greco used paint strokes in the artwork. You can see the brush strokes
which makes the painting look very lively and animated. The brush strokes show imperfection and make
it a good example of Mannerist art. The paint he used was oil paint which made the colours very rich and
dark. Both characters are looking at the skull which means the skill must be important to the painting.
Because they are looking at the skull, I look at the skull first two. This shows how smart El Greco was.
[6] Some things in the painting are hard to understand. Why are they on a rock? What is the little
square piece of paper in the bottom right corner? I am not sure. Maybe it is because paper was invented in
the year 802BC and it was a really important invention. Paper allowed for artists to experiment with
drawings and make rough drafts for their paintings which made their paintings better. Paper is made from
trees usually.
[7] El Greco reveals his deep debt to contemporary Venetian painting, adapting its methods of
working and sharing its sensitivity to the expressive potential of paint itself. The artist prepared the
canvas with a dull red-brown coloured ground, over which he sketched the figures before beginning to
paint. The ground functioned as a half-tone (between shadow and light) or was left starkly exposed in
many areas. The animated brush strokes are characteristic of El Greco's work - both describing the play of
light over the surfaces and visible traces of the artist's brush as it moves across the canvas, they are
simultaneously controlled and expressive. He signs the work on the small piece of paper at lower right placed as if stuck onto the surface of the painting. Frame: carved wood, polychromed and part gilded.
Spain, late 16th-early 17th century.
Hannah Ruby
[email protected]
ARTH1101
6
408 MacOdrum Library
Mondays 11:30 – 12:30
Hannah Ruby
[email protected]
ARTH1101
6
408 MacOdrum Library
Mondays 11:30 – 12:30
EXAMPLE ONLY
[1] The work of art I have chosen to analyze is Virgin and Child with an Angel by Francesco
Salviati. This painting was created between the years of 1535 and 1539 in Italy. The size of the painting is
112.3 centimeters by 83 centimeters. The medium used to create this work of art is oil on a wood base.
The painting is in a wooden frame, displayed on the left side of the wall. It is hung about 5 feet above the
floor, a few feet away from another painting.
[2] The juxtaposition of the disquisitive and reticent looking Virgin and the enervated, halcyon
child with the phantasmagorical background creates an empyrean semblance to the painting. The child’s
inertia offers an insouciant ambience that, in combination with the resplendent and scintillating colours
and the Virgin’s capricious expression, creates a convivial narrative.
[3] There are three people in the painting; the Virgin, the Child and an Angel. The Virgin and
Child are embracing while the Angel throws up deuces in the background to express his swag to the
viewer. The Virgin looks away because she cannot handle the Angel’s swag. Did the swag kill the child?
Perhaps, but it’s hard to tell. The child is voluptuous, which tells the viewer that he’s been eating good.
[4] The painting evokes a calm and peaceful mood because of the light colours and atmospheric
perspective in the background which allow for the image to look realistic but also dreamlike, and the
sfumato technique that is used on the Virgin’s face which gives a similar hazy effect to the painting and
makes the viewer feel as though they are in an ethereal environment that feels playful, which is
reminiscent of the Baroque period rather than many of the paintings of the High Italian Renaissance
period which used more rich and muted colours rather than the light pastels we see in this work of art.
[5] A technique is used to create depth in the painting. This technique uses extreme lights and
darks next to each other to create a contrast in the image. This technique requires a light source, which
appears to be coming from the top of the image. It is a technique that is used to make an image look more
dramatic and dynamic, and it adds an energy to this work.
[6] From the image available on the National Gallery of Canada website, the paint used by the
artists appears to be applied in smooth, flawless brush strokes. The brush strokes in the image are not
visible to the viewer, making the image look extremely soft and refined. This technique was used
frequently during the High Italian Reniassance period, making this image a great example of a work of art
from that time.
[7] The Virgin is looking towards the side of the image, where the background is. She is doing
this because the background is the focal point of the image. During the High Italian Renaissance,
landscape art was the most popular subject matter to be depicted. The Virgin’s eyes direct you to the most
important section of the painting. The other details in the work, such as the figures in the image, are used
as decoration to emphasize the importance of the background.
[8] Overall, this painting is a great example of High Italian Renaissance art. Francesco Salviati
created a beautiful and serene picture of a religious scene that embodies the perfection of the Italian
Renaissance. Masters of perfecting the human form during the High Italian Renaissance included
Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci. I found this work of art very interesting to observe and
analyze.