HART UNIT 1 VISUAL ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

Henri Matisse The Joy of Life 1906 (Oil on canvas) (1.75 cm x 2.39 cm) (Barnes Foundation, Merion, Pennsylvania) (19.3) Describe the composition and use of colour in this painting, and comment on how each contributes to an interpretation of the subject matter.

Jan van Eyck Madonna of Chancellor Rolin c (Oil on panel) (66 cm x 61.9 cm) (Louvre, Paris) (10.13) Identify the ways in which the artist has created space, depth and three- dimensionality in this painting and discuss their effectiveness in representing the subject.

Stanley Spencer, The Glen, Port Glasgow, 1952 (oil on canvas) (76.2cm350.9cm) (Art Gallery and Museum, Kelvingrove, Glasgow). Describe the figures and their setting in this painting and analyse how the artist has created a sense of movement.

François-Hubert Drouais, Madame de Pompadour at her Tambour Frame (embroidery frame), 1763 – 64 (oil on canvas) (217 cm x cm) (National Gallery, London). 1 Analyse the figure and the setting in this portrait and discuss the representation of the sitter’s gender.

SO WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW? How to describe, identify, analyse, and examine the formal features, subjects, and themes of PAINTINGS. How to discuss, interpret, explain, consider, account for, and comment on PAINTINGS, in a clear and coherent way. A broad knowledge of historical, social, and cultural contexts of PAINTING. Appropriate art, and art historical terminology.

COMPOSITION When you first look at a work of art, the first question to ask is, what is it about? Once you have established the content, you can consider the way in which the artist has arranged the elements of the piece the COMPOSITION... While composition would consider the organisation, positioning, arrangement and relationship of features and elements in the work, there is diversity from work to work.

This sort of composition can be referred to as a closed composition...WHY? This is where elements are confined within a painting’s frame.

or an open composition, where elements are cropped by the picture frame and the composition appears to continue beyond it.

Other forms of composition might include horizontal, vertical, diagonal emphasis; alignments of elements with curves and circles; pyramidal arrangements; organisation of colours, light, shadow and linear perspective.

COMPOSITION- relationships Notice how the artist leads us into the picture using that diagonal banner coming from the left and then the circular arrangement takes you to each face in turn.

COMPOSITION- Space and Form To suggest isolation an artist may contrast the solid, positive forms of people or objects with the empty spaces between them- this is generally referred to as NEGATIVE SPACE These gaps between the people and objects strengthen the composition and can make the characters seem more 3D.

COMPOSITION-Cropping Sometimes what is left out of a painting says more about the subject than what is left in... CROPPING- deliberately cutting off – can suggest that things are not always what they seem... Bonnard painted his wife in the bath many times; often cropping her figure creating a disturbing, voyeuristic image.

COMPOSING A NARRATIVE When a panting tells a story, the artist uses composition to give the work a natural flow that helps the viewer(spectator) follow the action. In this case the composition can help us understand what is going on. In a well-made composition the spectators eye is led to each of the main components of the story using different visual means- shapes/ linking devices/ contrasts in scale and the use of colour.

“The Resurrection” by Piero della Francesca 1463 BALANCE All of the components of a painting have to balance each other so that the image is integrated as a whole. Some artists want to convey harmony and serenity, others opt for contrast and dynamism to create a jagged discord. Here della Francesca has established Christ as the central figure- basing his composition on one of the most stable shapes, the triangle. Here he has created a sense of stability and calm.

“Evening on Karl Johan” By Edvard Munch 1892 A walk along one of Oslo’s main streets has become a nightmare vision in this painting. The pedestrians fan out and appear to come right out of the painting towards you. Curves of the faces contrast with the strong diagonals of the composition. The shadowy, solitary figure heading in the opposite direction increases our sense of nightmare and alienation.

“The Triumph of Venus” by Francois Boucher 1740 Visual Flow-in this scene Boucher used a billowing swirl of fabric to create a figure of eight design that links the sky and figures and keeps you looking from one to the other, The cloth also echoes the shapes of the clouds at the top right of the picture. Fluttering Cupids lead your eye towards Venus, as do the waves of figures undulating from right to left. A painting should have rhythm like a piece of music. Shapes can be repeated or set in opposition to each other. The spaces between the shapes are just as important as the shapes themselves.

“The Continence of Scipio” By Nicolas Poussin 1640 Most stories are taken from history, religion, myth were known to their contemporary audiences but may be unfamiliar now. To help viewers artists provide visual clues, such as dramatic gestures, or objects such as weapons, crowns to identify the key characters. The PLOT... This painting depicts a popular 17 th century theme, in which Scipio, a Roman General returns a captive woman to her finance’. Poussin divided the figures into groups. Scipio can be identified by his throne and crown and his gracious manner towards the woman in blue is answered by her finance’s grateful acceptance. The soldiers on the right remind us that this is war.

COLOUR As with composition, an understanding of how colour has been used by a variety of artists should be considered. Colour is often the most exciting components of a painting – artists use colour together with composition, perspective and light and shade to strengthen the impact of the subject matter.

de Hooch “The Linen Cupboard” Here colour is representational, It appears how it realistically would be.

“Execution of Lady Jane Grey” By Paul Delaroche 1833 Here colour is used symbolically, where colour may be used as an established convention, as in white as a symbol of purity eg Lady Jane Grey’s dress

“Fighting Forms” by Franz Marc 1916

“The Scream” By Edvard Munch

PICTORIAL SPACE overlapping changes in scale linear perspective foreshortening use of light and shade, including tonal modelling and cast shadow compositional arrangement, that may ‘lead the viewer into’ the picture.

All these ELEMENTS occur in Caravaggio’s “Conversion of St Paul” aerial perspective more detail and ‘focus’ in foreground foreshortening use of light and shade, including tonal modelling and cast shadow compositional arrangement, that may ‘lead the viewer into’ the picture.

These elements also occur in Delacroix’s “The 28th July: Liberty Leading the People “...

“The Poplar Avenue” by David Cox 1820 This is an example of LINEAR PERSECTIVE...as you look down the road, the sides appear to converge in the distance....they meet at a vanishing point. The small figure on horseback draws your eye into the painting, taking you along the road.

OVERLAPPING- A simple way to create depth is to overlap the figures or elements of the composition. Overlapping the horses and riders, with figures getting smaller into the distance.

FORESHORTENING-making an object look shorter than it really is to create the illusion of recession- it is an extreme example of linear perspective. The term is often applied to the human body when shown poses that compress length. In this Renaissance picture, Christ’s body looks very short and his feet appear larger than his head. Perspective had just been discovered. “The Dead Christ” By Mantegna 15th

FRONT LIGHTING- light shines straight from the front, spotlighting the action in the foreground. Here the lighting is shining down from above onto the pitiful figure of Lady Jane.

CHIAROSCURO- Italian for light/dark. The strong light in this painting creates dramatic tonal contrasts and focuses the eye on the important point of the story- St Thomas’s contact with Christ’s wounds.

“The Gross Clinic” by Eakins 1875 FORMAL FEATURES Single light source and chiaroscuro effect. dark and relatively ill- defined upper half of the painting. INTERPRETATION Light illuminates the doctor and the operation, key parts of the work, while spectators are in shadow, minimising their importance. Chiaroscuro creates a dramatic effect, emphasised by the gesture of the figure bottom left. Light also picks out calmer aspects: the recorder at middle left, spectators, the doctor’s calm demeanour. Almost a pyramidal composition The doctor’s importance is emphasised by his position at the apex of the compositional pyramid