ART 100 - Week 8: Still Life
PART 1: ALPHABET OF ART: SIZE
Assignment Instructions: Within the history of world art, find examples of artwork where the artist uses different sized elements to make things appear nearer and of greater importance or to make things appear further away or less important.
Example 1: Receding Planes / Atmospheric Perspective
Shepherd
- Claude Lorraine
1697
Oil on Canvas
- Claude Lorraine
1697
Oil on Canvas
In traditional format, the foreground, middleground, and background are clearly separated. In this image, however, there is further distinction made between each by the setting sun that bathes the land in light. The elements that are further away lose detail with the changes in the atmospheric clarity.
Exmaple 2: Prominent Figure
Tragic Prelude
- John Steuart Curry
1937-1942
Mural
- John Steuart Curry
1937-1942
Mural
In the scene above, John Brown is seen as the dividing line between Union and Confederate forces at the onset of the US Civil War. Brown was a White American Abolitionist who lead raids to overthrow slavery. His movement preceeded Lincoln's term that lead to the Civil War. The artist, Curry, used opposites to illustrate the duality of the scene such as warm and cool colors polarized from left to right, the destructive forces of the tornado and the blazing fire, the Union forces with torsos facing the foreground and Confederate forces with their backs turned to the audience, and the consequence of war illustrated by the dead troops lying face down on each side at the bottom of the frame. An element that tips the scales in the Union's favor, which is not immediately seen, is the wind that is blowing the flags in the direction of the Union, as well as the wagons in the middleground/background that are also heading in the side of the Union.
Example 3: Size Through Distorted Perspective
Hand With Reflecting Sphere
- M. C. Escher
1937
Lithograph
- M. C. Escher
1937
Lithograph
M. C. Escher is well known for his surrealistic perspective applied to his art work. Here we see a self portrait with a nontraditional point of view. The sphere mirrors Escher and the room around him with emphasis on the hand at the bottom of the globe. The once linear room is bloated, making pieces such as the cieling, book shelves, and walls to appear bent. The texture and inclusion of reflective curves is beyond impressive. Additionally, we are experiencing reality through the hand holding the orb, and an alternate realiity seen within the orb itself. This is artistry at its finest.
PART 2: STILL LIFE