Critique of artwork

How to analyze an artwork?

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INDEX

1. CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION

• TECHNIQUE
• FORMAL ANALYSIS

2.ANALYSIS

• THEMEs
• ICONOGRAPHY
• SOCIAL BACKGROUND
• ARTISTICAL BACKGROUND
• INFLUENCES OF THE ARTWORK

3. INTERPRETATION

4. PERSONAL OPINION AND CONCLUSION

1. ClasifiCATION AND DESCRIPTION

• Type of art , title, author and date
• style and age
• Brief description of the painting

Example: This paiting is the Arnolfini wedding, painted by Jan Van Eyck in the 15th century, using the oil over canvas tecnique. He is one ot the greatest painters of the northern reinassance, artistic movement developed in currrent Belgium. It is a genre scene that shows an allegory of formal marriage.

2. analysIS

2. ANALYSis

• TECHNIQUE: ¿HOW IS IT DONE?

• Fresco
• Egg temple
• Oil over canvas
• Mosaic
• stain glasses.

WHAT ART ELEMENTS CAN YOU RECOGNISE?

• light: Natural, artificial, luminous space. dark, chiaroscuro, etc.
• Line: strong, shoft , thin, defining.

• Colour: Warm, cool, monochromatic, bichromatic, soft, bright, vibrant, strong.

• Proportion of the figures: ideal, real elongated, widened.
• Perspective: linear or aerial. Explain it.
• Movement: estatic or dynamic
• Composition: balaced, unbalaced, simple.

The LIGHT is very NATURAL, softly entering through the window. illumniating the main figures . We can see the chiaroscuro effect, that creates a visual game between the lights and the shadows. LINES are strongly defined, therefore the figures have a scultorical appearence. COLOURS are vibrant and bright due to the invetion of oil technique, invented by the flemish painting. Most of the colours of the canvas are bright but the outstanding green gown ot the lady PROPORTION is not following the canon of Reinassance (Vitruvius man or Polycletus) but we can see elongated and slender figures.

PERPECTIVE. We can see lineal perspective. Therefore the lines on the floor and the ceiling converge in the mirror, that is the vanishing point of the composition. . This achieve to create the illusion of depth, depite the narrow format of the canvas. MOVEMENT: There is scarce movement, if we consider that the figures are completly hieratic. COMPOSITION: Its symmetrical and based in geometrism, as if we divide the image into two, we can appreciate the same proportions.

• light: Natural, artificial, luminous space. dark, chiaroscuro,
• Line: strong, shoft , thin, defining.

• Colour: Warm, cool, monocromatic, soft, bright, vibrant, strong.

• Proportion of the figures: ideal, real elongated, widened.
• Perspective: linear or aerial. Explain it.
• Movement: estatic or, dynamic
• Composition: balaced, unbalaced, simple.

• light:
• Line:

• Colour:

• Proportion of the figures:
• Perspective:
• Movement:
• Composition:

3. interpretation

themes

— Theme: Myhology, alegory, historic, religious: Is it a common topic of its time?— Function of the painting (what is its use?)

Its a portait of the couple Arnolfini, that are on the position of taking a religious vow. We can see how the lord is taking the hand of the lady as he is rising up the hand to make a promise to God. Its funcion would be the promotion of marriage values.

ICONOGRAPHY

Chanderlies is very expensive, being a a symbol of wealth Single candle burning is a symbol reference to Christ Man is close to the window to shoe that he is part of the world outide. Woman standing close to the ellaborate bed to indicate her domestic rol Shoes as a wedding gift and a symbol of stability Dog symbol of fidelity and wealth

ICONOGraphy

• The funtion of the mirror is to shos the vision of the painting. There two figures that could be the witness to the wedding or the painter with an attendant
• Its signature–“Johannes van Eyck fuit hic”(Jan Van Eyck was here)-, located over the mirror, let us think that the artist was in the wedding as a witness.

• The oranges over the table are a symbol of its economic wealth as the came from the south of Europe.

ANALYSEs OF THE SOCIAL and historical BACKGROUNd

— Artist, client. Is there a connexion between them?— Define the painting of the artist in his painting career.

The client is Giovanni Arnolfini, who was a well-off italian merchant established in Flanders. Her wife died only one year before this paiting was done, so maybe its a a posthumous portrait. This belong to the context of the artists known as the flemish primitives. Sometimes he is known as 'the Father of oil painting' Jan van Eyck substantially pushed the use of oil over canvas into a new realm, giving much more realism and detail. Moreover, we can see the main caractheristic of Northern Reinassance: interest in pale colours, naturalism and perpective studies.

INFLUENCE OF THE ARTWORK

• IMPORTANCE IN ART HISTORY
• INFLUENCES ONFORTHCOMING ARTIST

Wedding Arnolfini is an Eyck most prominent painting and one masterpiece of the artworld. It has being valued for its realism and its complex symbolism. Finally, the use of the mirrors was a revolutionary innovation to achieve perspective but also to create a game with the viewer and incorporate other caracthers. This artwork was highly influential in other canvas as the well-known Meninas of Velazquez, that also takes the dog and the use of the light.

4. PERSONAL OPINION

In my opinion, the Wedding Arnolfini is one ot the most egnimatic and complex artworks of the flemish paitings. The iconography is specially outstanding, due to the great number of details that the canvas has. I also fancy the disposition of the furniture of the room and the way the different elements are displayed. I personally like the use of the mirror to reflect a hidden reality, tha interacts with the viewer. All in all, I greatly cherish this paiting and I can understand why it is consider a masterpiece.

Evaluation rubric

CHOOSE ON ARTWORK

Sandro Boticelli - Nacimiento de Venus

CHOOSE A PAINTING

El lavatorio de los pies (Tintoretto)

CHOOSE ONE PAINTING TO ANALYZE

Dánae de Tiziano

CHOOSE ONE PAINTING TO ANALYZE

El castigo de Laoconte (El Greco)