Art Appreciation: Analysis and Comparison of Artworks (Visual Arts)

This assignment delves into the analysis and comparison of various artworks, encompassing both single image evaluations and comparative studies. Section 1 focuses on individual artworks, including Picasso's "Guernica," Durer's "The Knight, Death and the Devil," and McCarthy's "Urban Buddha," requiring an examination of their dominant visual elements, underlying subjects, and artistic techniques. Section 2 presents three sets of comparisons: the first juxtaposes Carriera's "Portrait of a Girl with a Bussola" and Degas' "Le Petit Dejeuner Après Le Bain"; the second contrasts Botticelli's "The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti" with van Eyck's "Madonna and Child with the Chancellor Rolin"; and the third compares the "Army on the March, Relief from Angkor Wat" with Longo's "Corporate Wars: Wall of Influence." Each comparison necessitates an analysis of subject matter, visual elements, compositional design, and artistic techniques, providing a comprehensive exploration of art history and artistic expression.

Running Head: THE EVALUATION AND COMPARISON OF THE ARTWORKS
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Running Head: THE EVALUATION AND COMPARISON OF THE ARTWORKS
Contents
Section 1.....................................................................................................................................3
Image 1...................................................................................................................................3
(Picasso, Guernica, 1937)...................................................................................................3
Image 2...................................................................................................................................4
(Durer, the Knight, Death and the Devil, 1513).................................................................4
Image 3...................................................................................................................................4
(McCarthy, Urban Buddha, 2009)......................................................................................4
Section 2.....................................................................................................................................5
Comparison 1..........................................................................................................................5
A comparison between Carriera, Portrait of a Girl with a Bussola, 1725-30 and Degas,
Le Petit Dejeuner Après Le Bain, c. 1894..........................................................................5
Comparison 2..........................................................................................................................5
The comparison between Sandro Botticelli, The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti, 1483 and
a van Eyck, Madonna and Child with the Chancellor Rolin, c. 1433-34...........................5
Comparison 3..........................................................................................................................6
Comparison of Army on the March, Relief from Angkor Wat, 1100-1150 with Longo,
Corporate Wars: Wall of Influence, 1982...........................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................6
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Running Head: THE EVALUATION AND COMPARISON OF THE ARTWORKS
Section 1
Image 1
(Picasso, Guernica, 1937)
Search out for the simplicity of the message in this visual complexity created by Picasso with
an intention to register his protest against the war. While looking it at from a distance it
seems like a set of jumbled images scattered on a canvas. The presence of angular sharp lines
gives us an impression that the artist made this painting in a chaotic mindset, or he is trying to
depict a chaos caused by a certain event. Picasso himself wanted this painting to become
popular as a poster against the Fascism and war (Waite).
When we have a closer look then we start finding asymmetric symbolism in the painting. We
realize that it is a room where adults are suffering and dying, on having a deeper look we find
six human figures, all of them are incomplete in their own way and telling the story of a
tragedy. We can also see a bulb placed inside an eye, many art lovers have this opinion that
this bulb represents a bomb. We have a raging bull signifying the ambition of the Spanish
Rulers at that point of time. The presence of a dove culminates the message of the picture
which is peace. Sometime disturbance and haphazardness delivers the message more
effectively and Guernica proves this thesis true. During its first release in 1937 many
spectators said that they got engrossed in the painting and it seemed that they are reading
some newspaper articles over the crisis of the war.
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Running Head: THE EVALUATION AND COMPARISON OF THE ARTWORKS
Image 2
(Durer, the Knight, Death and the Devil, 1513)
One of the three master prints created by Duter, this painting is a masterpiece of gothic
engraving patterns. The interlocking curves of the Horse register the presence of the other
forms as well. The horse and the knight held the center-stage of this composition where
tangle mass of the branches acts as the filler in the painting. Towards the bottom length of
this master print, we see a skull representing the death and creating the impact of foreground
for the painting. The backdrop of the engraved master print shows us a castle and oak trees.
This master print bears the initials of the painter in the bottom which reads "S."
On the lines of the literary criticism, many experts believe that the knight is a Christian
wearing the armor of the faith and moving ahead in a world where death and devil are
welcoming him from all the quarters. According to them, it represents the journey of the
knight towards heaven. The posture of the knight and the aggressiveness of the other objects
present in the main composition give rise to two schools of thoughts. The first school says
that this knight is a Christian knight, whereas the second school of thought says that this
knight is a robber knight (Larry Silver).
Image 3
(McCarthy, Urban Buddha, 2009)
As a painter, Paul McCarthy is well known for the stylizing of his paintings with the help of
some abstract colors. He himself claimed that he takes inspiration from Hollywood and
making the paintings in action is his genre (Rappolt). The painting Urban Buddha is his take
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Running Head: THE EVALUATION AND COMPARISON OF THE ARTWORKS
on the Buddhism in the current society where consumerism and the intoxication of the
pleasure is creeping in and polluting the thought processes. He adopted Eastman color pallet
in this painting. This pallet denotes an old world charm and takes us into the era of 70's when
the artistic creepers and pastel shades were very popular.
Many art historians also find that this painting depicts the influence of Lord Buddha on the
silk route of trading. According to them, the artist tries to capture the essence of Buddha in
present day markets that can be compared with the markets of the silk route.
Section 2
Comparison 1
A comparison between Carriera, Portrait of a Girl with a Bussola, 1725-30 and Degas,
Le Petit Dejeuner Après Le Bain, c. 1894
The comparison between the two paintings tells us that Carriera has made the portrait of a girl
with the help of Rococo style. The color selection is pastel and the brush strokes are
spontaneous. The presence of the dancing lights forming the backdrop of the painting makes
it look even more aesthetic. The shadow work in around the main subject also adds a soft
tonality (Witkins).
Degas, on the other hand, took the support of the action more in order to communicate his
feelings. His earthy color palette adds harshness in the painting. He has a crude approach
towards the subject matter, unlike Carriera whose focus is more on the aesthetics and the
symmetry of the painting.
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Running Head: THE EVALUATION AND COMPARISON OF THE ARTWORKS
The focus of Carriera is to create a subjective painting where the portrait is looking into the
eyes of the viewers. Degas, on the other hand, presented his subjects in an objective fashion.
The work of the Degas is more universal in nature whereas the work of Carriera confines her
to a particular subject.
Comparison 2
The comparison between Sandro Botticelli, The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti, 1483
and a van Eyck, Madonna and Child with the Chancellor Rolin, c. 1433-34
Both the paintings depict two different stories, we can consider them as one of the scenes
from the story. Van Eyck focused on the emotions of the characters more. He captured the
moment with utmost honesty where the expressions on the face of Madonna are the highlight
of the painting and makes it a memorable work of art.
Sandro Botticelli on the other relied on the action more; this painting depicts an action taking
place where many characters are ready to play their roles. For an art lover, it is very
important to read the stories behind the paintings first. Otherwise, none of the paintings will
be able to communicate the message or the story behind them.
The iconography of Van Eyck makes it a visual treat and invites an art lover to explore the
details of the backdrop where he established a city. Sando Boticelli, on the other hand, relied
on the kinetic energy of the characters and depicted it with a color pallet which is not
aesthetic. The impression of a disturbance was the prime purpose of Sandro Botticelli and he
achieved it. Van Eyck tried to bring in an opulence in his work of art and took the support of
a complex light source to add a gloominess in the basic feel of the painting (E.M.Rees).
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Running Head: THE EVALUATION AND COMPARISON OF THE ARTWORKS
Comparison 3
Comparison of Army on the March, Relief from Angkor Wat, 1100-1150 with Longo,
Corporate Wars: Wall of Influence, 1982
The clarity of a painting can sometimes kill the ambiguity of an artwork. While comparing
both the works we find that Longo is more specific about the details of the murals. He wants
to communicate a story with the help of facial expressions and actions. This piece of art
shows a confluence of New American style with the style of the 80’s (Smith).
Army on the March Relief is a historical document while comparing it with the Longo's work
we should not forget the era in which they made this mural. It was the best during its time.
An artist carved a page of history in the form of a mural. Longo, on the other hand, tried to
come up with a social commentary of the contemporary times.
Army on a March Relief is a direct message whereas Longo's work attracts the art lovers on
the merit of the symbolism. The comparison of two works of arts also tells us a lot about the
medium of the publication. Army on a March Relief is less aesthetic because the medium of
the publication or the stones were tough to work with. However, the work of Longo depicts
more curves and explores the human body in detail because technology is getting easier with
the arrival of digital prints and art lovers expect certain types of accuracies and details in the
artworks.
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Running Head: THE EVALUATION AND COMPARISON OF THE ARTWORKS
References
E.M.Rees. The Wedding: An Encounter with Jan Van Eyck. Pennsylvania :
Potter/Ten/Speed/ Harmony Rodale , 2010.
Larry Silver, Jeffrey Chipps Smith. The Essential Durer. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Press,
2011.
Rappolt, Mark. “Paul McCarthy.” Art Review (2015):
https://artreview.com/features/september_2015_feature_paul_mccarthy/.
Smith, Roberta. “ART VIEW; Once a Wunderkind, Now Robert 'Long Ago'?” The New
York Times (1989): https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/29/arts/art-view-once-a-
wunderkind-now-Robert-long-ago.html.
Waite, Jesse. “Guernica: Cubism as Art and Political Response.” Humanities in the Modern
World (2008): https://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/20th/project4.html.
Watkins, Rochelle. Sheltering Art: Collecting and Social Identity in Early Eighteenth-century
Paris. Pennsylvania: Penn State Press, 2012.
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