The purpose of this essay is to compare two works of art in order to pinpoint their differences more accurately and thereby gain a better understanding of each.
<Comparison paintings>
– Ingres, “The Princess Broglie 1853
– Paul Cezanne, Madame Cezanne in the Conservatory 1889
<Paper Instructions>
– Make notes in the museum.
Describe the subject matter of each work.
Try to think how artists manipulate the conventions of illusionist painting.
Ask yourselves how do the subject and the use of form create the personality of each artwork?
What is the searing statement that each work projects about its subject?
– Research on the artists and the artworks
the artist goals, working methods and the significance of this or her subject as matter as it relates to the work you are analyzing.
Your paper should have a title.
<Visual vocabulary pointers>
-composition
Is it stable or dynamic? Is the subject disposed on a diagonal or anchored to a triangular shape, for example? What is the underlying structure?
-proportion
Where is the vantage point? Where is the viewer in relation to the subject?
-space
Is the space depicted deep or shallow? Is the perspective realistic or distorted? Describe how this affects the picture.
-color
Is it true to nature or exaggerated?
-light
Is it consistent with a single light source such as the sun or is it expressed differently through the use of a high keyed palette, for example.
-texture
Is the brushstroke invisible or apparent and brushy ? Is it smooth and fluid or does it visibly leave the texture of paint behind?
-transcription
In translating the motif onto canvas does the artist favor lines and bounded color and discreet modeling or rough shapes built with the brush?
