Bacchus and Ariadne

Group members: Brady Reichert, Peter Brady

DESCRIPTION:
The basics
This is an oil painting by Titian, entitled "Bacchus and Ariadne". It was painted in 1522-23 and currently hangs in the National Gallery (London). The dimensions of the work are: 69.5" (tall) x 75" (wide), roughly square in its overall format.

The subject of the composition appears to be a narrative, taking place within a landscape that is set against a bright blue sky.

Top to bottom:
The lower half of the scene is occupied by a parade of human and animal figures who appear to be set in motion on a dirt path. The vast blue sky and green foliage that occupies the upper half of the scene is punctuated by a solitary figure emerging from the lower half.

Front to back: foreground, middle-ground, background

Foreground:
On the left-hand side of the composition, we see a feminine figure who appears to be pointing or gesturing into the distance, glancing inward towards the mass / group entering the composition from the right. In addition, we observe a metal urn lying on its side, resting atop a piece of fabric positioned on the ground.

From the right-hand side, The lower half of the scene is occupied by a parade of human and animal figures who appear to be set in motion on a dirt path leading into and through the horizontal mid-point of the composition. Within this mass, we observe the following: a figure who seems to be struggling to walk in spite of being wrapped by a writhing snake, a pair of leopards attached to a wooden cart or chariot, , a dog, several flower piercing through the ground, a half-boy/half-animal creature dragging the head of a calf by a rope, another animal-like man gripping a vine-entangled staff in his left hand while raising into the air what seems to be a hind leg of an animal. One lady holds two musical cymbals, while another is seen clutching a tambourine.

Middle-ground:
On the right-hand side of the composition, in the middle ground, we observe an approaching group of three figures accompanied by a donkey.

LINE
The character of line found throughout the painting is best described as organic or curvilinear; however, one can also find a number of straight lines employed in vertical, horizontal, and diagonal directions. The mention of line refers specifically to its function as the linear separation between objects, not as an outline / tracing surrounding the objects. It is inherent in the compositional "pathway" throughout the composition.

SHAPE
A number of implied shapes can be found throughout areas of the composition (namely triangles and squares), ranging in size. Although angular, more architectural forms can be found in the likes of a staff, wooden wheeled cart, and the distant buildings, the predominant forms contained in this composition are organic in character.

COLOR
The use of color is rather bold in some areas of the canvas, with the predominant color scheme deriving from subtle variations of primary hues (red, blue, yellow) and the color green. In addition to the areas of saturated color use, Titian has included the use of muted, duller versions of these colors.

TEXTURE
The simulated textures contained in the painting are vast, ranging from the soft, velvety appearance of fur to the rough texture of tree bark; from the soft, warm feeling of skin to the hard, cold surface of metal.

VALUE
The values employed by Titian range greatly, from extreme dark to extreme light. The values are modeled smoothly from light to dark, lending a three-dimensional appearance to the scene.

SPACE (DEPTH)
Titian's work possesses a great deal of space / depth, which has been achieved through a number of strategies.

 

The work has a mood of chaos to it. The reasons being the people are jumping about and look to be yelling as well. You also see a look of suddenness in the group of people. Now from what I read Ariadne daughter of King Minos of Crete was left on the island of Naxos by her lover Theseus. Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens. Ariadne is discovered on the shore by the god Bacchus who is leading a large group of people in a chariot drawn by two cheetahs. Bacchus who is in mid-air as he jumps out of the chariot to protect Ariadne from the cheetahs. The stars in the sky is Ariadne’s crown, which Bacchus has thrown into the sky, and it then becomes the constellation Corona.
This all takes place on the island of Naxos

DESCRIPTION In this picture Bacchus and Ariadne I see a man wrestling with a snake, a satyr dragging a calf's head and a chariot being pulled by leopards. In the top right corner I see someone who looks like he is sleeping on a donkey.
ANALYSIS There are some straight lines for the trees, but their are alot of curved lines because of the movement of the figures in the painting. Movement is used in the painting because of the man grappling with the snake and the man swinging the calf leg
INTERPRETATION Depth is used because the people in the back of the painting are smaller than the people in front of the painting, and the artist blended the colors together for the sky making it look like it's actually moving.

School of Athens

Group members: Christian Sammy, Aaron Santos, Nikki Lowe

DESCRIPTION
In this portrait the artist, Raphael Sanzio, painted a fresco for the pope Julios II. It is said that this painting is 200X300in in measurement. This portrait was done from around 1503 - 1518. The portrait is filled with both warm and cool colors. You can see in this landscape a lot of people gathered in a school. You can also see people studying and teaching different things to others. You can also see on the left and right side, in the middle of the painting, you can see statues of, my guess would be of famous scholars. This landscape is a painting of a historical event. The artist shows a school with triangular as well as arch shaped patterns. This painting is a three dimentions painting. As you look further into the background you can tell that there is a vanishing point. This also shows a lot of value due to the diversity in color. Because of the shape of the walls, the artist obviously gave it a smooth type of texture. By looking at the walls, you can imagine that if you were in that very place, touching the walls would feel very smooth.
ANALYSIS
In this painting the artist shows alot of depth created by the walls and archways of the building. He used linear perspective to make the architecture really pop out and look three dimentional. Sanzio placed the horizon line more towards the middle of the painting, giving the illusion of being lower than most of the painting, looking up. The people in the painting are made to look more realistic with value and shading. The painting uses line in most of the architecture, and curved lines in the people and the cloth. Shape and form are mostly created by the large space. There are lots of half circles, triangles and squares in the painting. The colors are mostly warm with some cool accents. The textures of the painting are mostly solid, created by the floors and walls. Value is used well to create depth and shading. Space is created using linear perspective having the hallway go back in space.
INTERPRETATION

The school of Athens is a painting by Raphael Sanzio, and it depicts many different philosophers and scholars studying and discussing in a building in Athens. Some believe Raphael Sanzio was trying to say that there was no difference between thinkers that lived before and after the Biblical revelation, or between pagans and Christians. He used the people in the painting to represent different people throughout history. The mood and atmosphere of the painting is scholarly and studious.

La Primavera

La Primavera, Sandro Botticelli

Group members: Hunter Einsig, Aultumn Bowen

DESCRIPTION ; This portrait, by Sandro Botticelli, is 80 by 123.5 inches tempra on pannel in Uffizi, Florence. This painting is a landscape, based on roman mythology. In this painting i see trees formed of straight lines, oranges made by circles, roman gods,( mercury, venus, chloris, zemphyus, flora, and the graces.), triangles, leaves and flowers. this painting has a 3-d depth and has warm colors that are balenced with cool colors. There are straight, vertical, curved, and horizontal lines. Also in this painting are shapes like circles and triangles. The main shape of this painting would be a triangle starting from the leg of chloris going up to cupid then back down to
mercury's arm and body. The texture of this painting would be rough and soft at the same time also the value would be dark but balenced with the bright white people that stand out to the viewer,

ANALYSIS; the whole paintig is based off a pyramid the colors are warm an balanced with cool colors, with green and brown. There are some oranges, that make the darkened tree's stand out. The texture is smooth. There are straight lines,and curved lines. the shape of the painting would be a triangle. The value would be balanced with dark and the brightness of the people.

INTERPRETATION; The charecters seem to be in an orange groove meadow, The godess venus goddess of love is surounded by Mercury the messenger of the gods, Flora goddess of the flowers, Chloris diety of spring and eternal bearer of life, zemphyus the bitting wind os march, the Graces venus's deciples and cupid the god of love. Zemphyus is in the proccess of kidnapping chloris to make her his bride on one side on the other Mercury raises his caduceus embarked with snakes and keeps the dark evil clouds away. In the middle the Graces dance spreading jewels in the color of the Medici familly the girl under the arched trees is venus isolated from the group looking pregnant representing the symbol of new life. And cupid above aiming his arrow for the Graces blinded representing the phrase "love is blind" or " blinded by love"

The Birth of Venus

The Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli, 1884

Group members: Patrick Farves, Drew Cozzi

DESCRIPTION
This painting is named The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli. It was made in 1484 and is 68 x 109.5 inches. It was made by tempera on a canvas. It is a tells a mythological story and it is horizontal. I see a man, some women, an oyster, cattails, water, trees, and flowers. Lines are everything from straight, to curved, to diagonal. Looking at this painting i see triangles, circles, and rectangles. The colors in this painting are real subdued. There is no really saturated colors, but some are more saturated than others. It is wet from the water, hard and smooth from the oyster shell, fuzzy from the cattails, and warm and soft for the peoples skin. There is good use of value in this painting. There is just enough for the figures to show, but not to much so that they are overly noticeable. There isnt a ton of open space in this painting, but there is plenty of it.
ANALYSIS
There are some straight lines, then there are more smooth lines too. The shapes are mostly round like circles. The texture is smooth. The color is nicely blended form warm to cold. The value is good with all the shading. The space and depth is more close up, there isnt much stuff in the background. The rhythm of colors and texture is perfectly balanced.
INTERPRETATION
A woman is getting surrounded by 2 angels and a woman with a cloth. He is trying to say that there are people that will help you when needed.

The competition that epitomized the Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance

HW: Complete Study Guides #36 and #37

A:  Mon., 02/07

D:  Tues., 02/08

HW = Homework

A = Assigned

D = Due

HOMEWORK:
This weekend, your assignment is to find 5 things (inventions, social, political, etc.) that led / contributed to what we call the Italian Renaissance. Another approach on this would be to find at least 5 characteristics about the art and / or historical context of the Renaissance.

Be prepared to share your list with the class on Monday morning!

Raft of the Medusa - a collaborative class activity

We will examine this fascinating painting done by Gericault during our next class. Each of us will have time to research the internet for sources that present information on this particular work in a unique manner. The links to the sites we find will be pasted in this space for everyone's enjoyment!

Raft of the Medusa - by T. Gericault

LIST of LINKS:
Interesting video / perspective about the painting

calgary herald - a modern interpretation of this historic painting

Video about the painting and the artist (in French)

Elements and principles associated with the painting