Theme 4 Tonal Exam Part 1

Contextual Studies Theme 4 – Tonal Lizleen Malihan AS Exam

The Arnolfini Portrait Jan Van Eyck

Jan Van Eyck 1434 Oil on oak Small scale: 82 x 60 In the painting, a lot of things are happening; the woman's dress has realistic creases, with dark green tones to create the depth of a 3D image, making it look real. The lighting is coming from two different directions: one from the window on the mans left side and towards the flooring where there is a light area. The woman herself is illuminated by the light, this could mean that she’s pure and innocent. It also looks like she is pregnant but it could just be her dress being puffy. The man looks like he is blessing the woman, whilst holding her hand. A dog is seen below the two people, this indicates that they’re wealthy and having a dog means “loyalty”. The figures are set in a bedroom, where it’s elegantly decorated. In the background, you can see a mirror, and a reflection of the two people in the painting. Looking behind the man, you can see oranges which could indicate that they’re rich as in Burges, Oranges were expensive and hard to obtain. There’s a chandelier above them only has one candle lit.

The back of the wall has writing where Van Eyck wrote “Johannes de eyck fiur hir” meaning “Jon Van Eyck was here”, as a signature for his painting.

In this close up, they’re overlapping each others hand, you can see the tones of their shadows overlapping and the slight difference in tone highlights the tenderness that is seen in this relationship.

Here you can see two other figures in the reflection of the mirror, so overall there are actually 4 maybe 5 (including the dog) people in the painting itself. The design of the mirror looks sophisticated and royalty like, making it seem they’re rich. It’s a convex mirror, so you can fully see what the reflections are. The tones on the outside of the mirror are darker and more intense than the inside area (creating the shadow of the mirror hanging from the wall).

Over here, we have the chandelier from the painting. One candle is lit, bright and alive whilst one candle is burn out, not alive as the one candle. This can symbolise that one of the people, who could possibly be Giovanni Arnolfini, is alive and his wife's after death, Constanza. The shadings and tones of the chandelier vary in different shades; as you go further to the top of the base, it gets darker and more golden than the bottom area. The spikes sticking out from the base gradually gets lighter in tone, and a more copper colour is now showing.

The background in general has that hue of dark and slowly blending in with the light area of the copper brown. These realistic details are typical of Northern Renaissance work.

Looking closer at the painting, and especially the dress of Constanza, we can see that it is completed in a way where from afar, you think it’s a Photograph instead of a painting.

The emerald green dress has tones varying in different tones of green; at the bottom of the dress, there are creases and Eyck has painted the creases a darker shade of green. As you go up to her waist, he’s done more creases from where she is holding her dress, this includes more depth in tone and a darker emerald green appears. On the other hand, the fabric on her head contrasts with her dress; pure white and little shadow to it. This is because the light is shining towards her and illuminating the figure.

On the other hand, Arnolfini is wearing a darker tone of clothes; a deep indigo, outlining his pale skin. His hat has hardly any tone, it’s just pitch black with a hint of white from where the light is hitting it towards the side. His shoes blend in with his shadows.

The tonal modelling in this painting creates realistic three dimensional forms. This type of modelling is almost chiaroscuro. Chiaroscuro is a type of technique that creates tonal paintings and creates depth within a painting. Furthermore. I will

now be looking into more extreme Chiaroscuro from different artists.

The dog has shades of brown and caramel fur, and the dog represents loyalty. When you look closer you can see Van Eyck's individual brushstrokes.

Judith Beheading Holofernes Caravaggio

The Baroque Period Caravaggio existed in the Baroque and Renaissance Period of Art. The Baroque was around in the 1500’s – 1700’s and also known as the “Broken Pearl”. The Baroque era was a dramatic and dark era, where most deaths would be over exaggerated and simply bloody. It’s also another form of “Dramatic Religious art style” meaning all paintings were somehow related to the Bible and those who believe in their God, exaggerated (linking back to Rome and the Catholic). From here on, religion was split in two.

The Baroque Period was the period where most artists would paint dramatic art pieces incorporating sculpture, music and literature. It began around Rome and Italy, but slowly it started spreading around Europe. It is certainly a unique style compared to the other periods.

Artworks from the Baroque time period tend to show the most dramatic point of a narrative, and artists like Caravaggio employed extreme chiaroscuro in their use of light and tone.

Judith Beheading Holofernes 1598 – 1599 Oil on Canvas 145 x 195 cm

The bag that the old woman is holding is there to put Holofernes’ head once it falls off.

Caravaggio was accused of murdering more than one person, and therefore he was running away whilst still painting his artworks. He uses oil paint in all his works, creating a realistic and dark feeling, making sure every detail is on the canvas.

In the painting, it is seen that Holofernes is being beheaded by Judith, by a sword. His face shows pain and agony and the blood coming from his neck looks realistic that it seems like the image is alive. The painting has a dramatic impact when it comes to the tones and lighting. The background is pitch black, similar to that to David’s “The Death of Marat”, the background is dark and heavy to reveal the outline of the people in the painting. The way Caravaggio applied the paint is smooth and the tones and shadows on Holofernes’ body brings the painting alive. The crimson cloak in the background symbolises the death of Holofernes. The creases on the cloak makes it look alluring and real; if you touch the painting you could touch it. Judith in this painting looks young and petit, her pale skin in contrast to the old woman next to her indicates that everyone gets old, and that Judith or any woman will stay young forever and eventually die of old age.

The crimson cloak with it’s creases creating a darker shade of crimson, symbolising death.

Caravaggio has a dark personality, where he would murder one person after another and runs away, painting his works. Most of his paintings are actually him, being killed. This implies that in every painting he has created, he almost killed himself in everyone to atone for his sins. This gives a dramatic impact to all his paintings. He wants to be executed and die, hoping that God would atone his sins.

This painting here was created by Caravaggio again, linking back to the first painting where he was also getting beheaded.

In all of his paintings that he has created, he has the same face in all of them; his mouth open and his eyes half shut. When Judith is killing Caravaggio, she is holding his hair, forcing his neck to be exposed to get a clean cut. It is the same with this painting here; the man is holding Caravaggio by the hair, lifting his head to show that it’s apart from his body.

The blanket that he is lying on is dirty and bloody which could symbolise all the people he has killed, and how it’s relating back to him.

The background is pitch black, to show the figures and to outline their shape, to make it easier to work out what the figures are doing. The shadow on Caravaggio’s face shows doom and guiltiness, from killing all those people.

An Experiment on a Bird in an Air pump Joseph Wright

Joseph Wright of Derby was an English landscape and portrait artist. He was alive between 1734-1797. Out of all artists, he was the first to be named as the “first painter to express the Industrial Revolution in England”. He painted “An Experiment on a Bird in an Air Pump”, to show the viewers that science has discovered that we breathe by Oxygen.

An Experiment on a Bird in an Air Pump 1768 Oil on Canvas Large scale

In the painting, you can see 10 people gathered around a table, while watching what is happening to the bird in the glass jar. The figure in the centre is the main figure out of all the rest because he is experimenting on the white parakeet. By this time, scientists have emerged and taken over the religious views. His left hand is outstretched, trying to bring in the viewers to come and sit with them on the table as there is a space between the two men. Chiaroscuro is easily seen in this painting as the light is coming from the centre of the table, illuminating all the figure’s face. Each of the figures are doing different things.

These two are clearly not paying attention to the experiment rather looking at each other. This goes back to the Rococo period, known as the “Flirtatious Era”, other than the evolution of the industrial state.

This figure here, by the looks of it is trying to close the curtain, as if the scientist is doing something horrible that shouldn’t be seen by humans.

As you can see here, the two girls in the painting are looking away from the scientist and the parakeet because it’s a disturbing scene to see. The smaller girl looks terrified and confused as to why the man is doing that to the parakeet.

Whilst this young boy here looks fascinated and intrigued by the experiment that is happening.

The scientist here looks professional and emotionless. His right hand is holding the area where no air could come in, suffocating the parakeet, testing it to see how it’ll react. By doing this, he is able to find out that humans breath by using Oxygen, without it, you die. The light illuminates his face, making him look powerful.

The shadow on the side of his face could symbolise that he is up to something horrible.

This snapshot could also represent that the scientists are overtaking the religion views and wanting the people to believe science. The dove is a symbol of religion and the scientist is trapping it, taking over.

This man here looks older than the rest of the figures in the painting. He is staring intently at the table and at the big glass which has something in it, some kind of body part inside the liquid glass. His face shows agony and perhaps he is thinking about death, considering his old age not everybody lives. He could be thinking of “The Age of Reasoning?�

The Waterseller of Seville Diego Velasquez

The Waterseller of Seville 1618 Oil paint on canvas 106 cm x 82 cm

Diego Velasquez is an artist from the Baroque Period and painted “The Waterseller of Seville”. He was born in Spain. Velasquez started painting at the age of 20 and his subject matter is his characteristic from his younger days. In the painting you can see three figures, the two main figures are in the foreground whilst the third figure is in the shadows, drinking his water.

The man wearing the brown cloak looks humble and his clothes have warm brown tones and has a slight orange tint to it. Velasquez is showing the mans dignity, giving out water. There are hardly no shadows on his face, only light tones; this could symbolise that he’s being illuminated by the light.

Velasquez has used Chiaroscuro a lot in this painting, making the piece meaningful. The light is seen coming from the left side of the painting, enlightening the two main figures in the painting.

This could symbolise that the old man is being praised and the young boy.

The man in the background is good example of Chiaroscuro with it’s dark and heavy tones making it seem impossible to notice that he was there unless you look closely. He is seen drinking from a bigger jug, seemingly waiting in line for more water.

The bigger vase has an earthy feel and colour to it.

The light that comes from the top, and darker as it descends makes it look realistic. The delicate trails of water makes it seem touchable and the creases in the vase looks earthy.

The glass is creating an illusion and Velasquez makes it the unconscious focus of the painting. The man and the young boy both have their hands on the glass, staring at it intently.

Las Meninas

Velasquez at Court Furthermore to Velasquez and his career, King Philip made him his “Usher of the Chamber” meaning that he hired Velasquez to paint him and his family, in private. He started painting the portraits of all the royal family and made his way the prestigious status of “Chamberlain of the Palace” in 1652. His many duties includes furnishing and decorating the palace and organizing public events.

“Las Meninas” is a painting created by Velasquez himself for the royal family. In the painting, in the distance you can see a mirror; in it is King Philip and his wife and Velasquez is seen with his monumental canvas, paintbrush in hand ready to paint the couple.

The toning and light in this painting is similar to “The Waterseller of Seville”; they both use Chiaroscuro with it’s darker tones in the background and ceiling, whilst the light is coming from the middle right corner of the painting, highlighting the Infanta Margarita, illuminating her with light and prosperity.

Source: Book Great Artists Explained, Robert Cumming Page 46

The Execution of Lady Jane Grey Paul Delaroche

Romanticism

Romanticism is a type of art style. It’s normally described as “poetic” and depicts emotional subject matter in an imaginative form. Most painters from this Period creates artwork with emotional and imaginative ideas. Delaroche didn’t see the execution by his eyes, but employed an academic drawer to sketch and design what the execution would look like. Romanticism is an era where you don’t have to see it to paint it by eyes, but how you look at it and how it affects you in terms of emotions. Artists from this period are known to be famous and well known.

Paul Delaroche The Execution of Lady Jane Grey 1833 Oil on canvas

The Execution of Lady Jane Grey interpreted by Paul Delaroche, in 1833. In the image is Lady Jane Grey, getting ready to be executed by Sir John Brydges. Lady Jane was known for her Protestant ways, making the people of England vote for her instead of Queen Mary the I, who was the half sister of Edward IV. England crowned Jane as Queen… However, she only lasted for nine days on the throne; due to Queen Mary the I and her officials reported her for treason, so Lady and her husband got sent to the Tower of London and was executed at Tower Green on 12th February 1554. The painting by Delaroche depicts Lady Jane Grey’s execution.

In in the painting, there are 5 people; in the middle is Lady Jane, who looks like she’s trying to find her way to the beheading table, she is wearing a white dress, referencing to her innocence and purity. The darker tones in the background show the miserable and saddening death of her. In the middle with Lady Jane, stands Sir John Brydges her to the beheading table. On the right, stands a man who has an axe next to him. His posture is like Classical Contrapposto, referencing to classical art because the way his legs are positioned like the sculptures of heroes. The colour of his outfit is red, perhaps symbolising the execution itself. The hay is there to absorb the blood from the person being beheaded. If you look closely, the mans outfit is a mixture of red and black, this toning and colour could symbolise death and blood all in one.

The lady in black faces the wall, with her hands above her head as if trying to escape. Her dark dress symbolises the death of Lady Jane Grey, and the use of Chiaroscuro brings out the situation more.

Further in the background, you can see a shadow almost like someone is facing towards the left and holding an axe.

In this snapshot, the colour on Lady Jane Grey’s dress is the complete opposite to Sir John Brydges. The tones on Brydges has dark and almost black tones, even his skin is darker and tanner.

Lady Jane Grey is wearing a white dress, with no shadows except for when the dress creases, you see subtle shadows on the creases off the dress; a dark beige, complimenting her pale complexion.

The woman's dress is a dark brown with plenty of dark shades and tones; earthy colours to represent that she could be next for execution, and slowly she starts withering from just the thought of it. Her hands are the same colour and toning as her dress. Towards the top and her sleeves, there are white and grey tones.

The Third of May 1808 Known as: The Execution of the Defenders of Madrid Francisco Goya

The Third of May 1808 (also known as The Execution of the Defenders of Madrid).

1814.

Oil on canvas.

345 x 266 cm

The Third of May 1808 (known as Execution of the Defenders of Madrid) is an art work painted by Goya in 1814. He witnessed this in 1808 but could not paint it until the 1814. If you look at the painting, a lot of blood and dead bodies on the ground. This could probably be because the people were going against the Spanish Royalty, and was executed by being shot. The man is wearing white, showing his innocence and purity. His hands are up, and if you look closely at his hands, there are red marks, which also could stand for a stigmata, like how Jesus has the cross to represent his stigmata.

Goya thinks that the rebels in the pictures will resurrect like Jesus does, and will rise again to rebel against the Spanish Royalty.

In the painting, there are a variety of Chiaroscuro happening; the man in the centre with his hands up is in the spotlight, symbolising his innocence. The light coming from the soldiers are directly hitting the people, illuminating their scared faces. In the distance, it is darker and more gloomy, which could symbolise that the other people waiting in line will die there and then.

In these two close up shots of the painting, you can see they’re all covering their eyes and ears; so that they won’t be able to hear the gun shots resonating in the dark night air. They’re body gesture tells them everything about how they’re feeling. The shadows on their clothes clearly show that they’re going to die soon. The black outfit that the man is wearing on the left is pure black, not in between.

The gunners are targeting the rebels, but they have their backs to us, showing the fact that they’re only concentrated on the rebels and killing them all off. The lantern is shining towards the rebels in the night, highlighting their rebellious behaviour. Their clothes are a deep dirty brown and no whites.

In this painting, he was instructed to paint Charles IV family in 1800. Due to King Charles IV weakness and wimpy personality, Spain fell into political and social corruption, leading Napoleon to invade Spain and take over.

Goya’s skills are excellent; he managed to capture the tiniest details of the clothing and beading. If you look closely, in the background towards the left corner, Goya painted himself in the painting, to acknowledge his presence.

The use of Chiaroscuro in this painting is big; the shadows below the figures create that realistic and haunting feeling.

While it’s dark towards the floor, the figures in the painting are all pale blues and whites with hue of gold. King Charles IV is wearing a dark outfit, symbolising his horrible nature.

He was instructed to not paint these whilst it was happening because of the new rulers of Spain. The painting itself is a confusion to the French and Spanish people; The Confusion of Battle. The lighting and shadows are all mixed up into one another, there isn’t a specific space where the light or dark area resides in. There are a lot of grey scale for the background.

At this point in time, Goya was 62 years old when Napoleonic invasion of Spain started, and Spain was subjected to six years of war and revolution. Goya was in Madrid when the tragedy of 2nd and 3rd of May happened. As I’ve said in previous slides, it was in 1814 that Goya was able to paint these paintings.

This painting was also painted on a large scale, to show its historical context and monumental size.

Bonaparte visiting the Plague-Stricken at Jaffa Baron Antoine – Jean Gros

Neoclassicism Artists from this period get their inspiration from classical art. It’s the given name of the Western movement; visual arts, literature, architecture, sculptor etc. It’s inspired from Ancient Greece and Rome.

Originally, Neoclassicism art was only in Ancient Rome in the 19th Century, but later on a group of students travelled around Europe and from then on, Neoclassicism art was around Europe as they shared their experiences from the art they discovered. Jean Gros is a neoclassical artist that uses oil paint to create his masterpieces.

Baron Antoine – Jean Gros was born in Paris 1771. He started painting at an early age; 6-7 years old. By this age, he was already in an art tuition due to his parents being artists themselves. At the age of 14, he was successful in his studies and moved on to work in the French studio. He was with Jacques Louis-David as he paints. The painting shows a variety of people, all different genders. There are 19 main figures clearly seen by the light source coming from the left corner.

The atmosphere looks depressing and saddening because of the plague. Everyone is in pain, hurting and wanting to be treated. Gros wants the viewers to see and feel the pain. The shadows towards the left hand side symbolises the death of the people who couldn’t be saved. Looking closer to the back near the left side, you can tell more people are on the ground possibly dead.

This sculptor is of Apollo, a Greek God. As you can see on the other photo, Napoleon is seen touching a man with the plague. Back then, if you go near or touch anyone who has the plague, you would easily catch it. Napoleon employed Gros to paint him like Apollo to make him seem god like to the people. In reality, you wouldn’t go near someone who has the plague but he wanted to look superior. The light is highlighting him in the middle, showing that he is god like.

Bonaparte visiting the Plague-Stricken at Jaffa 1804 Oil on canvas 532 cm x 720 cm

In this screenshot, its darker than most areas on the painting.

This shows that the people are dying from the plague, they’re not getting any help and sooner or later they’ll wither. The dark tones and shadows symbolises their death and Gros portrays this nicely.

The man wearing the white cloak could symbolise that he is a saviour or a doctor Gros was the bridge to Romanticism to these people. There are and Neoclassic Art. no shadows except for the bit where the light is shining from the top. He is wearing a red head scarf, which could symbolise death also.

Compared to the top screenshot, this screenshot shows more light and less shadows. You can clearly see the peoples faces and the French flag from afar. This use of chiaroscuro could lead the viewers to believing that the patients could be saved.

The Wonderer above the Sea of Fog Caspar David Friedrich

The Wonderer above the Sea of Fog 1818 Oil on canvas, medium scale

Caspar David Friedrich was born in 1774. He painted the “The Wonderer above the Sea of Fog” in 1818.

In the painting there is only one main figure, standing on top of a rock and looking down at the fog below him. Friedrich uses a technique called “Ruckenfigur”, which means that the figure has it’s back to the viewer, blocking it’s identity. The deep fog beneath the man could symbolise the hardships and difficult life he’s been through, and the light blue horizon in the distance could become his hope to be free. Friedrich has said, “The artist paint not only what he sees before him, but also what he sees within him”. In the painting, Nature is beautiful in it’s own way.

The tones that Friedrich used vary; for the rock it has a dark burgundy colour to it, making the figure stand out more instead of using black to blend in. The rocks in the distance are painted a lighter brown and the way that the fog envelopes them bring a sense of un-easiness to the man.

The figure is dominating the landscape and the man is centred in the middle, making hi man important part to the painting. His coat is pitch black and his hair is bright red making him stand out to the viewer.

As for his waist, it is matching the horizontal line I have created. The painting is the perfect measurement for the figure.

The sky above him has different shades of blue and hues of orange. By combining these colours, he is able to create a sky that is filled with hope and positive thoughts. The clouds are dark grey with a tint of white, to create a realistic feeling.

Furthermore, the lines show that the figure and the rock are creating a pyramid, and if you look closely the tip of the pyramid leads all the background to that one spot (on top of his head). Friedrich created this painting to create a symmetrical and a neat painting. The figure is making the viewer see what he sees and what he sees. This is another part of being a Romanticism painter; instead of looking at the painting and the man, we as the viewers are with the man and staring at the same view that he sees, involving us in his paintings. Not many artists would do this, but Friedrich made it happen.

The back of his head has a lot of tone; the red orange hair has a hint of dark honey orange making the shadows.

Friedrich wanted the viewers to be involved in the painting, making us view what the man sees.

The figure isn’t a anecdotal representation of the figure, it sends out real emotions to the viewers, just like any Romanticism artist would do; giving and creating emotions to the viewers, getting them involved.

Looking at the painting, the way Friedrich has painted the rocks create a sense of realism to it, making the viewer feel like they’re on top the rock, that is shaped like a pyramid.

Landscape

The background is simple yet effective; the sky has different hues of blues and tints of oranges. Further into the background, you can see a tall rock, a pale silver grey almost like a shadow. Next to it looks like a huge mountain in the horizon, which could mean hope for the man. Below that, it’s just endless fog, making it look like a sea where the water is splashing against the rocks. The man is staring down below the pyramid shaped rock, as if he is looking for something. In the foreground there are a few rocks emerging from the fog, or perhaps being sublime; thinking about the beauty and excellency of the view before him.

The landscape gives a mood of thought, loneliness and perhaps struggles from the man.

The atmosphere is not bright or cheerful, its solemn and plain. There are tones, but it’s very subtle.

Intention of Chiaroscuro Analysis of Paintings All of the paintings I have analysed link to Chiaroscuro. The first painting, the “Anolfini Painting� is my starting point; the dark and light tones within the painting really give out the Chiaroscuro meaning. All of the paintings have some relation to dark and light tones; some paintings have more darker tones than others and vice versa with the light tones. Also, most of the paintings are linking to one another such as the Baroque Period, with the enlightenment linking to the Rococo period.

The famous era of Romanticism and Neoclassism is also included, with it’s extreme Chiaroscuro created by Goya (Romanticism) and Gros (Neoclassism).