Style in Art
Style in art, particularly the visual arts, refers to a distinctive approach that enables the works to be categorized in accordance with one another. The visual representation of an artwork that connects it to previous works by the same artist or works by other artists from an analogous training, period, movement, place, or culture is referred to as style. It is important to be aware that styles are typically broken down into those of a country, era, cultural group, art movement, as well as the unique style of the artist within the group style. Style is also very important since every artistic style is connected to different philosophical views about humanity, artists, the world, and the significance of imagery. For an individual to gain a comprehensive understanding of an art work, context and form has to be taken into consideration.
Context and Form in Art
Context refers to the circumstances of the artist at the time, whether economically, socially, or politically. On the other hand, the form of a work of art refers to the real or actual technique that the artist has used in the execution of the piece. This paper makes three comparisons of three genres, which are self-portraits, abstract works of art, and landscapes, and for each comparison, two works of art are chosen.
Comparison of Self-Portraits
(Gentileschi, 2017).
Art Name: Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting
Time period: 1630s
Geographical region: London
Artist: Artemisia Gentileschi
(nga.gov., 2016).
Art Name: Self- Portrait, Judith Leyster
Time period: 1633
Geographical region: America
Artist: Judith Leyster
Having been born in Rome during the period of economic and artistic prosperity, Artemisia Gentileschi was surrounded by art, especially that of her father and fellow artist including his friends. Caravaggio is believed to have greatly influenced her work as she was a proponent of his style, which she incorporated into her works. Her portrait, the allegory of painting, was illustrated in the Baroque period as a female figure called Pittura. In the Self Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, the artist depicted herself with hair that is disheveled as well as an intense concentration on her work. In the painting, she is wearing a talisman of a mask around her neck, which symbolizes imitation. The Baroque style she utilized in this portrait was prevalent between the 16th and 18th century in Europe, and it is unique in the manner in which space and movement are depicted, and the manner in which the paint has been handled.
The form of this portrait is greatly different from that of the seventeenth century self-portraits. In the painting, her goal was to depict the act of artistic creation, and for her to achieve that, she showed herself studying a model that is not revealed with a poised hand over a blank canvas. The artist has used diagonal lines to flaunt the figure of the female and put emphasis on her movement. She has used foreshortening as well as other three-dimensional techniques to demonstrate her talent and catch the viewer emotionally. The front of the figure is perfectly lit, while her back is obscured. There is a clear line separating the dark from the light across the cheeks and the forehead and down the left shoulder and the neck’s side. She used similar base colors in the real painting as the burnt red base color portrayed on the blank canvas. The reddish brown color is resonated in her dress’s bodice and is complimented by her green satin sleeves. In addition, she took the green from the dress and used it sparingly and subtly to highlight her raised hand and neck. At the back of her dress, there are dark shades that blend into the reflected light of the satin sleeves. Moreover, the near-center of the image is perfectly punctuated by her pale flesh, which catches the eyes of the observer. In this painting, Artemisia Gentileschi is the primary point of focus, and the artist has worked all of the parts together to realize the harmony. The painting is proportional as the artist has cleverly used the space to also achieve a symmetrical balance.
It is clear that Judith Leyster’s self-portrait and that of Artemisia are completely different in terms of context and form. Firstly, it is worth noting that Leyster and her family did not have a chance of enjoying economic prosperity that Artemisia did. Her father was declared penniless in 1624 when she started creating paintings that she could sell. Her style of painting is heavily influenced by Frans Hals. In her self-portrait, Leyster portrayed herself as a young woman that is well dressed. She is relaxed and happy as she sat in front of an unfinished painting. She showed herself as a female painter with great talent by the manner she held several brushes, which reveals that her intention was to show that she was very competent at painting, and her goal was to acquire many commissions so that she could make a better living from her works. Though her style was also Baroque like Artemisia’s, she did not paint entirely objectively as she created an atmosphere and a composure that conveyed a true sense of self in her self-portrait. Judith Leyster is, however, the primary emphasis or focal point of the painting. Her clothing is refined, which she creates with thick brushstrokes or lines to achieve highlights of shinning purple. The white thin layers achieve the illusion of sheer lace, while the underneath has glimpses of fabric that is purple. Unlike the symmetrical balance in Artemisia’s portrait, Judith Leyster’s portrait has an informal balance or asymmetrical balance as the objects have been placed in a manner that allows differing weight objects to balance one another around the focal point.
Comparison of Abstract Works of Art
Abstract works of art have shapes, colors, and designs that are not like any specific physical objects, which makes them harder to be understood.
(wikiart.org., 2016).
Art Name: Water Lilies (The Clouds)
Time period: 1903
Geographical region: France
Artist: Claude Monet
“Water Lilies (The Clouds)”, a painting by Claude Monet, was among the series of paintings he referred to as “Water Lilies” that he began creating in 1899 to depict his house’s garden in France. Monet had developed a water garden in a Japanese style around a pond in his home. This garden had become his outside studio, and the floating water lilies on the pond’s surface became his painting’s principal motif. The pond became a world in itself to inspire Monet’s sense of immersion in nature. The pictures of the water lilies became the culmination of his fascination with light and its altering influences on the environment. Despite the fact that the objects in the painting do not look like lilies, clouds, or water, they resemble them such that one can get the feeling of what he or she is viewing. The artist’s water-lily pond as well as the above sky is emphasized as the subjects of the painting and are the focal points. Monet tried to capture the continuously changing qualities of natural color and light, but the spatial cues dissolve such that the sky and water commingle. This style of painting is abstract impressionism as evidenced by the small brushstrokes or lines. This water Lilies painting gives the illusion of a whole that is endless, as there are no lines indicating the bank or horizon of the water. The painting has an informal balance as the water lilies are placed in a manner that they balance one another in weight. In addition, the objects depicted are proportional to the natural human eye.
(Harley.com., 2017).
Art Name: Blue #1
Time period: 2000
Geographical region: America
Artist: Harley Hahn
Compared to “Water Lilies (The Clouds)”, “Blue #1” by Harley Hahn is pure abstract art and is even more obtuse. One cannot understand this painting in a similar manner that “Water Lilies (The Clouds)” can be understood. To understand this painting, it is important to recognize its context. Although Hahn was a writer, whenever he needed a break, he got a canvas and attempted to change his way of thinking. He would look at the paint, the brushes, and the blank canvas and decide that he would do some painting. Although he had no idea what he was doing, he filled the canvas with paint, and despite the fact that the results were not professional, he was pleased that he had painted and hoped to improve his technique. “Blue #1” does not reflect any form of conventional reality, but all one sees are colors, shapes, patterns, and lines, which are harmonious. The painter has effectively and consistently used the elements of art to achieve the depicted pattern as there is consistency of color and form. There is a rhythm that is not linear, which is characterized by an individual line, and the lack of repetitiveness of the patterns.
Comparison of Landscapes
(vangoghgallery.com., 2015).
Art Name: Starry Night
Time period: 1889
Geographical region: New York, New York
Artist: Vincent van Gogh
This painting was created during the French art movement called post-impressionism. The style emphasizes symbolic or abstract qualities. Van Gogh was a troubled painter, and his work served as an outlet for his emotions to battle depression, and was inspired by post-impressionist works. This context is different from that of “Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx”, as Vincent van Gogh created it when he stayed at the Saint-Paul-de Mausole’s asylum. In the “Starry Night”, the painting is dominated by blue, and the hills blend into the sky. The small village is placed at the base in brown, gray, and blue colors, and although each house is comprehensively outlined in black, the white and yellow stars and the moon are standing against the sky, which makes the sky the focal point or the main emphasis of the painting as it grabs the attention of the viewer. The colors are thus efficiently balanced and unified. The artist chose lines to show the night scene. The contoured forms serve as expression means and they convey emotions. Therefore, his turbulent quest to fight his mental illness is reflected in the night sky that he painted in deem colors. The brushstrokes swirl for the sky making the entire effect dreamlike and ethereal. The town is painted with rigid lines that interrupt the manner in which the brushstrokes flow. The village is painted with straight lines that have sharp angles, thereby dividing it from the rest of the painting. Generally, the painting has utilized asymmetrical balance but the objects are proportional to the human eye.
(theartwolf.com., 2017).
Art Name: Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx
Time period: c. 1515–1524
Geographical region: Museo del Prado, Madrid
Artist: Joachim Patinir
“Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx” belongs to the Northern Renaissance and early Mannerist art trends. During the time of its creation, Germany and the Netherlands witnessed a new era for painting in the 16th century characterized by the combination of influences from foreign and local traditions. Patinir went to Italy to study and got new ideas, especially concerning the representation of the natural world. The artist’s religious subjects have precisely incorporated naturalism and observation with a fantastic landscape, which is unlike “Starry Night”, a painting where the artists brought nature into the unnaturalness of the buildings, as his styles played on natural versus the unnatural. “Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx” was inspired by the traditions from Bosch. The painting shows subjects at the center of Christian traditions during the last judgment. There is a large figure in the boat, which transports the dead souls to the Hades gates, and the minute figure in the boat is a soul of a person that is deciding between heaven, which is on the right and hell, which is on the left. Therefore, the boat at the middle of the picture with these two figures is the main emphasis of the painting and is considered the focal point. The artist has used a world landscape composition with a three-color arrangement. The foreground is brown and shifts to bluish-green, while the background is pale blue. Color has been used to depict hell and heaven as well as evil and good. Near the hell, there are blazes of fire. The painting has a symmetrical balance, unlike the “Starry Night”, as it has equal weight on equal sides of the fulcrum that is centrally placed. Though the figures in the boat are the primary point of focus, the hell on the right and heaven on the left are secondary emphases as they also draw the attention of the viewers.
References
Gentileschi, A. (2017). Self-portrait as the Allegory of Painting. Retrieved online on 2nd April 2017 from https://www.wikiart.org/en/Search/Self-Portrait%20as%20the%20Allegory%20of%20Painting
Harley.com. (2017). Harley Hahn: Blue#1. Retrieved online on 2nd April 2017 from http://www.harley.com/art/paintings/blue1.html
nga.gov. (2016). A Look at Judith Leyster. Retrieved online on 2nd April 2017 from http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/education/teachers/lessons-activities/self-portraits/leyster.html
theartwolf.com. (2017). Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx. Retrieved online on 2nd April 2017 from http://www.theartwolf.com/landscapes/patinir-landscape-charon-styx.htm
vangoghgallery.com. (2015). Vincent van Gogh: Starry Night. Retrieved online on 2nd April 2017 from http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/starry-night.html
wikiart.org. (2016). Water Lilies, The Clouds: Claude Monet. Retrieved online on 2nd April 2017 from https://www.wikiart.org/en/claude-monet/water-lilies-the-clouds
