Phase I: Description
The title of this object is ‘Mere et enfant’ which is a Spanish world meaning ‘Mother and Child’. The artistic feature was developed by an artist called Pablo Picasso in the year 1902. His father was an artist and Pablo’s passion could be attributed partly to his father’s artistic prowess. He was born in Malagasy, Spain and studied at an art school in Barcelona. Despite his numerous paintings, he was well recognized for his unique Cubist paintings and object design which did not match any other person’s artistic work. His artistic work to portray different viewpoints of a painting or an object raised his reputation as a creative artist.
Overview of the impression
The artistic impression portrays the figure of a lady holding a child. The lady is who is holding her child. Besides, the two are getting intimate through kissing. This is a silent symbolic expression of the passionate love of the mother to the child. From an overall view, the right leg of the woman is shorter than the left leg. This shortness is attributed to disability of the leg. From the picture, the child held is at a tender age and is inclined to the mother.
Inner analysis
Describing an artistic impression of a sculpture may be challenging since it’s only the artist who understands the thematic expression of the art. Viewing an art from different angles may reveal different deductions .Further; different people have different views depending on how the deduce the structure of the art. Therefore, literally observing an art may not yield substantial deduction about an impression. It would require in-depth understanding of the message that the artist intended to deliver through his artistic work.
Beginning from the top, the head of the mother is inclined downwards towards the child .The mother has broad shoulders, a sign of body maturity. To enhance stability, the mother presses her right hand on the right leg to compliment holding the child with the other hand. The lady has thin waste which could imply unilaterally that the woman could be having nutritional problems.
The artist setting of the sculpture’s posture could have parallel dimensions. First, it could imply that it was the interest of the woman to pose in such a style. However it could also try to portray a character of physical disability of the woman. The latter could be having substantial deductions.
Questions
What is the form of art?
This artistic impression is a sculpture .The artist designed the art to portray a certain aspect of life. A sculpture is an artistic impression that is made by molding of a structure, either of a person, an animal to act as a monument or as a way of communicating a certain message. For example, sculptures are made to honor and preserve the legacy of prominent persons in the society.
What are the medium of designing the artistic impression?
The sculpture was made from stone and modified to form the desired shape. However, not all type of stone was favorable to produce a magnificent product. The lesser the brittleness of the stones, the more durable the product. Moreover, the smooth stone texture produced a smooth and shining. The artist used several tools to perform different tasks of shaping the stones to the required structure of a mother and child sculpture.
Techniques and tools
The artist collects stones that were not susceptible to abrupt breakage and cracking to use in designing his artifacts. He uses saws to rough up the stones to remove the outer layer which is usually contaminated with soil. After roughing up, he uses chisels of various sizes to create flat surfaces in different parts. For instance, chisel is used to shape the head and the shoulders of the sculpture.
Finally, paint is applied to enhance magnificent of the piece of art. For instance, the sculpture was painted brown to portray the complexion of the mother and child. Besides, a brush is necessary to wipe out the dust that accumulates at different stages of designing the piece of art.
What is the size and scale of the artwork in relationship to person, building or other kind of work?
The size of this piece of art is approximately one meter in height and approximately 45 centimeters in width. However, the width is non-uniform with the waist being almost half of the chest’s size. In relationship to the real physical structure of a human being, the artistic structure resembles the real physical structure of a person. Moreover, the design of the piece of art communicates the character of a human being. For instance, intimate kissing manifested in the piece of art is a true reflection of the tender care and love that a mother extends to her children despite physical, social and economic challenges encountered.
What are the objects, persons, or general shapes within the artistic piece composition?
The artistic impression is made of a composition of different shapes, regular and irregular. For example the irregular shape around the waist could be comparable with the shape of a circle. Further, the structure of the sculpture depicts a woman. The shape around the chest is triangular depicting the disproportionate structure of the human’s body. Therefore most artistic impressions especially the designed ones combine different shape to form a magnificent piece of art.
Describe the formal visual elements in the piece of art
When an artist designs a piece of work, he or she is the only one who reserves the secret behind his motive and the intended message. Formal analysis involves translating what one observes from a piece of art through writing. The observer interprets where his eyes concentrates most. These conspicuous areas help in defining the main idea in the sculpture. The main elements in the Mere et enfant piece of art are
Line
Line is the pillar of formal analysis. Tracing a line in a piece of art leads to a more conspicuous structure of an artistic impression .It is the formation of this line that defines the category of every structure. For instance, the line that traces the structure of a human being is different from that of an animal. From the sculpture, a line from the head to the toe defines the shape of a woman.
Shape
Combinations of lines from different angles form different shapes, regular and irregular. From our sculpture, an irregular circle is formed at the waist.Further; the heads form irregular shapes that define the sense of a human being in the piece of art.
Form
The sculpture was designed in a three- dimension way where an observer can make different views and deductions about the sculpture. This is attributed to Picasso’s style of art that referenced Cubist’s artistic style. From whichever angle you view the sculpture, the physical structure of a human being is evident.
Space
The sculpture is mounted on its own thus creating space. This enables a free view of the object and uninterrupted deduction.
Texture
Through observation, the sculpture reflects a smooth texture, contrary to touching the object whose texture is partially smooth. The texture enhances physical impression which entices the people to learn more about the sculpture.
Basic principles of design in the artwork
Balance
The artist has enhanced harmonization of texture, color and shape of the structure to deliver the intended impression
Movement
The sculpture is structured in such a way that the movement of a line from one point to another leads to more complex shapes that define the structure of an artistic impression
Proportion
This refers to the harmonization of all elements of an art to enhance formal virtual analysis. The proportionate combination of texture to derive the shape of woman and a child is notable
Contrast
This involves combination of different themes in a single piece of art to convey the intended message. For instance the, artist combined the theme of womanhood and intimacy through his design of a mother kissing her child to show passionate love despite the physical challenge of one limb.
Unity
The overall combinations of all requirements in art design to convey the intended message to the target audience depicts harmony in all aspects of art. Without harmonization, the artifact may result in different interpretations of the same piece of art. Therefore it is essential that an artist understands the character of the target audience before starting designing the piece of art.
Phase II: Analysis
What are the most distinctive features of the artwork?
The most distinctive feature is the presence of a child and the intimate kiss. This defines the tender care of the mother and the unconditional love. Another feature is the posture by which the artist places the object. This posture could lead to divergent interpretations from the artist.
Are the forms in the piece realistic or abstract? Does it represent one style?
This piece of art has some sense of reality since it demonstrates the passionate love that exists between mother and child. This is a lesson which the society can learn from. It is not confined to a single style since it demonstrates different thematic expression. For instance, the piece of art demonstrates womanhood, disability and motherly love.
Work cited
"Mere et enfant (Mother and Child)." National Galleries Scotland, 15 Nov. 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.
