The Ivy Bridge Devonshire (see fig. 1) was an oil painting created by the famous English artist Joseph Mallord William Turner from 1814 to 1815. The term ‘scenery porn’ aptly describes the artist’s magnificent use of lines as decorative element to create wonderful landscapes. The colors were mostly earth tones with chiaroscuro was highly executed, creating an unworldly appearance that illustrates the peaceful life of the common people in the early 19th century England. The painting shows a young man wearing a beret hat, running across the bridge towards the carriage probably echoing shouts to halt the carriage from leaving and wait for him. Turner’s work is one of the paintings I like and I thing a good representation of the Romantic period. In the contrary, I really do not like Marcel Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2 (see fig. 2) because it is an abstract painting composed of various lines and shapes that do not necessarily portray the accurate figure of a nude person walking down the staircase. The artist painted two versions of this painting; the first version was made using oil on cardboard panel had softer lines and shapes. Colors were mostly monochromatic brown and black hues that illustrate the chiaroscuro of the body parts exposed to the light source. However the second version painted using oil on canvas had riotous lines and shapes; although these elements attempt to illustrate the issues of human locomotion in paintings, I do not like the painting because it is abstract and paintings in this genre requires the viewers’ to examine closely the figure in order to obtain the gist of what the painting is all about. Personally, I really do not like abstract and I do not think they are good because just by looking on them hurts the eyes due to the wild lines and exaggerated colors used by some artists.
Furthermore, another work of art that I like is the painting made by Henry Fuseli titled, The Nightmare (see fig. 3) painted in 1781. It is a painting that shows a young beautiful maiden clad in white muslin dress, lying on the bed asleep. Atop here were two figures of the underworld; the ghostly spirit of a horse that seem to sneer on the sleeping figure and the figure of an evil male dwarf seated onto the woman’s stomach with eyes that also sneer towards the viewers’ of the painting. What I like about this painting is the fact that it is realistic and not abstract. The pigments establish the implied lines that define the contours of the human figure. The painting’s imagery is balanced and distributed across the panel. Colors were limited to monochromatic earth tones. Chiaroscuro emphasized the illusion of depth and contours of the characters. The muted background allows the observers to focus on the images on the foreground without any distraction. However, I do not think this painting is good for those people with photographic memory because the scary image of the evil spirit might linger inside their minds for too long and thus, scaring them before sleep. Lastly, the Baroque painting Las Meninas (see fig. 4) of the Spanish artist, Diego Velazquez painted in 1656 is good in terms of portraying the human figures of the Spanish royal family as realistic as possible. The colors used in the work were a combination of warm and cool pigments; these pigments utilized chiaroscuro for effective detailing of the body contours and the as well as the intricate designs of the dresses. Although the painting is good in terms of portrayal, I do not like the cluttered background of the work. Baroque style was known for its corrupted design can be seen on the artist’s work. Too much imagery on the foreground and the background hinders direct observation and therefore, the viewers’ eyes cannot focus on the images on the background. On the other hand, corrupted background such as in Velazquez’ work do not emphasize the painting’s central theme which was undoubtedly the little blonde girl at center of the panel; more figures of men and women seem to grab the attention of the viewers’ from the central figure; thus leading to over-design and image crowding.
WORKS CITED
Duchamp, Marcel. Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2. 1912. Oil on canvas. [Digital Image]. Web. Philadelphia Museum of Art. 29 Mar. 2016.
Fuseli, Henry. The Nightmare. 1781. Oil on canvas. [Digital Image]. Web. Detroit Institute of Arts. 29 Mar. 2016.
Turner, Joseph Mallord William. Ivy Bridge, Devonshire. 1814-1815. Watercolor pigments on paper. [Digital Image]. Web. Tate Museum, UK. 29 Mar. 2016.
Velazquez, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y. Las Meninas. Oil on canvas. [Digital Image]. Web. Museo del Prado, Spain. 29 Mar. 2016.
