A Comparison of da Vinci and Roy Lichtenstein’s work

A Comparison of da Vinci and Roy Lichtenstein’s work

The subject of the Painting

The da Vinci painting depicts a woman with a wig or long hair. The woman has a necklace and a beautiful dress, suggesting class. This is strengthened by the fact that her hair is well kept and her face sooth with little makeup.

The Roy painting depicts a drowning woman who would rather drown than call for help from Brad. The words suggest either she is telling us the audience the message or there is someone else apart from herself whom she is talking to. Her relationship with Brad is not good.

Content of the Painting

The Ginevra de’ Benci painting shows a Florence woman, Ginevra de’ Benci, admired during her times for her intelligence. According to the picture, Ginevra looks unhappy, probably due to her forthcoming marriage (“Portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci” n.d.).

The Drowning girl is a work of art from comic book Run for Love. The work is copied from the comic with some alteration such as the name of the Man the drowning girl is referring to. Also, some of the images in the original art has is omitted.

Context of the painting

In the traditional setting of Florence, where da Vinci painted the Ginevra de’ Benci, female paintings were due to coming marriage or bethroyal. The painting was thus due to Ginevra’s forthcoming wedding. Also, most women during the same period shaved off their eyebrows as depicted in the picture.

The Drowning girl, on the other hand, was drawn during the period where comic books were common among people. The painting is from a comic book with some modification in both words and the art itself. The original work had the drowning girl with her boyfriend on a capsized boat.

The style used in the Painting

Da Vinci was able to use texture in Ginevra’s painting. Her face is very smooth, and her dress well kept. In the background, to the right of Ginevra, there is the use of shape to depict spikes of Juniper bush. Besides, the use of forms is used in Ginevra’s hair to show the ringlets in her hair. Spaces in the curls are shown using a darker color of her hair than the rest of the hair.

In the Drowning girl, the artist depicts the movement of water by painting water waves. Also, the use of black color shows the movement of waves and the source of light. A closer look at the girl’s hand shows black color at the back, suggesting that daylight is on the viewer’s side, implying that she was facing the side the sun is at, at that moment in time. Use of proportion is used, with the head taking much of the space in the painting.

The medium of the painting

The da Vinci painting is done using oil on canvas. There are fingerprints visible on the art showing that da Vinci used his hands and brush to do the painting. The Drowning Girl is also a work of oil and acrylic on canvas.

References

Portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci – by Leonardo da Vinci. (n.d.). Leonardo da Vinci webisite: https://www.leonardodavinci.net/portrait-of-ginevra-de-benci.jsp

A comparison of The American School and The Hatch Family

The subject of the Paintings

The American School shows five artists having a conversation in a studio. The two artists in the foreground are painters since they are holding paint and brushes. The man on the third left seems to be drawing something. The dress code symbolizes an era long gone.

The Hatch Family is a portrait of a family, and from the name of the painting, it shows that it is Hatch Family. There is an older man with white hair, showing he is the oldest and all others are his children and grandchildren. There are other adults and children. In total, the portrait shows three generations.

Content of the Paintings

The American school shows a studio. This indicates that the figures in the picture are all artists, and they are engaging in a conversation. The person in the foreground, to the left, seems to be the one in charge of the conversation since he is the one showing the second left person a work of art. The others are all looking to the left to the person in the left, considered to be Benjamin West.

The Hatch Family is a portrait of the hatch family. The man sitting on the right is considered as Hatch himself, holding his wife. To the right, the older man with white hair is Hatch father, with his mother next to the father.

Context of the Paintings

A look closely on The Hatch Family show the room, as well kept and the family intact. This shows prominence. In reality, Hatch was a Wall Street broker and also the president of the New York Stock Exchange for some time. The picture depicts wealth that wall street business leaders have and their lifestyle. The carpet, walls, curtains, table and art on the wall shows wealth.

The American School shows artists in a studio. During these periods, many people loved art and artists were celebrities and famous people. Even today, the most famous artists are those during such periods in the 15^th to 17^th century. The artists are sharing ideas, showing many artists during such times worked together.

The style used in the paintings

The Hatch Family uses unity to create a sense of closeness. The family have seated in different chairs with husbands and wives being together in the portrait. Hatch is holding his wife, with his father next to his mother. The carpet has a beautiful pattern. Color is used to distinguish the members of the family, with the senior members all wearing black and children white.

In The American School, the artist has used variety to show different traits of the artists. For instance, some artists are holding paints and brushes while others are holding a drawing board and pencils. Such use of a variety of tools differentiates painters from drawers. Much emphasis is placed on the two men on the left. The other men are looking at them, with the left person being at the centre of what is going on in the painting. Most of the drawing and painting boards depict their form and shape.

The medium used in the Artworks

The Hatch Family is a painting using oil and canvas. Similar to the American school. Both paintings depict high-quality work by the artists, which is also well preserved.