Art history compare and contrast essay Essays - Painting, Drawing

In the two-dimensional artwork Deposition by Rogier Van Der Weyden the art work is amazing at first glance. The first thing I see is symmetry, there is one place where the painting is raised in the center so the focus becomes there. There the man on the ladder is raised, where he is letting down Jesus off of the cross. The painting is surrounds around one character, Jesus, where the eye is drawn in the center of this piece. I see the unity of the painting, I think that everyone in this piece plays an important role. I think that you can see the movement in the artwork, as if they are lowering him as you watch the people move in the painting. Within this two-dimensional painting the lines are very obvious, you have the horizontal lines of the frame that become distinct vertical lines which become the center focal point of this artwork. You also have the lines of the cross and the diagonal line from the ladder into the gentlemans leg that draws the eye downward towards Jesus. The other horizontal implied lines all are pointing inward towards the center of the painting again making the center focal point to be Jesus. The lines and shapes used in this artwork makes look more like it is protruding form the canvas. Each line and curve of the fabric in the clothing looks as if you can touch it and feel the movement. The color that Rogier uses makes a dramatic impact in this painting. The bold colors used in the people surrounding Jesus. Then you have Jesus in the center naked and in white so the contrast of the color to me again draws my eyes to him and his lifeless body. You have the young woman in the bottom falling to the ground in the blue dress, next to the man trying to catch her as she falls all in a bold red. These colors to me can mean their feelings of what they are witnessing she is sad, devastated and he could be angry, upset and mad about what he is part of. I think color plays a strong role in this painting. The drawing, overall, seems to place the most emphasis on space, harmony, and is very symmetrical. The overall shape of the artwork is, without doubt, meant to emphasize the subject of the painting. The line structure that the artwork is framed in draws focus to the center subject, with the overall proportions of that area being emphasized. The unity and harmony of the work is very balanced due to the symmetry of the painting, with the main subject the main point of emphasis with his disciples arranged in near perfect symmetry on both sides of him. The line and color structure is balanced throughout the entire painting, with very realistic textures and colors. All of the proportions are realistic and to scale. No portion of the painting is overly emphasized with colors or line structure. The motion of the painting is very well capture, the positions of the individuals create a feeling of graceful, intentional movement. All of the individuals captured within the painting are painted in the exact same manner, with their attributes, textures, colors, and positions nearly identical to each other. The factor that creates focus on the central subject is position, or his relative location in the space of the painting. The Well of Moses by Claus Sluter is a three dimensional sculpture which has six different sides. Each of these six sides depicts a prophet Moses, Jerimiah, David, Daniel, Zachariah, and Isaiah. This piece has a very strong religious meaning. It is symmetrical sculpture, where it forms a hexagon with very strong lines. These horizontal lines form to make almost like a mantle at the top of the sculpture above the angels, where it almost protects them. The vertical lines seem to separate each of the sides where the pillars lie. On each of these corners is a pillar that is used to separate the prophets. Along the top of these pillars are angels with their wings spread over the prophets. These angles wings are in such detail you can see each