An Analysis of Form and Style
An Analysis of Form and Style
Introduction
I have chosen to do an analysis of form and style based on The Bathers, 1884-87 by Pierre Auguste Renoir and The Large Bathers, 1898-1906 by Paul Cézanne. These paintings are from the impressionist and post-impressionist period. Though similar in subject matter, the way the artists demonstrate form and style is unique to each and I will compare and contrast them separately under the headings form and style with reference to the theories of art critics and historians such as David Summers, Heinrich Wölfflin and Ernst Gombrich.
To begin the analysis we must have an understanding of form. Form is described using formal elements: colour, light and dark, line, mass, shape, texture and volume. They are described in a whole composition which is the work of art. They are also arranged by the qualities of design: balance, order, pattern, proportion, rhythm and variety. We look at how each element is designed to add to the work of art. Formal analysis studies a work of art - in isolation from anything else – to understand what the work gives us.
Style refers to the peculiar features of mark-making, patterning and compositional devices associated with an individual or a collective. A collective allows for the identification of a group or society with a particular style. By analysing the style of works of art we can identify them with particular places and times and study how styles migrate and translate to different cultures. This can tell us a lot about people, trade, languages, religious doctrine and political influence outside the great events of history.
Form
The Bathers:
According to historian David Summers, a work of art is understood to be ‘organic’[1]. It has an organic unity or wholeness that is given by the formal elements. It is this wholeness that expresses personal and collective ideas that can then be communicated to others. I believe that Summers’ theory is evident in The Bathers (fig. 1). In this
Introduction
I have chosen to do an analysis of form and style based on The Bathers, 1884-87 by Pierre Auguste Renoir and The Large Bathers, 1898-1906 by Paul Cézanne. These paintings are from the impressionist and post-impressionist period. Though similar in subject matter, the way the artists demonstrate form and style is unique to each and I will compare and contrast them separately under the headings form and style with reference to the theories of art critics and historians such as David Summers, Heinrich Wölfflin and Ernst Gombrich.
To begin the analysis we must have an understanding of form. Form is described using formal elements: colour, light and dark, line, mass, shape, texture and volume. They are described in a whole composition which is the work of art. They are also arranged by the qualities of design: balance, order, pattern, proportion, rhythm and variety. We look at how each element is designed to add to the work of art. Formal analysis studies a work of art - in isolation from anything else – to understand what the work gives us.
Style refers to the peculiar features of mark-making, patterning and compositional devices associated with an individual or a collective. A collective allows for the identification of a group or society with a particular style. By analysing the style of works of art we can identify them with particular places and times and study how styles migrate and translate to different cultures. This can tell us a lot about people, trade, languages, religious doctrine and political influence outside the great events of history.
Form
The Bathers:
According to historian David Summers, a work of art is understood to be ‘organic’[1]. It has an organic unity or wholeness that is given by the formal elements. It is this wholeness that expresses personal and collective ideas that can then be communicated to others. I believe that Summers’ theory is evident in The Bathers (fig. 1). In this
Bibliography: Cezanne, 1839-1906. Hoo: Grange Books PLC, 2005. “Form ', Nineteenth-Century Metaphysics and the Problem of Art Historical Description,’ Critical Inquiry 15, Winter, 1989. Hosack Janes, Karen, Ian Chilvers, and Ian Zaczek. "1900 to Present." In Great Paintings, 194-197. Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2011. Pach, Walter, and Auguste Renoir. "The Bathers." In Pierre Auguste Renoir, 98-99. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Publishers, 2003. "Painting for Pleasure: Change of Style." The Great Artists: Volume 1: 19th Century, Part 3: Renoir, 1985. "Pierre-Auguste Renoir Style and Technique | artble.com." Artble: The Home of Passionate Art Lovers. Accessed January 3, 2013. http://www.artble.com/artists/pierre-auguste_renoir/more_information/style_and_technique. Wölfflin, H. Principle of Art History, 1915. Extracts in Art history and Its Methods: A Critical Anthology. [2] Wölfflin, H. Principle of Art History, 1915. Extracts in Art history and Its Methods: A Critical Anthology. [3] Hosack Janes, Karen, Ian Chilvers, and Ian Zaczek. "1900 to Present." In Great Paintings, 194-197. Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2011. [9] "Painting for Pleasure: Change of Style." The Great Artists: Volume 1: 19th Century, Part 3: Renoir, Marshall Cavendish Partworks Ltd, 1985.