Comparing Launt Palmer's Grand Canal, Provincetown,

Water is an essential element that connects every living creature on our planet. It takes up most of the surface and still hides secrets we have not discovered yet in its depths. However, many find beauty on its surface as well. Walter Launt Palmer’s Grand Canal, Venice and John Noble’s Provincetown, Winter utilize texture, space, balance, and light to bring their depictions of water to life. While their use of light is similar, their use of texture and space differ from one another. Grand Canal, Venice was painted by Walter Launt Palmer in 1882 by using oil on canvas. The American artist, born in 1854, painted his view of the Grand Canal, which inspired the name of the piece. In the piece, a majority of the space is open water, with a curving view of the city in the background. A single piling takes up the foreground, while a sailboat occupies the middle ground. John Noble’s Provincetown, Winter painted about 1920 takes a different approach. Nobel also used oil on canvas to create this piece, although, he does give more space to the town bordering the water. There is also a dock running diagonally to a house on the water, with a sailboat tied to
Grand Canal, Venice utilizes mostly light tones, however, these tones get increasingly whiter near the upper left corner. This could indicate that this is where the main light source for Palmer’s piece is located. In addition to the light source, the brightness gives a sense of dawn. Soft blues and pinks are commonly found at dawn, and the use of them in the piece help give it a sense of time. Light pinks and blues are also found in Noble’s Provincetown. The sun is also a prominent feature, found in the upper left corner as well. Noble also included a glint on the surface of the water, extending towards the bottom of the painting. Using light in this way also helps set the painting in the morning. In addition to the lighting of the pieces, both works appear balanced as