Francisco Goya, The Third of May: Visual Elements
4/16/11
Francisco Goya, The Third of May, 1808 p.327
Visual Elements A.Line-There are actual lines in this painting from the rifles toward the man holding his hands up. When looking at this painting you view quickly from the right to the left and can almost feel the inevitable execution. There is also a line in the sand separating the light from the dark. Seems to be imply between the good of the Spaniards who are about to be executed, from the evil hooded men who are shooting. I believe that there is an implied line between the end of the gun and the man with his arms up. It is giving an action that you can almost feel the gunshot from the barrel executing the man. Especially how when looking from right to left it goes from dark to light, like the gun has been fired. B.)Shape-The geometric shape of the lantern stands out to me right away. Its rectangular shape and the triangle shape of the light which it creates draw my eye in this painting. It seems to paint a positive light on the people that are about to be executed. There are many more geometric shapes in this painting than organic. The organic shapes that I see are the rounded hill in the background and the contours that are created in the sand. These two in the painting are good examples of biomorphic shapes. C.)Mass-The mass is implied here and is created by the forms of the captives. They seem to go in all directions here with their arms and the way each is bent. It really creates urgency that they are about to be shot. There is no actual mass in this painting as this is seen in 3-dimensional art. It is the physical bulk of a solid body of material. You can only consider the paint and the canvas as actual mass here. D.)Space-This is the most difficult to convey for an artist. The two-dimensional space here is the painting surface with its height and width. The implied depth here is the hill in the background creating the feeling that the men cannot escape their impeding death.
Francisco Goya, The Third of May, 1808 p.327
Visual Elements A.Line-There are actual lines in this painting from the rifles toward the man holding his hands up. When looking at this painting you view quickly from the right to the left and can almost feel the inevitable execution. There is also a line in the sand separating the light from the dark. Seems to be imply between the good of the Spaniards who are about to be executed, from the evil hooded men who are shooting. I believe that there is an implied line between the end of the gun and the man with his arms up. It is giving an action that you can almost feel the gunshot from the barrel executing the man. Especially how when looking from right to left it goes from dark to light, like the gun has been fired. B.)Shape-The geometric shape of the lantern stands out to me right away. Its rectangular shape and the triangle shape of the light which it creates draw my eye in this painting. It seems to paint a positive light on the people that are about to be executed. There are many more geometric shapes in this painting than organic. The organic shapes that I see are the rounded hill in the background and the contours that are created in the sand. These two in the painting are good examples of biomorphic shapes. C.)Mass-The mass is implied here and is created by the forms of the captives. They seem to go in all directions here with their arms and the way each is bent. It really creates urgency that they are about to be shot. There is no actual mass in this painting as this is seen in 3-dimensional art. It is the physical bulk of a solid body of material. You can only consider the paint and the canvas as actual mass here. D.)Space-This is the most difficult to convey for an artist. The two-dimensional space here is the painting surface with its height and width. The implied depth here is the hill in the background creating the feeling that the men cannot escape their impeding death.