John Copley and Benjamin West
Copley’s and West’s Artwork
Tiffin University
Vanessa Bradley
September 14, 2012
Melanie Trost
ART310 American Art
John Singleton Copley and Benjamin West were both painters and portraitures. John Copley and Benjamin West both had very distinct styles of artwork. There were also some comparisons between their artwork(s). I have decided to look further into Copley’s and West’s artwork(s) and this is what I have found.
John Singleton Copley’s painting: Mars, Venus, and Vulcan: The Forge of Vulcan features Venus which is the symbol of love and sex. It shows Venus as very seductive young woman. It also has cupid’s arrows which also represents love. Half of the painting is painted dark giving the painting a dreadful feeling. Half of the painting is painted light giving the feeling of relief. There are three cupids in the picture doing completely different things. One of the cupid’s is silencing everyone, one is tormenting the soldier while the last one tries to steal the soldier sword. There is also what seems like a peasant in the painting trying to get some of Venus love potion. The texture on this painting is very smooth. The tree looks realistic and so do the clouds. The colors in the painting that stands out is red and blue. Red represents strength and blue represents trust. This painting tells a story about a soldier who cannot be seduced easily not even by Venus’s love.
Copley’s portrait: Mrs. Samuel Quincy is painted in black and white. The brushstrokes on this portrait are smooth. The texture of the shirt sleeve on Mrs. Quincy is oily but the texture of the rest of the portrait is smooth and polished. The first thing that my eyes see when I look at this portrait is the hat that wealthy people usually wear when they are going to a gathering. The background of the portrait is black but it does not give the picture a gloomy feeling because the portrait is white. In the portrait Mrs. Quincy is holding a flower which is sprigs of larkspur that
Tiffin University
Vanessa Bradley
September 14, 2012
Melanie Trost
ART310 American Art
John Singleton Copley and Benjamin West were both painters and portraitures. John Copley and Benjamin West both had very distinct styles of artwork. There were also some comparisons between their artwork(s). I have decided to look further into Copley’s and West’s artwork(s) and this is what I have found.
John Singleton Copley’s painting: Mars, Venus, and Vulcan: The Forge of Vulcan features Venus which is the symbol of love and sex. It shows Venus as very seductive young woman. It also has cupid’s arrows which also represents love. Half of the painting is painted dark giving the painting a dreadful feeling. Half of the painting is painted light giving the feeling of relief. There are three cupids in the picture doing completely different things. One of the cupid’s is silencing everyone, one is tormenting the soldier while the last one tries to steal the soldier sword. There is also what seems like a peasant in the painting trying to get some of Venus love potion. The texture on this painting is very smooth. The tree looks realistic and so do the clouds. The colors in the painting that stands out is red and blue. Red represents strength and blue represents trust. This painting tells a story about a soldier who cannot be seduced easily not even by Venus’s love.
Copley’s portrait: Mrs. Samuel Quincy is painted in black and white. The brushstrokes on this portrait are smooth. The texture of the shirt sleeve on Mrs. Quincy is oily but the texture of the rest of the portrait is smooth and polished. The first thing that my eyes see when I look at this portrait is the hat that wealthy people usually wear when they are going to a gathering. The background of the portrait is black but it does not give the picture a gloomy feeling because the portrait is white. In the portrait Mrs. Quincy is holding a flower which is sprigs of larkspur that