Stylistic Analysis Essay for
In the history of art, we have seen many paintings which share the same content, but were done by different artists in different movements. Each of the artists has a different style, different ways to observe what they see to translate into a painting. An example is the “The Regatta” by Theo van Rysselberghe in 1892, and the “Slave Ship” by Joseph Mallord William Turner in 1840. “The Regatta” is an oil on canvas painting, with the size of 25 x 33 inches. This painting depicts a seascape scene with some boats sailing on blue sea in the far side. On the left, a tall cliff dominates almost a half of the painting. Rysselberghe painted “The Regatta” with two main colors, the blue of the sea, and the yellow-orange of the cliff.
“The Slave Ship” is an oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches painting. This painting depicts the scene with a ship sailing in the background, kind of being blended between the high waves and the deep blood-like red sky. In the foreground, people in pieces floating among the fierce fish, and sea monsters. Turner used various colors in this painting, but red hue dominates a large area.Both “The Regatta” and “The Slave Ship” are oil on canvas. However, “The Regatta” was painted by medium brushstrokes, and “The Slave Ship” was used small brushstrokes.
“The Regatta” is a very open space painting. The focal point is the sailing boats in the background. The viewers’ eye will start at the boats. They are painted from large form in front and smaller scale gradually going to the back. The big cliff on the left catches the viewers’ attention next. Finally, they will rest on the vast ocean. This composition creates depth for the painting. On the other hand, the composition of the “The Slave Ship” is different from the “The Regatta”. The eye will focus firstly on the foreground, where the shattered people are floating among the fish, then the dramatic sun on far back, and the dim ship comes last. The rhythms of these paintings are totally different. The
“The Slave Ship” is an oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches painting. This painting depicts the scene with a ship sailing in the background, kind of being blended between the high waves and the deep blood-like red sky. In the foreground, people in pieces floating among the fierce fish, and sea monsters. Turner used various colors in this painting, but red hue dominates a large area.Both “The Regatta” and “The Slave Ship” are oil on canvas. However, “The Regatta” was painted by medium brushstrokes, and “The Slave Ship” was used small brushstrokes.
“The Regatta” is a very open space painting. The focal point is the sailing boats in the background. The viewers’ eye will start at the boats. They are painted from large form in front and smaller scale gradually going to the back. The big cliff on the left catches the viewers’ attention next. Finally, they will rest on the vast ocean. This composition creates depth for the painting. On the other hand, the composition of the “The Slave Ship” is different from the “The Regatta”. The eye will focus firstly on the foreground, where the shattered people are floating among the fish, then the dramatic sun on far back, and the dim ship comes last. The rhythms of these paintings are totally different. The
Bibliography: http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/4c/turner.004.htm http://www.victorianweb.org/art/crisis/crisis4e.html http://jackiewhiting.net/ArtHist/Movements.htm Book: History of Modern Art by H.H Arnason and Elizabeth C. Mansfield.