8/10/2019 Midterm Practice: Grant Wood vs. Jan Van Eyck
2/7
Describe (Artwork 1)1. Artist, Title, Date, and Medium?
Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night, 1889, Oil on Canvas.
2. What is happening in the artwork?Starry Night by Vincent Van
Gogh is a night landscape painting of a town with a large tree in
the
foreground and a bright night sky lled with stars and a crescent
moon in the background.
3. What are the 3 most important principles of design that you
see?1. Repetition: the cool blue and green colors are repeated in
lines that are small brushstrokes of the
entire composition making up the houses, the sky, and the
tree.2. Movement: as you look up the dark tree and back in space to
the repeated curvy lines that make up
the sky and the mountains your eye moves from left to right and
around the entirecomposition. As the lines swirl around the
painting they slow your eye in places andmove your eye quickly over
other areas.
3. Emphasis: the use of cool colors throughout except the bright
warm yellow moon and stars helpemphasize the sky. Your eye is drawn
from the tree in the foreground back in space tothe upper right
where the large crescent moon is emphasized.
Analyze (Artwork 1)1. What are the 3 most important principles
of design that you see?
1. Contrast: the cool blue of the background creates contrast
with the warm reds and yellows ofthe face along with the dark shock
of hair atop his head.
2. Movement: the thick and textured brushstrokes help move your
eye about his face, leading your eyefrom one feature to the
next.
3. Emphasis: the use of cool colors in the background help
emphasize the face. Your eye is drawn thethe dark lips and then up
to his nose and nally his lifelike eyes which are emphasizedby the
dark contrast next to the bright white of the eye.
Interpret (Artwork 1)1. What is the artist intent or meaning of
the artwork? Why?
Van Gogh used small brushstrokes and bold colors to create an
energetic or excited feeling. He isputting the energy he feels from
the starry night sky by emphasizing the light with the contrast of
warm and
cool colors and creating visual movements with his line that
move the eye rapidly over the sky and town in thepainting.
2. What is the feeling or mood of the artwork? Why?The feeling
is an excited one, almost as if something is about to happen to
this town that is so still while
the sky above it moves so rapidly with excitement. The contrast
in colors between the darker town and brighter,more active colors
of the sky also give it a sense that something is about to happen
but the town is not yetaware of it.
Describe (Artwork 2)1. Artist, Title, Date, and Medium?
Jenny Saville, Stare, 2004-5, Oil on Canvas.
2. What is happening in the artwork?Stare by Jenny Saville is a
portrait of a young boy whose large eyes stare out blankly at the
view,
mouth hanging open in almost boredom.
3. What are the 3 most important elements you see?1. Color: a
limited pallet cool blues make up the background while warm reds,
yellows, and whites
make up the features of the boy. Dark black/blue make up his
hair and the stripes of hiscollar.
2. Value: ranges in light to dark colors help give 3-dimensional
form to the boys face.3. Texture: fat and layered brushstrokes give
the painting an interesting texture, adding to the boys
ruddy appearance.
