Giant by Francisco de Goya Y Lucientes and Le Repas Frugal by Pablo Picasso - Essay Example

ART and Comparison of Two Art Works Introduction The two art works selected for study are: Giant (1818) by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) and Le Repas Frugal (1904) by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). The two art works belong to two different eras, separated by nearly a century of time, though both were created by renowned Spanish artists whose magnificent works are famous the world over. This paper proposes to study the selected art pieces in detail, and to compare and contrast them, taking into account the periods of the art works, and the artists’ genre, style and creativity. Discussion GIANT BY FRANCISCO DE GOYA Y LUCIENTES Giant (1818) Metmuseum 1. (The Metropolital Museum of Art: 2007) Details about the artwork: Made by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, Fuendetodos 1746 - 1828 Bordeaux) Spanish Burnished aquatint: first state. Sheet: 11 1/4 x 8 1/4 in. (28.5 x 21.01cm) Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1935 (35.42) (Metmuseum: 2007). Giant is an art work that is visually remarkable, embodying a sinister, silent and colossal presence in the countryside. The Metmuseum describes the work as “staggering, denoting unfathomable power, and a rarity that ranks with works by Durer and Rembrandt as one of the most impressive images ever printed from a copperplate”. This is acknowledged to be one of the artist’s best known prints, and has been reproduced several times from the few impressions available. As compared to his later impressions, there are noted to be some differences such as the shape of the arm “which is not as yet fully defined” (Ivins: 182). This is one of the several aquatints created by Goya during the last years of his life. According to Schider (p. xxii), the tone of the picture can be lightened by scraping, but cannot be darkened, hence the method involves an exacting procedure. Similar to work done by mezzotint engravers the copper was first roughened with grainy aquatint. Then Goya created the masterpiece by scraping highlights into the prepared surface of the coppersheet. The menacing and mysterious figure of the gargantuan being who could be a Titan such as Prometheus or Zeus, was thus sculpted out of the darkness of the background. In Goya’s etchings with aquatint, known as “the Caprices”, his main technical achievement was: creating a visual world in which shapes emerge from the darkness (Murray: 153). The artist’s nightmares are portrayed; the form and content of which are unmindful of the natural laws of the universe. The light falls on the image evocatively, but is not realistic. The precise meanings of the images that he created were not clearly explained, and were left to the onlooker’s imagination to interpret at will. Francisco de Goya y Lucientes is observed to have mostly avoided classical themes, and especially did not use orthodox neoclassicism which defined a preference for line over colour, used static poses and refrained from depicting emotion. The term romantic classicism was coined by the art historian Sigfried Giedion, who believed that neoclassicism as an independent style did not exist, and that classical antiquity was compatible with romanticism (Murray: 30). Goya’s earlier art in the Rococco style gave way to later works in the neoclassic style which portrayed very little ornamentation (Walling: 22). LE REPAS FRUGAL BY PABLO PICASSO Le Repas Frugal (1904) Metmuseum 2. (The Metropolital Museum of Art: 2007) Details about the artwork: Made by Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881 - 1973) Spanish Etching; Plate:18-3/16 x 14-13/16 in. (45.5 x 37 cm) Sheet: 25 11/16 x 19 11/16 in. (64.2 x 49.2 cm) Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1923 (23.31.1) (Metmuseum: 2007). The Frugal Repast This print work was created in the beginning of Picasso’s long career as a print maker. The design and theme is similar to his works created in his Blue Period paintings. The Metmuseum describes this etching which was created in two states, as one of Picasso’s most profoundly touching images: “although the figures depicted here are united in a tender embrace, their turned heads and distant gazes reveal an emotional separation that contrasts with their physical closeness”. Picasso’s subjects though depicting affectionate proximity with the man clasping the woman’s shoulder, they also portray a quiet sense of loneliness and isolation by their reflective mood and their heads turned away from each other. The small quantities of bread and wine on the bleak table in front them and their narrow, emaciated bodies tell a compelling story. At the age of twenty-three as a struggling artist, Picasso had returned to France from his native Spain. The Frugal Repast was the second etching created at that time, early in Picasso’s career and clearly reveals the artist’s sympathy for the poor. Picasso created several other compositions based on lonely and underprivileged sections of humanity. In The Frugal Repast, his expertise as an artist is clearly visible, with his usage of lines to create subtle effects of light and shapes for portraying a sombre mood. Picasso was a revolutionary artist, who challenged the ways in which people and the world were defined. He created his own representations of the various subjects he portrayed, and created several artworks of various types using different mediums (Caws: 150). “From the quiet musings of his Rose and Blue periods, through the tension of cubism, the dissonance of his expressionist phase, and on through the vast range of his unique imagery, the works give testimony to his restless, creative energy” (National Art Education Association: 7). In the duration of fifty years, Picasso made over 500 intaglio plates: etchings, aquatints, drypoints and engravings and drew about 250 lithographs. His expertise as a painter may be a contributing factor to his immensely skilful prints. In any case, his great mastery over graphic art “ensured an important place for him in the history of contemporary art” (Lieberman: 3). Comparison Between Francisco de Goya y Lucientes and Pablo Picasso: Though Francisco de Goya y Lucientes created his masterpieces nearly one hundred years before Pablo Picasso, some features are observed to be similar among the two artists. Besides both Goya and Picasso being Spanish in origin, another important common factor in the comparison of Giant and Le Repas Frugal respectively, is that these artworks were created by the artists early in their career as printmakers. Their mastery over the medium and creation of mood and emotional effects with the help of etching techniques, is evident in both the works. The artist Goya in his paintings reflected wars and conflicts in society, and covered many aspects from portraits to genre paintings. Though at the beginning of his career he was a court painter, he did not confine his talent to painting and used many media and materials to create his works. Picasso who followed him nearly a century later, also created many drawings, engravings and frescoes (Murray: 30). Another similarity with Picasso is that both artists created artworks as anti-war statements, depicting their strong reaction to conflict. Earlier, the tradition among artists was to glorify war. Goya while serving as court painter to the French during Napoleon’s invasion and the war for Spanish independence, portrayed the conflicts through his controversial works: Shootings of May Third 1808 and a series of etchings called The Disasters of War (Walling: 22). Conclusion This paper has highlighted the artworks Giant and Le Repas Frugal by the artists Goya and Picasso respectively, and compared the two artists with respect to their styles, iconography and other important artistic features. Though the artists belonged to different time frames, more similarities than contrasts have been identified in their mastery over several different genres. Works Cited Caws, Mary Ann. Pablo Picasso. London: Reaktion Books, 2005. Ivins, Jr., William M. Goya’s Giant. Metropolitan Museum Studies, 5.2 (1936): 182-183. Lieberman, William S. Picasso: his graphic art. The Bulletin of the Museum of Modern Art (1952): 3-17. Murray, Christopher John. Encyclopedia of the romantic era: 1760-1850. New York: Taylor and Francis, 2004. National Art Education Association. Pablo Picasso. Art Education (1980): 4-7. Schider, Fritz. An atlas of anatomy for artists. The United States of America: Dover Publications, 1957. Metmuseum 1. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Works of art: drawings and prints. Giant (1818) by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes. Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/drawings_and_prints/Giant_Francisco_de_Goya_y_Lucientes/ViewObject.aspx?depNm=drawings_and_prints&pID=-1&kWd=&OID=90000247&vW=1&Pg=1&St=0&StOd=1&vT=1 Metmuseum 2. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Works of art: drawings and prints. Le Repas Frugal (1904) by Pablo Picasso. Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/drawings_and_prints/Le_Repas_Frugal_Made_by_Pablo_Picasso/ViewObject.aspx?depNm=drawings_and_prints&pID=-1&kWd=&OID=90004093&vW=1&Pg=1&St=0&StOd=1&vT=1 Walling, Donovan R. Visual knowing: connecting art and ideas across the curriculum. California: Corwin Press, 2005. Read More