Visual Description & Personal Analysis - Essay Example

There is almost a balance between the minimal subject matter in the top half of the painting (the sky itself) and the human-formed objects, clustered, in the bottom half of the painting. The overall mood of View up the Grand Canal Toward the Rialto,” is calm. It uses good linear perspective and a painterly style to emphasize the calm, ambient lighting and the typical day on the Grand Canal. Overall, I find this painting very pleasing in its natural treatment of the subject matter. It is also natural in terms of mood and lighting.

I like the interplay between the nature and man made objects and I also like the treatment of both of these things: in a natural, everyday way. “ View up the Grand Canal Toward the Rialto,” has an organic color palette and content that seems typical of Italian paintings of the time. Frances Guardi captured a cloudy, calm day on the Grand Canal and evokes similar feelings within the eye of the viewer. Adolphe-William Bougereau’s “Breton Brother and Sister” is a typical depiction of naturalized and glorified peasant life.

Bouguereau’s peasants are presented as clean and noble, and they are usually arranged in poses that recall ancient Greek sculpture. “Breton Brother and Sister,” is no exception. The sister and boy are in peasant clothing, brilliantly formed with paint to suggest thick texture for fieldwork. Their faces are naturalistic and show little outward emotion, though their eyes suggest stories of hard work but also of love. The interplay of cool and subdued colors in the clothing compliments the natural background and atmosphere of organic peacefulness and serenity.

In addition, the bits of more saturated color, such as the boy’s cap or the warm dress, unifies the many different colors utilized in the piece. Overall, the content of “Breton Brother and Sister” suggests a glorification of labor,