Analysis of Goya's Art - Essay Example

?Changes which occurred from 1780 – 1880 in visual art were based on different cultural and social expectations that were occurring during the time. Various artists became interested in expressing different ideologies in an alternative manner while building various motifs and expressions within their artwork. This followed with techniques which were used to create the right alternatives with those in society. An example of the changes in artwork from 1780 – 1880 are displayed with the works of Francisco Jose de Goya, a painter renowned for his works in Spain. A painting that depicts the ideologies of the time is from the “El Tres de Mayo” painted in 1814 with oil on canvas (see Appendix A). This particular painting represented the various movements of the time in terms of politics, culture, society and the philosophies of Goya. Analysis of Goya’s El Tres de Mayo The concepts that are represented in the painting of El Tres de Mayo begin with creating a narrative about the time frame and the Revolts that were occurring during the time frame in Spain. The painting is oil on canvas and is 266 x 345 centimeters. It is currently located at the Prado Museum in Spain and remains a collection that is representative of the changing culture of Spain. The date of release of the painting was in 1814 during the time of the Revolution in Spain and the Napoleonic Wars. The painting represents the subject matter of soldiers working from the political upheaval on one side of the canvas. The other canvas has the common man who is opposed to the political structure. A central man is located on the left side of the canvas with his hands in the air. Two men are lying in the left hand corner of the canvas that are dead while other men are circled around the central man who is holding his hands in the air. Some are bending over to one side while the others on the right are covering their eyes while moving up to a platform. The background behind the common men is a hill while the background behind this is a church or castle with two other buildings that are shaded into the area. The subject matter that Goya creates is one that is noted through specific techniques first. The lines that are in the subject matter create a division through the center of the canvas and build a division between light and dark. This is furthered with the light side of the canvas having the common men while the right side having the darker shades of gray and black. The techniques that Goya use don’t add in colors but instead use only shades of white, gray and black as well as some browns. These are designed to blend into the other colors and to create lines while showing a darker subject matter that is representative of the revolts at the time. The shading that is used then moves into the division of light and dark between the two sides. This helps to accent the main subject matter of the common man while the other lines are pointing toward this as a highlight in subject material. The shading and the lines that are used are further highlighted with divisions that Goya creates through the individual subject matter of each of the men in the canvas. The lines are the main representation, specifically with the soldiers on one side. The perspective and lines remains straight with the stance of each of the soldiers while the guns are all held at a 90 degree angle. This helps to accent the organization of politics and points at how this creates the common man to become subjected to the political movements of the time. The lines in the background of the building structures further highlight the revolts and problems that occurred at the time. The lines and divisions that are created on the side which is with lighter shades remains more chaotic and highlights the loss the men are going through. Instead of straight angles, there are rounder and more curved lines through each of the men, such as them bending over or falling. The only man who has a straighter angle is the main subject, shown by raised hands in the air. This highlights the common man and the submission which he holds to the government and the political revolts of the time. Representing Romanticism in Goya The first aspect that is noted with the painting by Goya is based on the use of light and dark techniques of the time. Goya stays with the main attributes of the time, which represent a balance between light and dark. The presentation is one which shows the light on the left third of the canvas with peasants that are facing the soldiers. The eye is immediately drawn to the peasants from the light and moves to the peasant that is holding his hands in the air and is wearing a white shirt and off white pants. This accent is further highlighted with the gray figures around the man, all which are covering their eyes, moving toward the man or which are lying on the ground. The light representation is one which shows the violence of the time; however, the light also represents the Romantic ideology of the common man going through a revolution at the time. This is opposed to the dark shadows of soldiers pointing guns at the men, which further draws the eyes to the side of the common men who are subjected to the political forces. The Romantic ideology is one which shows and represents the political movement of the time for freedom and love for the common man. The visual depth that is in the painting is what builds the representation and dimension of freedom through the Romantic ideology. The painting is able to become a testimony to the philosophies of the time, specifically with the technique of light and dark. The testimony is one which shows the idea of freedom and love, specifically with the highlights on the common man that is facing the soldiers and which is unable to defend himself in the situation. The narration is furthered with the understanding of the Revolutions and changes which were happening in Spain at the time and the relationship to the Romantic that was associated with this. The visual presentation is able to outline and highlight what the Revolution in Spain meant to those who were undergoing the changes, while telling a story with the main themes of Romantic revolt that were a part of the time frame (Wall, 148). Political and Cultural Revolutions in Art The creation of El Tres De Mayo is one that not only moves into the Romantic ideals of love of freedom for the common man. The artistic development also represents the political and cultural revolutions of the time, specifically with this being a reflection on the Napoleonic Wars that were occurring at the time. The main ideology was to show the tensions which were occurring in society and which reflected what the culture believed about the wars and what was occurring. The cultural affiliation reflects the downfalls of war and the problems with the Revolution that were occurring. It furthers this with the political belief that the wars were only trapping individuals into problems and not allowing the true freedom of the individual to be available. This complexity becomes a main focus with the time frame and what was represented. Goya uses specific techniques and his own philosophies about the war to represent this complexity and the idea of the Revolution at the time (Sinclair, 165). There are specific techniques that Goya uses to display the ideas of Revolt and the complexities with the political and cultural movements. When looking at the painting, it is seen that there is a line between those who are political and those which belong to the culture of the people. The technique which Goya uses is based on the lines that are created on the sides of the portrait and which create a different approach to the Revolution. The line is taken from a perspective that is divided by the background and with a line that is in the center of the canvas. The line divides with lighter shading in the background that goes to the left and in a gray that moves into a black that goes to the right. The lines in the back of the canvas further this with the light that is on a hill on one side and which is divided with the same angle as the front area that represents the division. On the back side is a set of buildings that look like a political area or church. This division shows the natural light side with the subject matter of the peasants on the side. The darker division is then created with the soldiers that remain in front of the buildings. The lighting of the background is able to show the division with the political and cultural complexities of the time. The lines that are used with the background are further divided with the lines that point to the peasants with the main subject matter. The lines with the common men in the display show the culture of the time, which represents the ideal of freedom but also the suffering which occurs. The lines that accent this side are not configured or organized, but instead show the subject matters with round lines or bent over figures. The line on the darker side with the soldiers has a perspective which is exactly aligned both through the figures of the men in relation to each other and with the pointing of the guns that are at a 90 degree angle toward the common men. The artistic development which is used is able to create an understanding of the organized politics being the main placement of murder against culture and what already existed in Spain before the wars began. Artistic Developments from Goya The subject matter that Goya presented is one that began to challenge the artistic developments of the time. The first way in which this was done was through the use of cultural and political subject matters of war and the Romantic ideologies which were created from this. Instead of building Romantic ideologies through portraits or lighter subject matters, Goya moved into the emotions and downfall of war to show a different subject to society. This allowed others to have a different understanding of the artistic works and how it could move into deeper and darker subject materials to create a larger statement about society. By creating a different approach to war that wasn’t glorious or beautiful and by moving out of the lighter subjects, it was able to assist with broader artistic developments that were in the country at the time while building a sense of horror and struggle that often wasn’t considered in subject matter at the time (Warring, Fee, 15). The concepts of war, political struggle and culture that Goya created were furthered with techniques that Goya specialized in and which allowed others to begin to move toward his painting. The two areas that Goya led forward in terms of technique were based on the lines and the light and dark effects of the painting which was created. Goya had calculated and distinct attributes in terms of these two techniques used. Many other painters began to use the same techniques to create the feel of Romanticism and subject matter that became important during the time frame. The importance of shading with grays, black and browns was one of the techniques which were commonly used with the Romantic ideal and the feeling of the warfare that Goya created. Interchanging this with the shadings of white that are on the lighter side also became used commonly, specifically to create a different feel in terms of the light and dark that Goya used. This was combined with the ability to accent and highlight the lines of the painting and to change the attributes of the background to help in creating the right structure. These were used specifically in moving to the techniques of Romanticism from the more structured terms and lighter subject materials that were in artistic development from earlier time frames (Brandenburg, 13). Conclusion The concepts that are attributed to El Tres de Mayo move into the ideologies not only from Goya’s personal philosophies. There is also a relationship to the material that is created in terms of the broader movements which were created at the time. This began with the affiliation that was attributed to the cultural and social movements, as well as the political revolts that were moving through the time frame. Goya not only focuses on changing the subject material to the difficulties that were a part of this time frame. He furthers this with his understanding of the Romanticism that was beginning to emerge at the time. The emotional subject matter was then able to combine with the understanding of the time frame and the changes which were occurring. The techniques which were used were then able to influence other artistic developments during the time to show the darker subject matter and what was occurring in the culture of the time. Works Cited Brandenburg, Barbara. “The Difference in Beauty: What are the Differences in Eastern and Western Art?” Berlin International School, 2007. Sinclair, Alison. “The First Fragment of El Ruedo Iberico?” Bulletin of Hispanic Studies 49 (2), 2010. Wall, Catherine. “The Visual Dimension of Goya.” Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispanicos. 13 (1), 1988. Warring, Belle, Elizabeth Fee. “The Disasters of War.” American Journal of Public Health 96 (1), 2006. Appendix A Read More