Social, Political and Economic influence on Art - Assignment Example

Insert Social, Political and Economic influence on Art How social, political and Economic conditions affect the nature and meaning of art The social, political or economic conditions of a society can greatly influence the nature of art in any societal setting. Arguably, an isolation or an interplay of all these factors can influence the nature of art work, the theme, tone and even the art composition that a particular art settles to paint concerning a particular societal cause. The affluence exhibited by paintings from different eras has a lot to do with the social, political or economic landscape of the social set up from which it is drawn.

For instance, most of the Baroque paintings were mainly influenced by the religion welfare or more importantly the royal lifestyle. The paintings of this period painted every single art work with fine decoration even up to the surface. Unlike, rococo paintings, the Baroque paintings are taken not just for the spiritual reasons, nor domestic impressions but expressing pure affluence and aesthetics. Socially, the element of time was of particular significance to the painters of this era. Believing that time conceals lies and justifies good over evil.

Within a combination of art the style, Baroque surpassed the modern social nature of sculpture full of uniqueness, desirability and accomplishment. Equally, the paintings of these periods manifested emotional creation of the artists mainly influenced by contemporary social issues. (McKay & McKay, 2010) In contrast, Beckett, (1994) argues that the Rococo art derived meaning from opposing the earlier era and its thematic representations. With progressive shift away from wealth and authority. The creation was associated with low touch and minimal design.

It portrayed how civilian were reacting to the wealth associated with Kings and royalty instead focusing on normal societal order, creating with it a new and vibrant art style that was less wealthy but representing a frivolous style one that seemed unaware of social predicaments and championing its own gratification. J.H. Fragonard, The Swing (figure 1) was one of the most famous paintings of the Rococo era. In this painting a lady is painted on a swing pushed by a bishop so that Ricardo Claude could see the legs.

In can be analyzed that the lady has no ability of her mental faculties, essentially what she cares about is her environment. The tones used to represent the extreme sweetness with a light brush stroke. The painting therefore portrays a love affair between the lady on the swing and the man. The painting is conceived with deep symbolism of two small stones indicating a dolphin, and stone Cupid is symbolizing the love affair scene. The husband is placed at the back of the painting to suggest his unawares of her wife’s infidelity.

The painter uses a typical rococo style by placing the woman on top of this love affair, a characteristic of rococo painting. The color and the tone are expressed by light brush strokes with an overflowing palette color displaying the full pleasures of life. (Escobar, 2011) On the other hand, Velazquez, The maids of honor, (figure 2) is a famous painting displaying the unique Baroque painting in an everyday life. It was suggested that the artist chose this painting as a reflection of his own daily schedule.

The mirror on the wall a distant by representing a reflection of the King and the Queen which the princess is staring at surrounded by her maids and the family dog in the picture. His choice of color, light and textural components reflect the social status and the social class Velazquez painted. An image of the painter standing in the paint is Velazquez himself represents a self-portrait reflecting upon the everyday encounters of an artist. (Underwood, 2008) References Beckett, W. (1994). The story of painting.

NY: Dorling Kindersley. Escobar, B. A. (2011). Spanish Arts. Retrieved October 24, 2012, from Rococo Painting: http://www.spanisharts.com/history/rococo/i_rococo.html McKay, B., & McKay, K. (2010). The Basic of Arts: The Baraque Period. Retrieved from: http://artofmanliness.com/2010/10/18/the-basics-of-art-the-baroque-period/ Underwood, R. M. (2008). Critical Analysis of Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas. Retrieved from: www.homesaustin.com/Documents/LasMeninas.pdf Figure 1: J.H. Fragonard, The Swing, adapted from www.

spanisharts.com Figure 2: Velazquez, The maids of honor adapted from www.spanisharts.com