Critique 2

Marc Chagall was borne on July 7th 1887 and died on March 28 1985 at the ripe old age of ninety eight. He was the oldest of nine children in a tight net Jewish family, in Belarus where he studied art. He later moved to Paris where he continued his studies. He was forced to flee the country during the Nazi occupation of France and ended up living in the United States. Perhaps due to this background Chagall’s works were consistently appealing to the unconscious mind and have a certain unreality, while staying somewhat believable. This knack for the unusual and his tendency to never fully embrace a singular style, though taking some influence from both cubism and fauvism, have lead to a unique style that this painting “the war” emphasizes.
The war is a representation of a desperate, eternal struggle between the forces of heaven and those of hell. The composition of the piece is very important. The forces of good are arranged on the right side and the forces of evil are arranged on the left while the common people are being shepherded towards either side. The darkest portion of the painting is met by the lightest in a stunning chiaroscuro that makes up the focal point of “the war.” Despite the supposed war that is taking place the different sides react together in harmony representing the whole picture creating balance and making the picture more complete. The soft shades and subtle changes are what makes this painting so real despite the obvious fantasy aspects it incorporates.

Critique

Sunset After a Storm on the Coast of Sicily

Critique
Andreas Achenbach was a German painter born in 1875, he lived until 1910, Gus career as a painter was at first defined by pseudo-idealism, he later diverted from this type of art to pioneer the German realism movement. During this time period his paintings went from average to something great. As a painter his greatest joy is in recreating landscapes most often involving a stormy sea and or the destruction such a sea can cause. This painting Unset after a Storm on the Coast of Sicily is one such painting
The painting depicts a landmass, Sicily, being sought out by a number of people in longboats, they can not reach their destination because of the intensity and ferocity of the storm inspired sea. The landmass has a certain aesthetic beauty to it represented by the rising sun behind it. As a critic I view this as the representation of life, if the people manage to get to Sicily then they will see the next sunrise. The people despite the slight hope represented by the last rays of the sun, look to be doomed. The composition of the piece is what helps us to determine this. The emphasis is placed one the terrifying sea, the waves are present at the forefront of the piece. The storm and rising sun create a startling contrast that gives the painting its deeper than paint type feel. This painting is both terrible and wonderful all in the same breath and is a realistic testament to nature’s power.