Art Study of Fallen Figures & 3 Dimensional Quality

I went to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) to examine works by Peter Paul Rubens. This small exhibit features the painting, The Massacre of the Innocents, that was a gift to the AGO from Ken Thomson. The exhibit also includes the paintings, Samson and Delilah, on loan from the National Gallery, London, and The Entombment, on loan from the National Gallery of Canada. These paintings are early works by Rubens. While Michelangelo drew figure studies from dissections, Rubens drew figure studies from sculptures. Tetrode’s sculpture, The Horse Trainer, is in the exhibit. I also draw figure studies from sculptures in the AGO. I studied the paintings, Samson and Delilah and The Entombment, examining the techniques used by Rubens to emphasize the fallen figures and at the same time maintain the 3 dimensional quality or form of the figures. In Samson and Delilah, I saw that from the top of Delilah’s head and moving down and over Samson, the direction is from top left to bottom right. Therefore, we see a downward movement. If the direction was from bottom left to top right we would see a soaring movement. This is because most of us read from left to right and therefore enter a painting from the left. In The Entombment, the white shroud around the Christ figure and the man on the right side, bent over holding Christ’s legs, repeat the downward movement of Christ’s body. This also adds to the movement of Christ. Rubens also used other techniques to emphasize the paintings’ fallen figures. Light and shadow create the 3 dimensional qualities of form/figures. If you link the form shadows, i.e. the shadow on the arm of Samson, the figure will obtain more roundness.

[Click on the title of this post to go to the Ruben's Virtual Gallery where you can see all 3 paintings.]

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Study of Techniques-Pre Raphaelite Art Exhibit

I like to go to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) to study and learn from the works of other artists. Currently the AGO has an exhibit of works from Holman Hunt and other artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. I was able to study the structural compositions of the paintings. I was also able to study the artists use of glazing (transparent layers of paint), scumbling (semi transparent, translucent layers), and impasto (thick opaque paint). This was my primary objective and I came away with knowledge of how the artists used these techniques to achieve their artistic goals. Of course, I was able to view their use of other elements, i.e. light, colour, etc.


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Sunlight & Sky, Original Fine Art Painting, "Barn and Trees"

Barn and Trees
Acrylic on wrapped canvas on wood stretcher bars
8 by 10 inches, 20.4 by 25.5 cm

I wanted to paint the warm light shining on the barn and the reflection of the sky on the roof. The cast shadows of the trees lead the viewer into the painting.

[Click on title of this post to go to my Etsy internet shop.]

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