Blog_Revise
Blog_Portraits Compare
Comparing the two portraits you can notice they are both oil on canvas first off and they both display a portrait of a person. The idea of detail was a strong addition to art especially during the Baroque era (1585-1700/1730) which is around the time both paintings were made. During this 17th century the practice of realism with art was popular but it wanted to capture more organic moments that are not posed and capture art of people who are not of authority personnel, but instead both arts give off the idea that a quick picture was taken with a camera which wasn’t the case. Both portraits display emotion through their facial expressions and even the position of their bodies tells you something about them, how they feel, and the meaning behind the painting of the portraits.
Judith Leyster, Self-Portrait, c. 1633, oil on canvas https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd4_yWOMsca3SwpZYeE59Qssj8P4ZLE5dzlvYxuxSP3FaIeW5iK1-ZSBmyR0sh_pC8qxM3UecLFNnakYgfQXIWqYfDI_Fm87NyWisVJ4l65Eo6o7AAgh3EQbC1-lSYoBvNa-z3jbLMQ69s/w278-h320/12797074653_794bdfebf0_k.jpg
Judith Leyster, painted her own self portrait, in 1633 and in her portrait you can see a very relaxed and organic moment with herself as the painter and the viewer who observes her art. She’s twisted back and looking at us, the viewer; with a smile and some casualty in her look you can tell this painting wasn’t meant to show her importance but just her enjoying her moment. The art is displaying Leyster in a way that makes it feel like we are there and she has turned to talk to us as she had been painting. Her attention to the dynamics of her body is admired and how she captures the fabric and her skin in the painting making everything seem so realistic.
Diego Velázquez, Juan de Pareja, 1650, oil on canvas https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDfBhZP4KuqnYZTSANcCrgp9Nyfnm99PEo3VuP7U9eouCj8N8DvrGAyx7W0vjaWGSxbgFMYO37Z3CawO0RLvB1yRIzm2cO5M8X0gg2FFHfcQDTuwmOu2gd-YxoTkBqZwZX_8Is9lOI0noY/w277-h320/DP-14286-001.jpg
As for Diego Velazquez, he painted a portrait of a man named Juan de Pareja, who was his slave, in 1650 and in his portrait you can see how posed he was, and really focused on giving the image life. The way he looks at us, the viewer we can feel and see the control through his position as he stands there; he looks of power but his face shows emotion. Velazquez creates an emphasis with the emotion that is drawn from the image. He painted his slave focusing on the dignity of him as a being, and with that he pulls his face out and makes him dressed up, it captures the viewers eyes while keeping everything very dark and a plain background. The art tells us to focus on this man to observe him and see the emotion he is feeling in the moment, while as in Leyster’s art she had a background and there was so much to look at as a viewer compared to his painting. Velazquez’s painting is one subject, this man, Juan de Pareja and the detail of realism of how this man felt.
SOURCE
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Diego Velázquez, Juan de Pareja," in Smarthistory, October 8, 2016, accessed February 2, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/velazquez-juan-de-pareja/.
Dr. Esperança Camara, "Baroque art, an introduction," in Smarthistory, June 9, 2015, accessed February 2, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/a-beginners-guide-to-baroque-art/.
Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, "Judith Leyster, Self-Portrait," in Smarthistory, December 14, 2015, accessed February 2, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/judith-leyster-self-portrait/.
adding onto my last comment... do you think that the artist meant to have confidence as a feature or something that we could pick out as unique about these two paintings?
ReplyDeleteI like how you went in great detail in how the sitter is interacting with the audience with their poses. I also appreciate the way in which you write about the difference in expressing confidence. What I would have liked to have seen if possible is maybe the backgrounds of the sitters.
ReplyDelete