essay of arts

SAMPLE ESSAY

ARTS 1301 ESSAY Assignment

Spring 2018

Beauty of Art

It’s commonly believed that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, but it’s also believed that an artist has to ability to warp what a person sees and thinks through their art. An artist can highlight the generosity of a person or the destructiveness of another’s might. In this essay, I will discuss the formal and stylistic attributes of Portrait of Eleonora of Toledo with Her Son Giovanni de’ Medici by Agnolo Bronzino and Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques- Louis David. I will also compare the contextual history for the artwork to fully show what the artists were trying to display.

The first thing that I noticed in Portrait of Eleonora of Toledo with Her Son Giovanni de’ Medici is the overall color. The dark colors, especially the purple background, give the impression of power and authority. The contrast, coming from the gold and light gray, give the look of royalty and wealth. Her posture is centered and forward, and with her head held high, Eleonora is displayed as serious and composed. Eleonora’s dress is done with such detail it gives the texture of the dress can almost be felt. Her skin in light and flawless, portraying her as an ideal example of beauty. Overall, Agnolo portrays Eleonora as a woman who portrays as a woman of elegance, beauty, power and wealth (Dewitte, 28-29).

In contrast to Bronzino’s portrait, David draws Bonaparte with angled lines. Napoleon is clearly in action, pointing forward to keep moving. David also has his colors portray the harsh environment of the Alpine Mountains that in is contrast to the stable and calm environment in Bronzino’s painting. Just like the other drawing, David has Bonaparte high and centered to display his power and tranquility during stress. Bonaparte has the same serious and calm look on his face, combined with his control of his horse and his red cape, it helps show him as a leader of people and in control harsh situations. While Bonaparte doesn't have the elegant clothes of Eleonora, he does have the large red cape, white gloves, gold lined clothes and dagger to show is wealth. In all aspects, David made a great presentation of Bonaparte’s tranquility and control as well as showing his authority and wealth (Dewitte, 627).

While both paintings come from different centuries and cultures, the purpose of the portraits remains the same; to immortalize the leader as someone great and marvelous. Bronzino wished to have people remember Eleonora as “a beautiful young mother of high birth, who cemented the future of Florence through her children and the wealth she brought to the city” (Zappella). Eleonora was of Spanish descent who brought her culture with her Florence. In the portrait, she is presented with her second son to display her as a fertile woman. For those who don’t know, she had birthed eleven children (Zappella). Her beauty was captivating to many people, that even Cosimo brushed aside all other women, disregarding Eleonora’s older sister and remaining faithful to Eleonora throughout their marriage. This was presented in her flawless skin and perfect symmetry in her face. Bronzino had captured Eleonora for who she really was, a woman to marvel. David also tried to capture Bonaparte as a great figure, but all in all, greatly exaggerated who Bonaparte was. Napoleon wanted to be drawn as a leader who was “calme sur un cheval fougueux” or calm on a fiery horse (Pollitt). David portrayed Bonaparte as a leader, guiding his troops through the Alpine Mountains. This was not what happened. In reality, he followed behind them on a mule (Pollitt). While drawing Bonaparte as a hero was David’s intent, the truth was the Bonaparte was really absent for the moments. He even refused to be around for his portraits. Bronzino captured Eleonora for who she was, while David drew Bonaparte as ideal but lacking truth.Regardless, both portraits are used to represent the leaders as perfect.

I enjoyed both portraits. Both artist put a great deal of attention to detail on everything around the respected leaders. Regardless if the figures presented were true or not, both artists portrayed many great qualities for each of their respected leaders. It’s amazing how having something such as a second child could represent fertility or how having your name inscribed by others show how you are among great leaders of the past; the way the messages are delivered were fascinated to me. I would not have realized the reasons for such small things like that without having researched the meanings. I really liked both portraits for the detailed and the stories they tell.

Bibliography

DeWitte, Debra J., et al. Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts. 2nd ed., Thames & Hudson, 2015.

Pollitt, Ben. “David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps (Article).” Khan Academy, 2017, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/monarchy-enlightenment/neo-classicism/a/david-napoleon-crossing-the-alps.

Zappella, Christine. “Bronzino, Portrait of Eleonora of Toledo with Her Son Giovanni (Article).” Khan Academy, 2012, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/mannerism1/a/bronzino-portrait-of-eleonora-of-toledo-with-her-son-giovanni.

ADDED BY MRS. ARMSTRONG

Images of artworks analyzed are on the following page.

Please compress your images before submitting the assignment. Directions will be given for this process.

Note about citing images.

If your artwork is not in the textbook, which is cited above in this Bibliography,

then you should add a citation for the source of your image. There is an MLA format for image citations.

Bronzino, Portrait of Elenora of Toledo with Her Son Giovanni de' Medici, 1544-55, Oil on panel, 45 1/4" x 37 3/4", Uffizi Gallery, Florence Italy.

Page 29 in Gateways 2ed.

Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps (or Bonaparte Crossing the St. Bernard Pass, 20 May, 1800), 1801, Oil on canvas, 8' 91/4" x 7' 3 3/4", Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, Versailles, France.

Page 627 in Gateways 2ed.