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I still have some Shepherds left in the bottom of the bag. Above is a Rubens. I am fond of Rubens but
this one doesn't carry as well to the modern eye as that Rembrandt we saw last night. Those
putti flying above with their roll of Charmin just seem corny to our contemporary eyes. But the figure of Mary lifting the swaddling clothes to reveal the Christ child is beautiful. Like the Mary in the Rembrandt, she is illuminated by the source of light which seems to be the child. Her arm cuts in front of that illumination, like the figure I discussed last night.
Thats a nice touch. It establishes space in there and amplifies the effect.
About the Christ child are a pinwheel of limbs formed by the leg of the kneeling shepherd, Marys raised arm, the woman in the hats arm, and then the shepherds arm. The baby is in the center of a maelstrom of converging arcs.
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The painting above is by
Gerit Von
Honthorst, who lived at the same time as Rembrandt but was
a few years his senior.
Honthorst was a wildly successful artist and studied in Rome to learn the
Carravagiast style. That is, he painted scenes using the chiaroscuro style of
Caravagio. Rembrandt too was a follower of that style but became so unique that the label was to small to fit him.
I think the
darks scattered about this painting are less well designed than those or the Rubens above or that Rembrandt from the other day. The same illuminated by a baby against a dark field ploy goes on in all of these pictures and
Gerit isn't quite as good at it. Squint at the picture and
notice the following slightly clunky little
darks.
- The dark behind the praying shepherd on the lefts hands.
- The dark below the chin of the cow
- and the dark shape to the right of Marys head.
All of these were put in to relieve the light shapes against a dark, but they seem a little artificial.Also the distribution of the light is sort of
matter of fact. In the Rembrandt from yesterday the light
is dramatically arrayed to pick out the things that carry the story, in the
Honthorst the light is sort of everywhere. It illuminates the yellow sleeve of the shepherd on the right, for instance nearly as much as the face of Mary. Try covering it with your hand and see if you don't agree that Mary "lights up". Lastly the shepherd on the left of Mary has his nose jammed against the top of the praying shepherds head, a Rembrandt or a Rubens wouldn't contain an annoying little tangent like that.
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Above is a Bernardo
Strozzi who was born just a little before Rembrandt is playing the same theme too, with the
illuminated shapes set against the darkness. Marys gesture is lovely and there is a silvery
cast to this painting that is a little different than
the golden glow of the dutch paintings we
have been seeing. Squint way down on this one and see what fine shapes
Strozzi has made. The radiating spoke like shapes formed by the draperies supporting Christ work really well. The two vertical staffs on either side of Mary are a great counter to all of the ovoid shapes in there.
Thats a neat design idea too.
10 comments:
It's really great how many artists I've learned about from your blog, today's no different. It's interesting to look at what made Rembrandt and Rubens stand out at the time.
The Academy's a good school for sure- very much on the pricey side, but there are some fantastic teachers. It's very far from comprehensive though. There are large, rather important chunks of my education that I've only gotten online, chiefly from conceptart.org and your blog. Cheers for that by the way :). I really hope to take one of your workshops someday.
"Shepherds left in the bottom of the bag.."
I'm going to grin for a year!
This has all been helpful & fun.
They seem to have covered every way
to depict the birth of Christ.
Stylized, dramatized, and taylored
fasions for the day.
Daytons has changed hands several times, but still have a display.
I have'nt been down there since they took out Moby Dicks.
(That was a whale of a time!)
This series is a great way to celebrate the season and focus attention on the birth of Christ. Smartly evangelistic! Thanks.
Wonderful design analysis as always, Stape. Feeling better?
MERRY CHRISTMAS STAPE Get Better! and may you be your feisty self for Christmas morning.
I love the Rembrandt...Do you think painting by candlelight helped him to create such contrast and the wonderful darks and lights that are so alive?
Maybe we should try it.
Corinne McIntyre
Sidharth:
Thank you . I get a number of visitors from concept.org. I always find that sort of funny as I am their polar opposite. I am sort of old timey classical and they are real CG. I appreciate the link though and hope I am useful. That's what the goal is here. I want to be useful.
.................Stape
Bill:
I spent some time in Moby Dicks. Long ago "a whale of a drink" also used to go to the artists quarter a lot. I lived in several apts around the art school area and over at 24th and Lyndale. I lived a long time in the old Oak Grove Hotel.When it was still a dorm for the Guthrie.I remember when the Depot had busses in it.
............Stape
Simone:
Thanks, I was trying to be kind of low profile, posting all that scripture you know.
....Sctape
Deborah:
Yes I am, I am left with only a scratchy throat .Thank you.
................Stape
CM:
I have had problems painting in dim light, things look off when seen in more light. I think he was just wicked smart.
............Stape
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