Showing posts with label Short Essay. Show all posts

07/03/2011

AN ANALYTICAL REVIEW OF THE WORK OF LUCIAN FREUD

Lucian Freud is a German born, British artist who is widely recognised for his works on the human form. He produced rugged, true to life imagery that portrays the human figure in a naked display of flesh and figure that captures the models deepest features and feelings.

The models that are portrayed in Freud’s works are usually acquaintances or of the artist. This allows Freud to capture the character of the specific individual and produce an image that truly replicates their feelings and thoughts through the expressions of the face and figure. This is the source of the emotive power of Freud’s work. Although quite contrary Freud also pushes himself to negate any feelings and emotional connection to the subject and focuses on the flows and folds of flesh, these two factors combine to produce powerful imagery of the human form that are well textured and detailed anatomically but also have a sense of emotion, feeling and flow.

Freud proclaims he is a biologist and his deep knowledge of the human form is prominent in his work. It is as if Freud dissects the form of the individual he is capturing and emphasises their most prominent features, whether it be imperfections in the skin, extruding features, deep wrinkles or obscure body forms.

Freud utilises a small variety of media in his work, using pencil and oil painting as the main tools of his craft. Freud’s pencil work displays the harsh folds and wrinkles in the flesh with great depth, using strong, bold lines and tone to define these features. Freud’s oil work replicates this same effect using muted colours, tone and shape that blend the character with its surroundings. This produces raw imagery that focuses on the flaws in flesh and emboldens them to be the focal point of the imagery.

Freud is a developing artist that has adapted and evolved his work throughout his career, producing captivating and powerful imagery on the human form.

AN ANALYTICAL REVIEW OF THE WORK OF FRANCIS BACON

Francis Bacon is an Irish born, British artist who is renowned for his works on the human form and the portrayal of emotion and feeling through his abstract imagery.

These images typically revolved around heads or figures in peculiar forms, against non-descript, bland backdrops. This emphasises the forms of the figures Bacon portrays and focuses the viewer on the emotive the character portrays. The themes in Bacon’s earlier work revolved around the idea of crucifixion and religious concepts. It was during this stage that Bacon produced his first major pieces names ‘three studies for figures at the base of a crucifixion’.

In these images bacon utilises oil and pastel to create abstract figures that represent forms and figure. He blends the tone on his figures using smooth strokes and bland colours against the vibrant background to enhance the focus on the figures and to create a sense of flow in the form.

The characters depicted in these images are not of a human form but incorporate aspects of them throughout. In the right image there are features of the human facial and torso form incorporated into an unusual isometric figure. The screaming mouth resembles a figure nail at the end of the protruding shape and at the base a rib cage. Bacon utilises these aspects of human figure and changes the placement or setting of the features to create strange and sometimes disturbing imagery.

The left image resembles a human torso and head draped in a cloth or robe, this figure guides the viewer to the central image through the direction of the perspective and the gaze of the figure. This is a common occurrence in Bacons imagery as the perspective lines and geometrical shapes placed in the background are utilised to guide the viewer around the image. This can also be seen in Bacon’s ‘Study after Velazquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X’.

Bacon’s later works go on to focus on his social circle, later becoming almost obsessed with the concept of death and personal demons after the death of his partner George Dyer.

12/02/2011

COMPLETE AN ANALYTICLE REVIEW OF THE WORK OF JENNY SAVILLE

Jenny Saville is a modern contemporary artist that focuses her work on human form, especially of large individuals. Jenny was born in 1970 in Cambridge UK. She studied at the Slade School of art in London. After graduating from SSoA jenny’s entire senior show at the Cooling Gallery in London was purchased by Charles Saatchi (advertising agency co-founder and well known collector of art) who also commissioned her for 2 years to continue with her work. Jenny now works as a tutor of figure painting at the SSoA.

Jenny’s work burst into the public eye after the controversial ‘sensation’ exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art. Jenny’s work is especially explicit in the detail it showcases of the subject matter she has explored. She produces detailed imagery of obesity, violence and gender through a single portrait or scene. The way she does this is by highlighting the deformities or unusual aspects of her models with high contrasts and deep use of dark skin tones, also through the use of reds to focus the viewer attention away from the blander skin tones.

Another technique implemented in Savilles work is the use of etching in the paint to reveal messages in her work. This can be seen in her painting ‘propped’ which depicts herself perched on a stool clutching her exaggerated knees. The text is a quote from the feminist writer Luce Irigary which reads “if we continue to speak in this sameness, speak as men have spoken for centuries, we will fail each other again.”

Yet another technique implemented by jenny is the use of glass in her photography to capture the human form. She places her subjects on a clear pane of glass and photographs them from underneath. This captures aspects of the body in greater detail such as the folds and curvatures of the body’s profile. This can be seen in the photographic image, ‘closed contact’.

The main material used by jenny to produce her work is oil paint on canvas. For a modern artist this can be seen as unusual as oil is seen to be a very traditional medium to use. She uses bold yet intricate brush strokes to bring flow into her imagery and really brings their individual features to light. This is then contrasted against a less focused and minimalistic backdrop to keep the viewers attention on the character and not its surroundings.

In conclusion Jenny Saville is a modern painter that works in a traditional style to produce graphic and provocative images that reflect the distressing and obscure issues of the modern world, particularly relating to feminism.