Analysis of still life crosshatch study

Artist: Suzanna Kellett 2014

Title: Still life crosshatch study

Medium: pencil on paper

Description

This picture, rendered in pencil, depicts six household objects grouped closely together. The objects are outlined and shaded with crosshatching. The light source hits the objects from behind and to the left of them as is made apparent by the shadows, and all of the objects reflect the light to some degree. The lighter areas contain pencil lines going in one direction or another, sometimes following the contours of the objects, and the darker patches are achieved by the use of more overlying lines going in different directions. 

Analysis

The relationship between the objects is made clear by the reflections and shadows cast on one object by another. For example, there is a reflection of the diamond object on the side of the shiny pot to its right, while the candle behind casts a shadow on the pot's lid. The objects look as if they are placed believably on a surface thanks to the shadows beneath them. The viewers' attention is caught by the dish on the far right which seems to be leaning slightly to the left, as if a mistake has been made in the artist's observation. This draws attention to the fact that the right side of the candle is also not completely perpendicular to the ground.

Interpretation

The piece depicts random objects that reveal something of the owner's life, but they are mostly generic items that indicate a female owner rather than being obviously intriguing. The blank background makes the picture seem somewhat unfinished, while the composition of the objects seems contrived, being that the four largest ones are roundish and are placed in a square. There is a gap in the middle of the composition which reveals an unclear depiction of a hair slide, which is quite confusing. However, there is a variety of highlights and shadows which is well rendered by crosshatch although in places the execution is not consistent.

INK: Gustav Dore Analysis

Title: Illustration for "Paradise Lost"

Arist: Gustav Dore (London and New York. Cassell, Petter and Galpin, 1866)

Wood engraving

Description 

This illustration is one of 50 that Gustav Dore created for John Milton's book Paradise Lost. The engraving has been made to fit the dimensions of a book, which has influenced the shape of the piece. In this image the most immediately apparent thing is the relationship between a black, winged figure in flight and the patch of white parallel to its wings, which highlights a point of a cloud-covered sphere below. They reflect each other inversely on either side of the engraving's central point. The scene is set at night, which we can tell from the stars around the top of the page and the way that the clouds are barely highlighted as if the lightsource is not strong.  A spotlight shines on the globe from an unknown source, represented by more lightly engraved bars which disappear into darkness at the top right of the engraving. The viewer looks down on everything from a celestial position, as if falling with the winged figure.

Analysis 

This illustration is richly textured by the many lines that comprise it, giving it the appearance of woven fabric. Emphasis is placed more on effect than on realism, for example with the placement of the stars below the clouds and with the mystical elements such as the beam of light and the winged character. The effect of an ocean shimmering with reflection has been achieved on the globe through many dashes of bright wight. The figure is the most deeply engraved, most detailed element, making it seem closer to us, and thus making the background seem further away and vast. Darkness is also associated with evil, so this as well as the sharp, batlike wings makes the character seem malevolent, and the sphere bathed in light seem blessed.

Interpretation
The choice of night time for the scene makes it look like a dreamscape; the clouds caress and blanket the globe and the stars twinkle magically. In this way Dore makes promotes an association between the innocence of the globe floating in sleep and the malicious intentions of the character who approaches in the night. Because the character takes up such a small portion of the page, the impression is that he is fairly powerless in comparison to whatever power governs the beauty of the scene in the background, though his eager gaze directed on the sphere foretells nothing good.

Evaluation
This illustration is meant to portray the flight to earth of the character Satan in Milton's book Paradise Lost. Dore has used darkness and light, achieved through the depth of his etching, to illustrate the good and evil forces in an immediately recognisable way.

image: public domain image from Wikipedia.

INK: Alphonse Mucha Analysis

 source: http://poulwebb.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/alphonse-mucha-part-7.html

Title: preliminary inked version of 'Documents Décoratifs Plate 47' 

Arist: Alphonse Mucha, 1902 

Study in crayon & ink on paper 58.1 x 46.7 cm 

Description 

This image is executed in crayon and ink on fairly large paper positioned in a portrait direction. There are wider margins of white at each side than there are at the top and bottom, making the image seem narrow. Towards the top of the painting, a woman with a sheet around her waist reclines next to or on top of a bear skin, within a circular outline. This outline is surrounded by flowing, rounded shapes that resist the edges of the paper and each other and incorporate natural motifs into their design. The woman is the main focus of the piece and below her is a repetitive but not identically repeating design reminiscent of peacock feathers. Under this is a more simplistic design of organic shapes. Each different section of design is enclosed within a thicker line of black ink and separated by a margin of white space. Only the cloth of the lady's sheet breaches these borders. The line width used to depict shading and other features of the woman's body and the bear fur is much slimmer than the width used in the patterns around the borders, with the section outlines being the thickest of all. Where the thicker lines meet there is a degree of "bleeding", where the junction is thicker still. 

Analysis 

The shading within the sheet is not coincidental: this occupies an eye-catching central position within the composition and the lines which create soft shading curve alluringly around the contours of the woman's legs, containing shapes that echo the patterns around the border. The composition altogether echoes the motifs in the patterns: the woman and the bear occupy the top third of the drawing, and as our eyes travel down the woman's sheet to the bottom, the shapes become more simplistic and less delicate, echoing the elongated stems and more complex swirls or 'sticking points' at the apexes of the patterns, like the stem and bloom of a flower. The eye is led in waves down the woman's figure, as she has been drawn with her head and knees facing to the right and her torso and the bottom of the cloth angled towards the left. This effect makes the woman seem very sensual, as does the uninterrupted white space of her bare top half. The bear's aggressive but ineffective snarl can be contrasted against the relaxed expression of the woman's face, emphasising her position of wealth and domination as she looks down her nose on the viewer. 

Interpretation 

The image represents a vision of hedonism and luxury and could easily be used to promote some form of product or lifestyle. It is very pleasing to look at as there are very few right angled edges, apart from the top and bottom sections, which are designed to contain the viewers' attention within the central sections of the drawing. The effect of this is that a viewer is encouraged to make compelling comparisons to the rounded shapes found in nature and healthy, youthful bodies. It has also been composed to look very balanced according to a viewer's natural instincts. The woman could almost be balancing on the very bottom tip of the hanging cloth. The mixture of thick and thin lines give depth to what could otherwise be a flat image. There is the impression that no line was drawn unplanned, and each one contributes to a larger interaction of shapes, lights and darks.

Evaluation
Alphonse Mucha is renowned for producing visually attractive work using a highly stylised method, whereby the figure depicted is arranged to interact with the patterns that surround it. Usually these patterns contain a mixture of organic shapes and natural elements, such as flowers. Dark borders of varying thickness and sections of white also characterise the artist. The above piece is demonstrative of these trademarks, and the skill of composing such a complex but balanced piece is worthy of appreciation.

image: Study crayon & ink on paper 58.1 x 46.7 cm © Alphonse Mucha Estate/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris