Nov 12 2009
It’s All In The Colors
Authenticity of any art piece can be measured by how much the artwork succeeds in drawing the viewer towards it and what impact the art piece leaves on the viewer. That’s exactly what Michelangelo’s first painting “The Torment of St. Anthony” succeeds in doing.
The use of colors is such that at the first sight my complete attention was captured by the main event that was taking place in the painting – a serene looking St. Anthony being tormented by bold colored demons in mid air. The blue white background of the painting emphasizes this main subject. Gradually I began noticing the picturesque background, which shows a clear blue cloudless sky at the top, a peaceful river with a boat sailing at the bottom and grey rocks covered with brown-green algae towards the left. This setting of St. Anthony’s torment as portrayed in this painting by Michelangelo adds a mystical and unearthly quality to the otherwise ferocious scene. The boat sailing in the waters below also makes the viewer realize how numinous the situation portrayed is.
I also think that Michelangelo uses colors in the painting to inform the viewers about the power the demons have over St. Anthony by using bold colors like fiery red and metallic green to represent the demons while St. Anthony cloak is painted in dull black. Further the expression on St. Anthony’s face can be best described as serene and placid. That is not what I would expect from somebody who is being subjected to excruciating pain by a number of demons. This led me to believe that through St. Anthony’s unruffled expression Michelangelo was trying to portray how in spite of the demons’ superior physical strength St. Anthony is much stronger mentally and spiritually that is why he can resist the evil force of the demons. This point was also proven by the fact that Michelangelo painted dead plants on the rocks close to the demons showing how evil and life threatening the demons really are and still did not affect St. Anthony.
Another thing that struck me about the painting was that the artist showed an extraordinary talent for details when he painted the spikes and the scales in the fish like demon or the bright red ridges on the green body of the winged demon or even the varied expressions of all the nine demons. According to the museum sources Michelangelo was inspired to paint this scene by Martin Schongauer’s engraving. Though the main theme of the painting is the same in Michelangelo’s adaptation of the engraving, Michelangelo softens the characters and the situation by adding a beautiful background and by making the features of the characters and the painting in general less elaborate.
That is why I consider this piece of art as authentic – it appeals to the viewer because of it’s subject as well as for the artistic talent of the painter. As I have mentioned before the artist gives many hints in the painting through his use of colors, choice of background, characters’ expressions so that the observer can understand what the artist was trying to portray through his art. The subject of the painting is extremely clear and the raw emotions of anger and ferociousness draws the observer towards it.
Your post does an amazing job at detailing the efforts of Michelangelo. I absolutely agree with your point about how authentic this work was because of the choices Michelangelo made in creating this painting.
The colors are the true difference between the two paintings that Michelangelo uses to tell a story. He wanted to create a serene background so that there would be a contrast between the evil that occurs in the center and that exterior which is more tranquil and peaceful. There is meaning behind every color and he made sure to allow the viewer to note that.
I also was vexed by the peaceful face of St. Anthony, as his dull black figure was surrounded by powerful, colorful, swarming demons. I think that Michelangelo found comfort in the fact that a St. would not be intimidated by these demons, and was a sound mind despite the situation.
As you mentioned, when I first saw the painting, all I noticed was a Saint being tormented by the demons around him. However, upon further inspection, I saw the peaceful look on his face, despite the presence of the demons. I also noticed the tranquility of the surroundings.
It is true that the colors he uses to paint the demons are intentionally chosen so as to depict their evil nature.
It is also true, that while the subject of this painting is almost identical to the original one, what makes this painting authentic is that Michelangelo added his own touch by making changes as he pictured them.
Michelangelo’s use of color was indeed brilliant, which I should give him more credit for than in my blog post.
In the end, I didn’t think a new paintjob by Michelangelo did the trick. The line art itself was flat to begin with, and I think it gave the painting a hollow feeling.