The two paintings I chose for this assignment are Synchromy by Stanton Macdonald-Wright and Three Musicians by Pablo Picasso. The first is an oil painting completed in 1917, and the latter, which is of the same medium as the first, was painted in 1921. Although there is only a four-year gap that separates the two works, there are noticeable differences in the artists’ style and use of color and lighting in each painting.

In Synchromy, Macdonald-Wright uses various shades of orange, green, blue, yellow, purple, and red. At the intersection of each section of color, there is extensive blending, which gives the effect of the colors overlapping and layering over one another to create different hues, as if looking into a kaleidoscope. Though there are sections of darkness in the painting, it is balanced with the brightness of the yellow, orange, white, and pink tones. In addition, the painting includes very visible brushstrokes.

Synchromy, Stanton Macdonald-Wright 1917

In Three Musicians, Picasso uses a darker and less diverse palette of color. Much of the background is a shade of brown and the only other colors used to outline the figures in the painting are yellow, orange, blue, black, and white. Apart from the sections of white and light colors, the painting is shadowy. As was common in Cubism, Picasso utilizes geometrical forms to depict the scene, giving the impression of a collage in which shapes have been cut out and pasted onto the canvas. Although geometric shapes and lines are present in Synchromy, they are not as clearly defined as those in Three Musicians. Another difference is that there are almost no visible brushstrokes nor an observable blending of colors in Picasso’s painting.

Three Musicians, Pablo Picasso 1921