The two art works I have chosen to analyze are Claude Monet’s “Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies” and “The Japanese Footbridge”. I chose these two works because I found it interesting that although they are both by the same artist and are supposed to depict the same subject there are so many contrasts between the two. It is easy to see that “Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies” painted in 1899 exhibits a short and seemingly narrow footbridge over a pond that is flourishing with water lilies. Using many shades of green and different brushstroke techniques Monet fills the background of the painting with many different kinds of trees and shrubbery, almost enclosing the area to give it a more private feel. Monet also mainly sticks to greens, yellows, whites and blues in this work. I found the painting to be very pleasing to the eye and I thought it was exhibiting a serene and beautiful landscape. On the other hand I interpreted “The Japanese Footbridge”, 1920-22, to be more of an angry and confusing painting due to its strong use of warm colors and indeterminate structure. I was first drawn to it because it was so different from Monet’s typically more calming paintings such as his water lily series. Monet’s style, more specifically his brushstroke technique seems to change drastically in the span of twenty years. In this painting Monet loses all attention to detail and rather paints with thicker strokes and in a more fluid manner. It is obvious that “The Japanese Footbridge” requires a more interactive viewing process in order to try and see the scenery in the way Monet saw it at the time. I admit that it was very hard to understand what the painting was trying to illustrate without reading the title at first first. However, once I read it the pieces slowly began to come together and I could make out some resemblances of the footbridge that Monet had painted twenty years earlier.
Ariella Caminero
I agree that it is really interesting that both the works by Monet depict the same subject yet have such different effects on the viewer. The painting “Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies” has a much more muted feel than “The Japanese Footbridge” and is also more serene. Its colors create a peaceful and calming effect on the viewer. The painting “The Japanese Footbridge” on the other hand has more vivd colors and this creates a much sharper effect. There is also the fact that these two paintings were created with a 20 year time gap, which just goes to illustrate how Monet’s style progressed and matured over the years. In the end there is still a sense of identity from Monet but also a feeling as if he has changed.
The two works of art that I have chosen to analyze are “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo di Vinci and “L.H.O.O.Q.” by Marcel Duchamp. Despite the two works of art being very similar in appearance, “Mona Lisa” is Renaissance art while “L.H.O.O.Q.” is from the Dadaism movement. The intentions behind each piece are also entirely different. “Mona Lisa” is a portrait of a person but “L.H.O.O.Q.” is a ready-made piece of art that was from a movement that was pretty much anti-art. This disparity between appearance and intent was what drew me to choose these two pieces of art.
“Mona Lisa” is a piece of art that is world-famous. Many people, art critics included, have created their own impressions of this work and there are general theories of what this piece is about. This oil painting is a half-length portrait of a mysterious woman with an enigmatic smile. In the background there is a vast landscape with winding roads. To me, at first glance there is nothing special about this painting except for the fact that it is famous. It is specifically because of this fame that so many parodies of it have been created.
“L.H.O.O.Q.” is one of the parodies that have ben created from “Mona Lisa”. Duchamp took the original painting and drew a mustache and goatee on the woman’s face. This is such a small change, yet the effect is great. It is somewhat like graffiti, and Duchamp has poked fun at the painting. The title itself is a pun on a vulgar French expression which comments that she has sexual restlessness. Putting this together with the movement of the time just gives greater meaning to the change to the original painting. After comparing these two paintings and seeing how similar yet different they are, I find myself wanting to compare the intentions behind them.
I also find it very interesting how these two pieces of art are very different from each other, yet they were painted by the sam artist. This goes to show how the artist’s environment and the time period that they are in heavily influences their pieces of work. Monet’s “Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies” captures a moment through the use of colors and the use of different brushstroke techniques. The different shades of green in the background and overall the use of the soft colors create a serene feeling that leave viewers intrigued by simply just the beauty of the painting. The painting “The Japanese Footbridge” creates a completely different feeling. The colors used are more vibrant and the brushstroke technique used is completely different from that of the first painting. They are both trying to convey the same sense of a moment, but the gap in between the paintings goes to show how the different time period impacts the way an artist portrays what they feel and what they try to convey to others.
The two paintings I chose were “Water Lilies” by Claude Monet and “Winter Moonlit Night” by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. As I was walking in the MoMa, I was captivated by the beauty of the individual water lilies in the painting. I saw a moment being captured in this painting and it conveyed a sense of peace and serenity to me. It was just pleasing to look at and I loved how all the colors worked together. All the colors were soft and brushstroke technique used contributed to the overall calm feeling of the painting.
The second painting “Winter Moonlit Night” also shows a moment but it conveys a more conflicting feeling. The use of the two strong colors blue and red say a lot about the experiences and emotions of the artist. Kirchner painted his view from his house in the Swiss Alps hoping that these surroundings would help relieve the trauma he suffered when he was in the military service. The red can be associated with the military and all the violence he encountered, while the blue shows peace and we can see how the blue is in between the red and it is trying to come out victorious.
I chose these two paintings because even though they are from different art movements, they both convey emotion through a moment. Both paintings use colors and techniques that portray to the viewers the emotions of the artist. Both painting also use brushstroke techniques that help to outline the most important details that are present in the paintings, like the water lilies and the mountains.