The painting Allegory by Ben Shahn was produced in 1948 and is on display at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. The medium of the painting is tempera on panel. The artist’s style consists of slightly visible brushstrokes with an almost surreal form. There is not much variety of color, but that quality unifies all the separate, differing shapes. Since the same colors are usually placed in every part of the painting, the entire work is balanced. However, Shahn still effectively applies emphasis in strategic places, such as the beast and the dead bodies. The artist uses emphasis to add a shock factor and remind us of our human emotions.
The first thing the viewers notice is the largest figure, a red, beastly being. The crimson red hue makes …show more content…
The beast is large, red, and brings curiosity as to its identity. However, the focal point of the painting must be the humans. The pile of bodies catches more light than the rest of the forms in the painting. The shape if the light that comes off of the belly of the beast and onto the bodies is a funnel shape, pulling inwards. This means that the artist wants to draw the viewers’ eyes to the human bodies. Even the tapered shape of the pile of bodies complements the shape if the lightness of colors surrounding it. Ben Shahn emphasizes the importance of the bodies by shedding light on them. This in turn subordinates the forest and patch of yellow on the left on the work, which are darker in value than the rest of the subjects. Ben Shahn’s Allegory is a colorful, chaotic piece of art that expresses a menacing scene. He emphasizes both the powerful threat of the beast and the hopelessness of the dead bodies. By doing this, Shahn jars us and brings us to remember human emotions. This is because the beast is an unidentifiable figure. The viewers do not know its exact species, but they do know that it has teeth and is the color of blood and anger. When the eyes are drawn to the dead people, the viewers are meant to feel sympathy because they are so taken aback by the incident in this beastly
The first thing the viewers notice is the largest figure, a red, beastly being. The crimson red hue makes …show more content…
The beast is large, red, and brings curiosity as to its identity. However, the focal point of the painting must be the humans. The pile of bodies catches more light than the rest of the forms in the painting. The shape if the light that comes off of the belly of the beast and onto the bodies is a funnel shape, pulling inwards. This means that the artist wants to draw the viewers’ eyes to the human bodies. Even the tapered shape of the pile of bodies complements the shape if the lightness of colors surrounding it. Ben Shahn emphasizes the importance of the bodies by shedding light on them. This in turn subordinates the forest and patch of yellow on the left on the work, which are darker in value than the rest of the subjects. Ben Shahn’s Allegory is a colorful, chaotic piece of art that expresses a menacing scene. He emphasizes both the powerful threat of the beast and the hopelessness of the dead bodies. By doing this, Shahn jars us and brings us to remember human emotions. This is because the beast is an unidentifiable figure. The viewers do not know its exact species, but they do know that it has teeth and is the color of blood and anger. When the eyes are drawn to the dead people, the viewers are meant to feel sympathy because they are so taken aback by the incident in this beastly