Auguste Rodin's Entrance To Grand Canal

Different artists use different mediums when it comes to their artwork. The type of medium that is used influences the content and feel the pieces give. Two of the most distinct mediums of art are sculptures and oil paintings. Auguste Rodin’s, Eve, is a French sculpture made of bronze which portrays a woman hiding herself in fear of something. Paul Signac’s, Entrance to Grand Canal, Venice, is a French oil painting on canvas which portrays Venice’s entrance to the Grand Canal. Each of these pieces have unique uses and messages they are trying to convey, as well as the impact and feeling they give. Rodin’s, Eve, depicts a nude woman that seems to be covering herself. She appears to be afraid of something, and this something is what she is hiding …show more content…
Signac used oil on canvas, which is a two-dimensional painting. This specific piece of artwork portrays the Grand Canal entrance in Venice, Italy. It is painted with different pastel colored specks, and pictures numerous gondolas on the water along with important historical buildings. Up close, it is more difficult to understanding the content of the painting because the eye focuses more on the individual specks of color instead of the picture as a complete whole. As you step farther away from the painting, it becomes harder to see the individual specks and easier to interpret the piece as a whole. Signac’s reasoning behind the individual specks of color were purposeful because he was trying to convey a message to the viewer. This message may be that things are not always as they appear, and one may need to change perspective in order to get a better understanding of a situation. The feeling this message creates inside of the viewer is due to the medium used by …show more content…
Entrance to Grand Canal, Venice only provides one viewpoint for observing the painting, therefore the artist must use other ways to communicate his message. He uses color specks because it dispenses a new type of perspective to the painting which enables a message to be perceived. If the painting was a different medium, such as strokes of colors instead of specifically placed colored specks, the viewer would only understand it as the entrance to the Grand Canal in Venice. Without the colored specks, it would be unlikely for the observer to recognize the underlying message the artist wanted to communicate. Although Entrance to Grand Canal, Venice is a two-dimensional painting with only one viewpoint, it is able to reveal a unique perspective and thus depict a latent