Picasso At The Martin Agile Analysis

Art is a controversial topic to discuss, and also a great medium for expressing messages about topics that are both controversial, and non-controversial. In the play Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Steve Martin uses a cast of characters that includes artistic and scientific geniuses of the 20th century to talk about subjects related to art and science. on the wall of the bar where the characters are, there is a painting of sheep in some fog. The conversation between the characters shifts to this painting when one of the characters, Suzanne refers to the painting on the wall, saying that it is not like Picasso’s paintings. The barkeep is insulted by this and defends his painting, saying that he sees it as “Sheep in a meadow in the fog. [and that …show more content…
Composition is the organization or grouping of the different parts of a work of art so as to achieve a unified whole. It creates a hierarchy. This especially common in Renaissance paintings, such as Raphael’s Sistine Madonna (Image 1). If you look at the Sistine Madonna, you see a triangle composition between Mary and Christ and two other figures, with Mary and Christ at the top and center. This is no mistake. Even if one did not know who any of these figures were, one would understand that Raphael is emphasizing the woman and child in the middle, and surmise that they must be important or holy figures. In this way, Raphael utilizes compositional skills to help the viewer read the meaning of his painting. Composition also creates a flow. Twentieth century American painter Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World (Image 2) has a composition that shows the viewer where to look. The girl is in the foreground and is larger than the houses, so even though she is not looking at the viewer, the viewer’s eye goes there first. In addition to this, Wyeth placed the houses further back in the composition and made them smaller to show that they are farther away from the girl and the viewer. The resulting effect is that the viewer’s eye goes from the girl lying in the grass back into space towards the houses. The distance between the girl and the houses is what communicates meaning in this painting. It makes the …show more content…
The Merode Altarpiece by the Workshop of Robert Campin (Image 4) is a Dutch religious piece from the early 1400s that depicts saints and members of clergy on the left panel, entering a door. The center panel depicts the Annunciation, which is a Biblical event in which Christians believe the Angel Gabriel came down from heaven to tell Mary that she would conceive Jesus. The interior that Mary is sitting in is shown in extreme one-point perspective. The right panel depicts Joseph the carpenter in his shop. The perspective used in the center panel allows the painters of this piece to show the full interior of Mary’s home, which is in the style of Dutch middle-class homes. Mary is also seated on the ground to symbolize her humility. Upon seeing this piece, 15th century Dutch viewers would be able to relate to Mary’s humility and economic status. Whoever designed the piece made skillful decisions when choosing to depict Mary’s home in this way based on the middle class Dutch audience that would view this painting in the church. Even though it is very different from the Merode Altarpiece, Duchamp’s readymade Fountain (Image 5) is another example of skillful execution of an art piece based on audience. Even though it is a readymade that Duchamp himself did not have to use physical skill to produce, Duchamp made skillful decisions