Jacques Louis David’s The Death of Marat, demonstrates that David is master of more that just analytic line. The figure of Marat, the dressing on his head, and the drape that covers Marat’s bath prove that David was also a master of contour line.Oil on Canvas, 65" x 50 3/8"
1793
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts at Brussels
Last Sunday, I decided to spend a few hours at the Crocker Art Museum before going to the Sacramento Jazz Festival. I have to admit, seeing such of variety of artistic works in such a short time put me in a state of sensory overload. I was pleasantly surprised to come face to face with Jacques Louis David’s Funeral of a Hero, a frieze that I had become familiar with while making a documentary about a theatrical production of Marat Sade.
In one section of the documentary, during a discussion about the French Revolution, I incorporated Ken Burns like inserts of David’s paintings including of course The Death of Marat.
Funeral of a Hero had no place in the documentary, but I remember seeing it in one of the books that I had borrowed from the library. Seeing it again at the Museum was like running into an old friend. David’s paintings are great examples of classical or analytic line as we saw with The Death of Socrates in our text.
In answer to the question, are my surroundings becoming more visually interesting? I would have to say, between class and the constant exposure to a variety of art, my creative juices are definitely flowing. As I returned to a parking lot near the Crocker after spending the day with some of my musical friends at the Jazz Festival, I noticed the hundreds of Memorial Day flags planted in the grass on Capital Mall. It was magic hour and I was able to capture the picture below. I’m happy to say, it’s a good example of one point perspective.
5 comments:
I can only imagine what it could have been like, to spend the entire day in constant emotion and envy. I will look forward to spending a day like yours. Thanks for sharing.
What a fantastic picture. I think sunset is one of the most beautiful times of day to capture photos graphs. The colors that appear during sunset feel very relaxing to me. As though to say it's time to take a break. I enjoy how you caught just enough of the I street bridge that you know where your at but not where your going. Until you get there, of course.
What a great picture and a wonderful addition to the line and space theme!
I adjusted the exposure for the sky. The first picture I took showed off the flags, but the sky wasn't that impressive. It was completely washed out.
If I took both shots on a tripod and combined them in Photoshop, I could cheat reality and bring more attention to the flags in the foreground. Another way to do that would be to use a flash to light the flags. In this case, I wanted to emphasize the sunset and the warm light on the bridge...and yes, demonstrate one point perspective.
Glad you all liked the picture.
My first experience at the Crocker was so good that I went back for a second dose last Sunday. It's going to be hard narrowing my Art Visit blog down to one piece as there are so many things that I liked. I'm glad the blog isn't due for a few weeks. The last three units have been very intense. This class is like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
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