AP Art History PowerPoint Project

by Jake Schrass

Gauguin_Vision After_1888_Schr

100 WELL KNOWNWORKS OF ART

Interpreted Using

The

Feldman Model of Formal Analysis

#37 Gaugin, Vision After the Sermon

Feldman’s Model of Art Criticism

From the work of Edmund Burke Feldman,

During the late 1960’s and early 70’s

1. Description-List the visual qualities of the work that are obvious and immediate.

“What do you see in the artwork”?

Include content and subject matter in representational works-

Include abstract elements in nonrepresentational pieces.

2. Analysis-Focus on the formal aspects of elements of art, principles of design.

“How does the artist create a center of interest?

How does the use of color impact the painting?”

3. Interpretation-Propose ideas for possible meaning based on evidence.

“What was the artist trying to communicate”?

4. Judgment-Discuss the overall strengths/success/merit of the work.

How and why has this work achieved cultural value?

Paul Gaugin Vision After the Sermon, 1888,Post-Impressionism, 29’’ by 36’’, oil on canvasPont-Aven, Brittany, France

1.DESCRIPTIONa. Painting

b. Oil on canvas

c. 29’’ by 36’’

d. Jacob fighting with an angel while women pray and watch

e. Horizontal/ respects the picture plane and features a foreground and middle ground

f. Soft- the lines respect the picture plane and form real shapes

g. Lines create people and the tree in a fake, animated type of irregularity

h. There are the similar shapes of the women that repeat, but all the shapes are organic

i. Red, white, black, blue, green – mostly red

j. Texture of the leaves and in the clothes of the people, but the texture is made to look surreal

k. North- west France - 1888

2.ANALYSISa. Surreal images as if from a dream

b. Emphasis on the red and orange

colors focusing on the dreamlike state of the piece

c. stable, unified, leading lines, horizontal oriented composition

d. Unified by color, lines

e. High contrast, vibrant and predominantly warm colors

f. Crowded shallow space- clear focal point in background

g. Dynamic movement – the viewers eye follows the women's’ gaze to the focal point, along with the movement in the tree

h. Shading in the people, but no shading in the scenery

i. Unbalanced and compact piece

3. Interpretationa. Gauguin tried to make the painting seem real and fake at the same time by making the women appear to be, as hesaid, “dreaming in front of nature”.

b. The work creates a feeling of mystery in a dreamlike state to suggest the realities of people imagining the struggle between an angel and Jacob.

c. The work is flat with bold colors, and the women are very clear, but their focus leads the reader to the focal point of Jacob fighting as said in the Gauguin: Primitivism and "Synthetic" Symbolism essay.

4. Judgmenta. What sets this work apart and

makes it worth studying? Khan Academy

b. How does this work fit into the context of what came before and after it? Gaugin Paintings How Stuff Works

c. How have critics, historians, and the public reacted to this work? 19th Century Art Criticism

d. How has this work changed the way art is viewed? Gauguin Gallery

MetMuseumSedefs Corner

Van Gogh Museum EssayEvery Painter Paints Himself

Compare and Contrast

Post Impressionism was started in the 1880’s by a group of young, mostly French artists. They took the ideas of Impressionism and

exaggerated them. Post Impressionists created works that highlighted colors and

emotion in art more so than Impressionism.

Post Impressionism Summary

MetMuseum Summary1880-1910

Interesting Facts About Artist• Before becoming an artist, Gauguin was a sailor and a

stockbroker• Gauguin married Mette Sophia Gad, a Danish girl, and had

five children. Later he abandoned his family in Copenhagen• Gauguin spent time as a laborer on the Panama Canal• In 1891 Gauguin left France for Tahiti where he chose to

live amongst the natives and took a native girl as his wife • Alone and impoverished, Gauguin died of a stroke in the

Marquesas Islands on May 8, 1903

Gauguin used newspaper to flatten the surface of the paint on this work. This flattening creates a lack of modeling, flatness, and perspectival distortions.

References

1. (Gauguin info)http://quizlet.com/23829356/van-gogh-gauguins-works-flash-cards

/2. (Gauguin info #2)

http://www.gauguingallery.com/fun-facts.aspx