Arts Analysis
Gabriel Metsu’s artwork, A Musical Party, painted in 1659, is a 62.2 * 54.3 cm oil on canvas painting currently a piece of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The picture represents a musical performance between a richly dressed woman and ayoung man playing the violin. One of the elements of art that is conspicuous throughout the painting is the use of lines. Metsu uses these lines, incorporated in various types such as vertical and horizontal, to create shapes, which is yet another element. The shapes form as a result of joining two or more lines to form a definite figure, such as the characters’ bodies. The artist plays with space to balance not only the figuresbut also all the objects visible within the picture. Some of these objects and figures, like the richly dressed lady and the violist, as well as his sword, appear closerto the picture’s surface than the maidservant standing in the background with a tray of refreshments.
One of the outstanding principles of design used in this portrait is emphasis. The artist places the richly dressed woman and the violist on the foreground in a way that places greater emphasis on the two of them as the center of attention, thus directing the focus of the audience to these two figures. However, by using various deep and distinctivecolors for each object and character in the picture, Metso manages to achieve balance and alignment by giving each character enough room to present itself without being overshadowed or overpowered by the other. The great use of texture allows the artist room to createcontrast between each element he presents in the drawing. The background is slightly dull to create a contrast with the foreground in a way that focuses the attention of the audience to the front.
David Teniers The Younger’s artwork, Guardroom with The Deliverance of Saint Peter, is a 1645-47 55.2 * 75.9 cm oil on wood paintingcurrently showcased in the Met Museum, New York. The religious picture represents Saint Peter’s liberation from captivity by an angel in the foreground of a military scene. One of the elements of art that dramatically stands out with this piece is the creation of value. The artist employs the element of value to draw on the contrast in depth between one object to the other. He darkens the liners and shapes in the foreground while lightening the characters in the front to create the allusion of the gap in space.Teniers also plays with the element of color to make each character distinct from each other. The use of different colors not only creates the form for these objects, but it also allows them to retain their individual intensity, despite the spacing.
The conspicuousprinciple of design at work in this piece is repetition. Teniers uses a dark background to represent the wall of the cell. He creates this wall by repeating the dark color on it across a larger area of the painting. The repletion enables him to strengthen the design of the wall behind the soldiers. Given that the painting places emphasis on both the background and the foreground, Teniers employs the design of creating proportions across each object. He manages to create this proportion by balancing the visual size and weight of elements in a manner that they do not overlap. He uses adequate spacing to counteract the effects of the foreground in directing the audience’s attention to the front, which is the central focus of the art.