John Henry Fuseli: The Shepherd's Dream

               

 

As I looked through the beginning of our text book I found myself intrigued with John Henry Fuseli’s painting, “Nightmare.” I then went on to look at more of his work and found it all to be very interesting but one that I particularly enjoy is his oil painting of “The Shepherd’s Dream” created in 1793. Fuseli’s paintings were included in the Romanticism period. He found himself to be inspired by dramatic subjects from stories, plays, and poems and he also found himself interested in the dark side of the human mind. Many of his images revolve around mythical creatures and the supernatural.  In this painting we see a shepherd resting while mythical creatures such as nymphs, fairies, and elves, circle around him. It was said that when Fuseli first exhibited this painting, he pointed out the relationship it shared with John Milton’s poem, “Paradise Lost.” His poem describes angels shrinking in order to make more room in Hell after the Fall of Man or the temptation of Adam and Eve. I find it interesting how Fuseli found a way to include religion in this painting without directly including any religious figures. I feel that the only way for someone to completely understand what Fuseli was getting across with this painting is to either have read the description or to have read Milton’s poem. What appeals to me the most is the darkness within the painting. Because of the dark border that is created, we can tell that a dream is being depicted in this paining. The bright center between all of the haunting creatures also allows for us to see the depiction of a dream. I get the sense of Hell that is described in Milton’s poem because of the darkness that is used. Although there is a lot of black being used and colors with the same dark tone, Fuseli found a way to create the figures within and allow viewers to see what is going on in his painting. We are able to make out each figure in this scene and we can tell what is going on. We are so used to seeing paintings that use a lot of color or depict bright scenes such as landscapes but Fuseli focused on darker scenes and still managed to make each figure visible and the scene visually engaging without the use of many colors. The creatures around the Shepherd have an eerie look to them. We can tell that they are not human and are meant to be supernatural or mythical figures. Although they have some characteristics of a human, they also have unfamiliar characteristics that make them seem dream-like. For instance, the figure off to the left seems somewhat human-like but it also has a smaller size compared to the shepherd as well as an unfamiliar headpiece. Next to her we see other creatures that are more hidden within the dark. They too have somewhat human-like faces, but they also have an unnatural and eerie look to them. Although the dog is there to protect the shepherd, he too looks a bit disturbing with its unnatural muscle structure. This painting serves as a great example of Fuseli’s work. We can see that he found inspiration in darkness and he found a way to make the unreal appear real to his viewers. I enjoy this piece as well as his other work because it is different from what we are used to seeing in the Renaissance period. It seems that Fuseli took a step forward with self-expression.

Comparing and Contrasting the "David's"

      When looking at Michelangelo's depiction of "David" in comparison to Bernini's depiction of "David," we see many similar techniques used as well as different ones. The Baroque period picked up on many of the early Renaissance ideas and these two depictions of David are good examples of how the Renaissance period inspired them. 

When comparing the two pieces, we can see that they both incorporated a lot of naturalism and humanism. In Michelangelo's sculpture, David is seen standing in the contraposto stance, putting his weight on his right foot. This stance gives us that naturalistic feel and we see a similar stance being played out in Bernini's piece. David, in this piece, also puts all of his weight in his right foot. We are also given the sense that Bernini's David is about to move or is in motion with the way his body is angled. With that sense of movement, we are seeing a great use of naturalism. In both depictions we also see the use of humanism. In both figures, we see a lot of lines emphasizing the muscles, bones, and veins of their bodies. Both figures also show emotion and life within their face. In Michelangelo's piece, David's eyebrows are a bit creased showing tension within his face. In Bernini's piece, David also has his eyebrows creased and he is biting his lip as if he is really pushing himself and working hard. Not only do their facial expressions give them both characteristics of an actual human, but the sense of movement we get from both figures also gives them that attribute. Michelangelo's David is raising his left arm showing movement as well as humanism. Bernini's David, again, is angling his body and his arms are both bent allowing viewers to sense the movement an the humanism. When I look at this piece, I can feel the movement and I can imagine David finishing his move. Another trait that both pieces share is idealism. We see two very young looking figures with a very muscular physique and flawless hair. Although they have very natural characteristics an attributes of an actual human, they are both very perfect and nearly flawless in appearance, showing idealism. 
   
 A lot of the traits that both David's share, have carried on from classical periods, such as the contraposto stance and the use of naturalism, all the way through to the Baroque period but there are also many traits that came about later and are different in both of these pieces. Looking at Michelangelo's piece, David is very balanced. We can sense that, although David uses the contraposto stance, he is grounded on either side. The fact that his arm is bent on the left side, equals out his entire body. Michelangelo has created a very calm and somewhat elegant depiction of David. When looking at Bernini's depiction, we see an unbalanced piece. His sculpture is more dramatic and makes our eyes want to move around the piece. Instead of seeing a very balanced  piece, we see a piece that is set diagonally. Although the piece is not balanced, the diagonal form is very intriguing and invites us to move with and around the piece. In Bernini's depiction, drapery falls over David's groin area where as in Michelangelo's piece, David stands naked and uncovered. The Baroque period began looking towards appropriateness and decency in art, therefore, Bernini found a way to cover David's groin area. 
 
 It amazes me how many techniques used in the early Renaissance period actually influenced the Baroque period. Both depictions or David are great and the different attributes that each one has is what makes them great pieces to compare and contrast. 

Italian Influence on Albrecht Durer

Albrecht Durer created some very exquisite self-portraits in his day and it is clear to see that he was greatly inspired by Italian art, especially when looking at his self-portrait from 1493. When I look at this portrait and think about the different details used, I can't help but be reminded of Jan Van Eyck's paintings. Just as Durer did in his self portraits, Van Eyck would place an inscriptions somewhere within his painting to get more of a meaning behind the painting across to its viewers. In Durer's self-portrait in 1493, he inscribes in another language, "My affairs shall go on ordained on high." This portrait was created for his fiance. He sent it to her while he was away to reassure her that he was okay and still faithful. In Jan Van Eyck's "Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife," he inscribes his signature in the background on a wall. Naturalism was a big part of Italian art and we definitely see it here in Durer's self-portrait. He did not try to portray himself as an idealized figure with large muscles and a young face. Instead, he depicted himself as being the ordinary man he was. He is wearing a very prestigious outfit in the portrait but he was looking to show his fiance that he was happy and healthy. When looking at many pieces from Italian art, we see a lot of dark colors and reds standing out from these darker shades. Durer's self-portrait does the same thing with his choice in color. There are very dark colors surrounding him and the one color that grabs the eyes attention is the red that is on his clothing. Again, Van Eyck shows us this contrast in color in his portrait of the "Man in a Red Turban." The colors within the portrait are very dark and bland but the eye is caught by the red turban that sits upon the mans head just as the eye is caught by the headpiece of Durer's head or the cuffs of Durer's sleeves. Another attribute that we see in Durer's portrait that relates to Italian art is his use of the three-quarters pose. In Italian portraits, people were hardly ever seen as facing the viewer head on. Instead, they would sit with their body slightly turned. We see the three-quarters pose used in Jean Hey's "Portrait of Margaret of Austri and Van Eyck's portrait of the "Man in a Red Turban" serves as another example. Creating portraits or having a portrait created became a popular thing in Italy to pass on a memory or to just have a portrait painted by a famous artist. Durer seemed to enjoy portraiture considering that he went on to do more self-portraits of himself. Durer was known for taking many trips to Italy which probably gave him inspiration. When I look at his work, I can't help but compare him to Jan Van Eyck, one of Italy's most prominent artists. Looking at his color scheme, inscriptions, naturalism, and use of the three-quarters pose, Albrecht Durer must have went to Italy and found his inspiration there.