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Deconstruction of Art

In: English and Literature

Submitted By pogiguy757111
Words 593
Pages 3
Abdulaziz Alghanem
ART 102
10/20/2013
Deconstruction of a Work of Art – Francisco de Zurbaran For this project, I decided to visit the Norton Simon Museum located in Pasadena. This museum has been in existence for many years and is located near the legendary Rose Bowl stadium. This museum has exhibits from many different painters and from many different artistic periods throughout history. The pieces of artwork that struck my interest included those painted by Francisco de Zurbaran during the 17th and 18th century. One artwork was significant, which is titled “Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and Rose”. Zurbaran was a practicing Catholic and religion played a large role in the paintings he created. This piece contained three different aspects because the number ‘3’ represents the Holy Trinity of Catholic faith. The Holy Trinity refers to the “God, Father and the Holy Spirit”. The painting also has been translated to resemble the Virgin Mary and her different qualities. For example, the lemons and organs represent her ability to create natural, living things while the rose and the water in the container represent the Virgin Mary’s purity. One art element used by Zurbaran in this piece is the concept of Texture. This concept can be seen on the fruits he painted. The lemons and the oranges are given a rough-skinned exterior in order to create the most realistic creation of the fruit on a painting. By creating such a textured surface, Zurbaran is emphasizing the presence and weight of these fruits, symbolizing that they represent a significant piece in the painting. Another art element used by Zurbaran in this piece is the concept of Pattern. He uses pattern by alternating light and dark colors in the painting. He uses light, brighter colors to depict the fruit and the rose, giving these aspects of the painting clarity. He uses dark colors for the background and the table. The setting of the painting looks like it was made in a dark room. By doing this, Zurbaran is trying to place the focal point on the objects placed on the table. Therefore, he is trying to emphasize the importance of objects and the resemblance of the Holy Trinity. Zurbaran also utilizes different design principles in this painting. One design principle he used is the concept of Contrast. This element is seen through the pattern of light and dark that Zurbaran utilizes in the painting. The purpose of contrast is to place emphasis on certain parts of the painting. Zurbarans uses bright, vibrant colors in order to show the audience that the fruit and the rose are the most important aspects of the painting. The use of a dark background accentuates the brightness of the color to make the objects stand out even more in the painting. Another design element that Zurbaran utilizes is the use of Directional Focus. This element focuses on the path that the eye should follow when looking at a particular art piece. Zurbaran successfully does this by placing the objects in a linear fashion, horizontally across a table. As the viewer looks at the piece, the eye focuses from the left part of the painting and looks across to the right side. Essentially, the audience looks at the lemons first, the oranges second, and the rose third. Therefore, Zurbaran has a purpose of placing these objects in the order he did. There must be some type of symbolic meaning for each object. The religious analogy is only one interpretation of this piece, but there could be other forms of interpretation.

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