Art's Explorer #3: Fine Art Critique

This week for Creative Arts, my class and I went to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) to look at artwork, and to critique a piece of art that made an impression on us. We were given the first hour to wander around the first and second floors of the gallery, then the next hour we were given a tour around the gallery by Patricia Gora.

I decided to approach this task by having an open mind, and by writing down the title and artist of the artwork that made an impression on me. That way, at the end of the day, I could go through all the paintings online and choose one that I want to critique. I was overwhelmed by the vast amount of paintings in the gallery, and I found a number of paintings that spoke to me. I decided to critique a painting that was not just intricately detailed and beautifully painted, but was of a scene that made me ponder what the painting was about. The painting was in a gallery called History and Her Story. The common subject of the paintings that were hung in the gallery were women.

The oil on canvas painting I chose to critique was quite large, and I had to take a closer look to examine the intricate brush strokes and the expressions on the people's faces. The title of the painting is Zeuxis Choosing his Models, so I assumed that Zeuxis must be the man standing in front of the canvas holding out a wreath. The women in the painting are his models that he is choosing from of whom he will use as the subject of his painting. As I looked closer at the painting, I noticed the expression on the women's faces. They looked coy and almost embarrassed, which confused me because they seemed like they were auditioning to be the subject of Zeuxis’ painting. I can imagine that being an honor back then.

Nicolas-André Monsiau (French, 1755–1837) Zeuxis Choosing his Models 
1797 
oil on canvas 
96.0 x 129.0 cm 
Art Gallery of Ontario, Gift from the Volunteer Committee Fund 1988 
© 2007 Art Gallery of Ontario


Design and Composition

According to Schirrmacher & Fox (2009), the term design is used to describe any work of art that children come up with, however, adult artists use design as a part of their overall composition. Design and composition attempt to answer questions such as; "Do line, shape, color, texture, and form blend and work together as a unified whole? Is the arrangement of these artistic elements pleasing and satisfying? Does it make the viewer want to return and admire again and again?" (Schirrmacher & Fox, p. 142. 2009). My answer to these questions is yes. The overall design and composition of this painting is quite beautiful. This painting captured my attention immediately, not just because of its size, but also because of the elements of the painting. I loved how the subjects in the painting are composed. The painting provides a sense of order and organization due to how the people in the painting are organized. My eyes were immediately drawn to the woman standing on the platform, then to the man (Zeuxis) reaching out to give her a wreath, then to the other subjects in the painting who line the perimeter of the room. The painting also has this magnetic quality to it that makes me want to come back and look at it again and again. Not only did I examine it while we were given free time to wonder around, I examined it again when we were given the tour, and the second time I saw it, I noticed other details that I didn’t see the first time. For example, next to the painting, there is a gold stand with smoke coming out on top. Moreover, I noticed wooden carvings at the top left of the painting, which looks like a depiction of a battle scene. There is so much detail and interesting objects in the painting that allows me to find something new every time I look at it. Also, the mere fact that elements such as line, color, and shapes all mesh together to create a realistic, pleasant and interesting painting makes me want to look at the painting over and over again.

The field trip was enjoyable and interesting. I loved looking at the different pieces of art, but I found myself questioning what the intentions of the artists were, but I think that is what art is about. I believe that art is supposed to provoke questions, and is open to interpretation. When Patricia showed us around I thought it was so helpful when she discussed how you can share the different art works with children to get them to think about it more. For example, ask children open ended questions such as, 'what do you think this artwork is about?", then lead with closed ended questions "why do you think she or he looks that way?". You may also want to as children "what is the colour that is most used in this picture?" to get them to think about different colours. I think bringing children to an art museum is a great way for them to learn about different art terms, and to think about the different art forms, and what they consider art to be. It doesn't have to be a painting, but can be a sculpture, a room, or jewelry.

Reference 


Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young

  children (6th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar Cengage Learning.