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Grade 10 Art Research Task 1

How do portraits portray identity?Part ASelect two visually different portraits (e.g.…realistic, expressive, abstract, photographic etc.) and complete the artwork analysis table below for each artwork. Save a digital image of each work.

Portrait 1- Maurits Cornelis Escher

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DESCRIPTION Describe what you see without value or judgments. Identify the key features of the piece.

In the picture I can see a reflection of a man with a beard, he is wearing formal clothes; he is holding a sphere in his right hand. The reflection distorts the surrounding room. The main object is also his hand holding the round sphere. Artwork title : Hand With Reflecting SphereArtist : Maurits Cornelis Escher Size: 31.8 cm × 21.3 cmMedia: Lithography Subject: Maurits Cornelis Escher

ANALYSIS

The student is able to demonstrate excellent knowledge andunderstanding of the art form studied in relation to societal or cultural orhistorical or personal contexts.

Write down your observations with more detail. What elements and principles did the artist use, and in what way, to produce the artwork.

The self-portrait is very detailed and surrealistic, the artist used printmaking and the portrait is created with very fine dots that create different values and shapes. The main focus is on the reflection in the sphere, and also the hand underneath is that holding the sphere is another object that gets the viewer’s attention. The colors occurring in this artwork are the colors from really white, light grey to intense dark. Those colors are used for shading and also defining the objects in the artwork. The tone of this drawing is very settle, there aren’t any bring colors and the objects are balanced. The hand takes about half of the page, and the sphere another half and it is all in the center so it gets the main attention. There is also a background that has a very light value that then dissolves into a darker shade. All these aspects of the artwork make is very balanced and well organized.

The artwork was organized in a way that we can see how distorted the objects in the sphere are, and also that is a self-portrait because there is a hand holding a sphere and it shows us clearly that the artist used one hand to draw and the other to hold the sphere. The media that Escher used is Lithography, in which the image is drawn with an oily medium on a stone slab, is based on the principle that oil and water repel one another. After the prepared stone, it is washed with water; printing ink is applied, which adheres only to the drawing. The artwork looks realistic mostly on the part where Escher printed his hand and all the small creases on the fingers and the shading makes it look three dimensional.

Elements of Design identified: Can you clearly identify Line, Shape, Colour, Tone, and Texture etc.Use of Media: How has the media been used?Composition: How has the artwork been organized? Is it balanced? Any other observations?

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INTERPRETATION

The student is able to demonstrate excellent knowledge andunderstanding of the elements of the art form studied.Grade: 6

Elaborate on what the features suggest and why the artist used these features to convey his or her ideas. Mood/Emotion: What do you think the artist wanted you to feel when you look at the artwork? What is the main idea or theme behind the artwork? Does the artwork have a narrative (tell a story)? Is it realistic? Abstract? Why do you think the artist chose to work this way?

The artwork has a certain mood and shows that “No matter how you turn or twist yourself, you can’t get out of that central point. You are immovably the focus of your world.” (Escher on Escher, Exploring the Infinite book) This is how the artist explains his work; it shows us that he wanted to show that we are the focus of our world. I think Escher wanted the viewer to see the mathematical idea of an artwork, the work of physics and the differences between distortion and realism. Escher captured in this artwork the self-reference, which shows the brain's ability to process information in a way that no computer has figured out it yet. Escher also had to use some of his own ability to memorize and see the mathematical aspects of reflections, because he could not possibly create an artwork with just one hand and copy a reflection in a sphere without any breaks. So I think the artist roughly sketched the idea first and then drew the reflection and used his imagination and his ability to record how the reflection in the sphere would look like, and then transformed it onto paper. The artist had different ways of understanding art and creating his pieces. In 1941, Escher penned his first paper, by that time publicly accepted, and referred to Regular Division of the Plane with Asymmetric Congruent Polygons, which elaborated his mathematical approach to create graphic designs. His purpose in writing this was to assist himself in incorporating mathematics into art. Escher is believed a research mathematician of his era as a result of his documentation with this paper. In it, he analyzed color founded division, and produced a system of categorizing combining of shape, color and proportionate attributes. By examining these regions, he researched an area that later mathematicians termed crystallography .At some point around 1956; Escher researched the theory of mapping infinity on a two-dimensional plane.

This self-portrait is surrealistic and also realistic, I think that the artist chose to work that way to show the difference between realism and surrealism, because there are two aspects in this portrait, the realistic hand and the twisted room and the body of the artist in the reflection. The fact that the reflection in the sphere seems abstract but really it is the real image that it creates, it makes the viewer more interested in the artwork.

JUDGEMENT

The student is able to communicate a well-developed critical

Based on what you have observed already, give your opinion on the artwork. You must give reasons. Identify the meaning of the work and its value in the visual arts world.

I think this artwork is very interesting and presented in a very smart way. It definitely got my attention and made me really look at the reflection in the sphere and wonder

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understanding of the art form studied, in the context of his or her ownwork.

how the artist could re-create that. I don’t really think there are any symbols hidden in the artwork, or any story behind it because it is realistic, and it shows the exact reflection as the artist saw in real life. I think Escher showed his abilities, the amazing skills that our brain has, he also wanted to show how everything is compressed into one circle and that no matter what way we turn the sphere, and it will always show the same image! Also he said that we are the focus of our world, so this is his message through this art piece and it is presented in the spherical mirror. The artwork is a demonstration and an understanding of the relationship between art and self-identity. It is definitely valuable in the visual arts world, I think it shows a very different way of creating self-portraits and showing that mathematics and logic can also be a part of art; Escher is a kind of artist that uses all these values in his work and that is what makes it unique.

Portrait 2- Gustav Klimt

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DESCRIPTION Describe what you see without value or judgments. Identify the key features of the piece.

In this portrait there is a woman in a colorful kimono dress with mosaic patterns, she has black hair and fine skin with blushed cheeks. She is painted on a bright yellow background. The artwork is full of colors and is very expressive, only the head and the hands are very realistic and looks three-dimensional.

Artwork title :Portrait of Eugenia Primavesi Artist : Gustav KlimtSize: 84 x 140 cmMedia: oil on canvas Subject: Eugenia Primavesi

ANALYSIS Write down your observations with more detail. What elements and principles did the artist use, and in what way, to produce the artwork. Elements of Design identified: Can you clearly identify Line, Shape, Colour, Tone, and Texture etc.Use of Media: How has the media been used?Composition: How has the artwork been organized? Is it balanced? Any other observations?

Gustav Klimt’s work is distinguished by an elegant use of gold backgrounds and mosaic patterns; this is shown especially in this portrait of Eugenia Primavesi. Art historians note that he was mostly influenced by Egyptian, Minoan, Classical Greek, and Byzantine styles of art. (IKlimt) We can see that in this portrait he used a mosaic pattern in Eugenia’s dress and the background, it is more of a Byzantine and Greek inspirations that Klimt had. The sitter is wearing a bright kimono; it is because that was fashionable in Vienna at the time. The busy design of Eugenia’s dress is almost integrated into the floral background, which is painted in bright yellow. There is also an area of green behind the sitter is suggestive of an outdoor or garden setting and in the top right-hand corner there is an oriental bird motif. The shapes in this painting are different, there are the realistic hands of the sitter and the face, but the other elements in the painting are more abstract and expressive.

I think Klimt tried to portray Eugenia’s beauty above all the other things around

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her, he knew her very well so he painted her in a respectful way. The art piece is quite balanced, but the bird motive in the top right corner looks like it has been cropped, so this makes the panting less organized and balanced. There is also a very bright yellow background and the mosaic elements are also painted in very bright colors but the hands and the face of the sitter are light and realistic, so it really depends what the viewer looks at the most, and it certainly makes the painting interesting and unique. The artist also included detailed parts of the women’s accessories like her bracelet and her ring that looks like an engagement ring. From my research I can say that Eugenia was married, and her husband requested Klimt to paint her so I think he paid attention to her ring and made it a part of his painting.

INTERPRETATION Elaborate on what the features suggest and why the artist used these features to convey his or her ideas. Mood/Emotion: What do you think the artist wanted you to feel when you look at the artwork? What is the main idea or theme behind the artwork? Does the artwork have a narrative (tell a story)? Is it realistic? Abstract? Why do you think the artist chose to work this way?

This painting is one of the most famous works of Klimt, it is also quite different from his other art pieces, because he knew the sitter very well he included natural aspects of beauty and didn’t focus the most on the woman’s body. I think he wanted the viewer to feel calm and pay attention to Eugenia’s face and her expression. He also included very bright expressive colors in his artwork, so I think this makes the viewer feel warmth. The colors pink, yellow and orange are warm colors. He also included some elements of blue, purple and green in his mosaic elements this represents calm and sometimes even cold feelings. So this artwork can give different feelings and create various reactions in the viewer.

The main idea behind the painting is the beauty of the woman and the peaceful personality she portrays with the positioning of her hands and the expression in her face. This isn’t a completely abstract painting, there are elements where we wonder what the object might be and some elements where we can relate and look deep into.

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JUDGEMENT Based on what you have observed already, give your opinion on the artwork. You must give reasons. Identify the meaning of the work and its value in the visual arts world.

Gustav Klimt has a very unique style of art; he uses some aspects of realism, beauty of women and even erotic themes. But he also includes techniques of mosaic patterns and he usually includes a lot of golden elements in his work. I think the Portrait of Eugenia Primavesi is a very settle and beautiful piece of art. The feelings that the artwork makes the viewer feel are calm, warm and pleasant feelings that we not often feel. I think it is because of the expression in the sitter’s face, the detailed elements of her nice palms and fair skin. I also think the feelings are related to the colors the artist used, like bright yellow, pink, blue, purple and green are colors that are pleasant and show the beauty of the world.

The meaning of this work I think is that the sitter is a very beautiful woman, not just outside but also her personality. Klimt knew Eugenia well so he wanted to create such an artwork that would give the viewer an idea of the person’s identity; also it gives off all the good feelings. It seems like Gustav used all the good colors (no black or dark shades of colors, texture is very smooth and the painting is organised and gives likeness to the sitter). I think this is a type of artwork that is recognized across the visual art world, it is the one and only portrait of Eugenia, painted with such enthusiasm and amazing skills of Klimt.

Part B

Now return to the assignment question – How do portraits identity?

Look at your Part A information and answer the topic question, as fully as possible. Think about how successfully you think the artwork portrays the identity of the subject. Does the artwork give you a strong impression as to what the subject is like? Physically or otherwise?

Presentation: Complete Part A and Part B separately and then present both in a single document. Include an image of each artwork. Make sure to cite all your research including images.

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Art can be defined in so many ways; there are paintings, portraits, sculptures and sketches. The specific type of art I will be looking at is portraits. I chose two different art works by two different artists, Gustav Klimt (portrait of a woman) and Maurits Escher’s self-portrait. Portraits not only represent the person in the artwork, or the background behind them. It also shows their identity and even stories hidden behind the artwork. In Escher’s self - portrait we can see his reflection in a sphere, he has successfully captured the distortion that it reflects. I don’t think this artwork shows Escher’s personality, there aren’t many symbols in the art piece that can identify his identity. Also because the portrait is black and white, it seems not very expressive. Although I must say that maybe, the fact that he is wearing a blazer, a tie and a sweater shows what kind of person he is. In the background we can see the surrounding room he is located in, and there are many books in the back and the room is very tidy. From all these elements in this lithographic portrait, we can tell what kind of person Maurits is; he is very organised and serious. The artworks he creates are related to math and logics, so the books in the background may represent intellectual and scientific aspects of the artist. This doesn’t necessarily give me a strong impression of what the subject is, but it does show the identity in a very smart way, I think the main theme in this artwork is the distortion in the sphere and the fact that “We are immovably the focus of our world”.

Then there is a very different type of art, Gustav Klimt creates amazing portraits with mosaic elements and certain symbols that represent the person’s identity. The artwork that I looked at was the portrait of Eugenia Primavesi, the very unique art piece created by the artist. This portrait successfully shows the identity of the subject, it captures Eugenia’s beauty, and the expression on her face shows the character that she has. We can tell that she is a nice person, and that the artist wanted to show the best side of her perhaps because he knew the sitter. The elements that made me think that were the colors that Gustav Klimt chose, the bright warm colors and very expressive mosaic patterns. I also think that the positioning of the woman’s hands show her sensitivity and gives a very settle feeling to the artwork, I think all these elements come together to create this amazing portrait. This artwork gives a strong impression of what the subject is like, because all the elements mentioned above come together in such a harmony that could only give positive feelings and typed of character of the person and I think this is portrayed physically by the position of the sitter, the colors that were used and the location of the background elements.

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CitationImages:

Gustav Klimt - http://www.leninimports.com/gustav_klimt_posters.htmlMaurits Escher - http://www.mcescher.com/

Research:

“Portrait of Eugenia Primavesi - Gustav Klimt Paintings." Oil Paintings - buy high quality oil paintings at wholesale prices - PaintingMania.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2011. <http://www.paintingmania.com/portrait-eugenia-primavesi-8_3715.html>.

“Canadian Medical Association Journal." Canadian Medical Association Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2011. <http://www.cmaj.ca>.

Escher, M. C., and J. W. Vermeulen. Escher on Escher: exploring the infinite. New York, 1960: H.N. Abrams, 1989. Print.

"Gustav Klimt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Klimt>.

Harden, Mark. "Gustav Klimt." Mark Harden's Artchive. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2011. <http://www.artchive.com/artchive/K/klimt.html>.

"The Official M.C. Escher Website." The Official M.C. Escher Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2011. <http://www.mcescher.com/>.

"iKlimt - The Life and Work of Gustav Klimt." iKlimt - The Life and Work of Gustav Klimt. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2011. <http://www.iklimt.com/>.

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Barbara Grade 8

Clarify—gather informationWhy did Escher use distortion or Klimt use flat decorative backgrounds? Do you think these techniques had deeper meanings?

Value—appreciate strong aspects of the workYou wrote about both works with thought and clarity. The way you connected your own thoughts to research was extremely well done.

Offer concerns—name puzzles and raise questions respectfullyWhat do you see as the main differences between the way MC Esher and Klimt expressed identity

Suggest—provide constructive feedback, not mandates Your work was very well written and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your work. YouPart B, you made a great attempt to answer this section but this section is not as clear as the rest. It could have been summarized more which would have distilled your thoughts somewhat.