Ch. 24 Favorite Works

Fra Andrea Pozzo, Glorification of St. Ignatius, ceiling fresco in the nave of Sant' Ignazio, Rome, Italy, 1691-1694
The mural on the ceiling of Sant' Ignazio is a visually striking piece that captures many elements of the artistic view. The way the ceiling disappears into the heavens is an interesting element and is a realistic view of how the architecture carries on through the top of the building. Pozzo uses many scenes of saints and the divines to signify the importance of St. Ignatius and the glorification given to him by God.


Gianlorenzo Bernini, David, 1623, marble, 5'7" high
Bernini's David, unlike Michelangelo or Donatello's sculptures of David is the first example of David in the action of fighting the giant Goliath. In the other depictions David stands gazing at the upcoming scene. Bernini captures the action of the attack with a sense of grace. Bernini also covered David up so that this isn't a full nude statue like the depictions created by Michelangelo or Donatello. He captures the form of the body very well and the marble is so smooth that it almost appears that it would sink in like skin if touched.

Ch. 23 Favorite Works

El Greco, View of Toledo, ca. 1610, oil on canvas

The way the artist painted the scene of Toledo gives me the sense of movement in the image. The color of the clouds and the movement added to them along with the way the trees and bushes are painted give me the feeling of a storm rolling over the city and large gust of wind blowing the the landscape. the detail added to the city is very neat and has nicely depicted lines. There is a broad color pallet in this image from very dark blues and blacks to whites and tans. Overall I enjoyed the way the image made my eye move around the scenery and I could not find one specific spot to rest my eye.


Pieter Bruegel the Elder,  Fall of Icarus, ca. 1555-1556, 2' 5" x 3' 8 1/8",oil on wood transferred to canvas

The first thing that grabbed my attention in this image is the broad range of color. There are a lot of rich blues and greens and the pallet has a full color scale from whites to blacks. I do find it interesting that the image of Icarus doesn't seem to be the main focus of this image. Icarus is a very tiny depiction in the bottom right corner of the image while my eye first focused on the two men in the center of the image. Both of these men seem to just go on about there business with little or no acknowledgement of the boy falling from the sky into the ocean. There is great detail in the images in the foreground while the images in the background seem to be hazy and out of focus much like they would be in real life.

Ch.22 Favorite Works

Leonardo Da Vinci, Madonna and Child with Saint Anne and Infant Saint John, ca. 1505-1507, 4' 6" x 3' 3", charcoal heightened with brown and white paper

This is the first image used in our text that depicts and image in charcoal. The use of the charcoal gives the image a very dark and haunting feeling especially with the shadows around the eyes of the characters. Using brown and white paper allows for natural highlights which are brought back with the heavy black shading of the charcoal. Leonardo is famous for his depictions of the human form and the extreme likeness and realism captured in his works and this image is no different.


Leonardo Da Vinci, Vitruvian Man, ca.1485-1490, 1' 1 1/2" x 9 5/8", pen and ink on paper

One of Da Vinci's most iconic images is that of the, Vitruvian Man. There is something about this image that draws my attention and makes me wonder while I view the image. I find it interesting how the arms and legs line up with the edges of the circle and square but also how the circle lines up with the base of the square but goes beyond the borders of the other three sides. Da Vinci, again captures the image of man in great detail with the layering of muscles on top of each other and the tension of muscles as they are moved and holding up an individual. The paper adds some since of shading and he provides highlights where needed. It amazes me that Leonardo was able to make this image with only pen and ink.