Art Analysis - Elements of Shipwreck
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Danby, Francis. Shipwreck, 1850
Vibrant oranges bathe the canvas, not in warmth or comfort, but in an ominous glow. Danby's use of color here, in my opinion, is deeply intertwined with the emotional heart of this painting. The fading sunset glowing behind the dying ship mirrors the fading hope of the sailors, soon to be left in darkness.
Texture:
Textured clouds in a once far angrier sky lends great depth. An impending calm to the dramatic seas that lay bellow. The artists use of texture not only portrays the true tumultuousness of the seas, it gives the viewer a glimpse of the true ferocity of the storm that raged just moments before.
Tone:
These uses of color and texture culminates into a third element, tone. While the colors are warm, the cultivated feeling is not. It is brooding, it is dreadful. It achieves this with its use of a singular, overpowering light source, quickly dropping off into deep and muddy shadows. All of these combined help give a sense of life and movement to these slowly dying storm clouds and still ferocious sea.
To me, the greatest strength of this work is its ability to convey a pitch. A pitch of a story, a world yet fleshed out. While the composition is fairly pedestrian, the proverbial heart and soul of this painting provides something that is greater than the sum of its parts.
References:
“Francis Danby, 1793–1861, Irish, Shipwreck, Ca. 1850.” Shipwreck, https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:710.
Adams, Eric. Francis Danby: Varieties of Poetic Landscape, London: Yale University Press 1973.
I've seen this painting before and have always held such a love for it. The fiery undertones of color leave you feeling a mixture of dread, honor, and fear. A piece of art meant to leave a lasting impression. The use of words when stating "the proverbial heart and soul of this painting" are quite accurate. This is definitely artwork that possesses a heart and soul. In both remembrance for those sailors who are inevitably losing their lives, and honor for their sacrifice in whatever scenario led to the sinking of this ship. I find myself appreciative that someone chose this painting for this assignment, it was one of my top choices, but I decided to focus on learning more about pieces of art I had no previous recollection of. Great job this week!
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated reading through your blog and learning more about this piece and your feelings on it. I loved how you contrasted the color and the tone. You said that it has very warm colors in the red and the orange which is so true! I loved how you then contrasted that with the tone and said that even though the colors are warm, the feelings of the painting are dreadful. This is so true, it's definitely not a super happy painting, but the colors make it seem a little warmer.
ReplyDeleteAnother element I noticed which applies to this piece of art is lines. The painting seems to involve many diagonal lines in the waves and the ship and the clouds which help to show a sense of movement in the artwork.
I'm excited to read more of your blogs!
I do agree with your assessment of the painting. I think the words you used to describe the elements that are in the painting are exactually what the artist was trying to convey when they made the work. One thing that I noticed was the moon and a star are faint but visible with I think some sort of symbolic meaning.
ReplyDeleteHi! I was excited to see your chosen piece and your thoughts on it. I agree with your overall analysis of the piece and its eerie nature. The combination of the texture and colors conveyed the message of the painting. Something I enjoyed about this work is that the artist used those elements that would normally convey a different message if they were presented separately. Still, they were blended, giving the piece its meaning. I thought it was interesting that you said the warm colors made the glow ominous. I see the glow as less ominous and more of a state of resting? It seems like the battle is ending, and the glow is the sort of aftermath. Have you seen post-apocalyptic movies or perhaps other pieces of art that use warm, calming colors to show the beauty of the end of the battle? This reminded me of that. Life goes on, and the world is still spinning after the chaos - the sun still sets at the end of the day. Thank you for your post!
ReplyDeleteHi, I think I remember seeing this painting somewhere before but I can't exactly pin point where. I really love this one though, it's so vibrant and intense. I think I'm just a big fan of colors though, but I think that color can bring a lot to the piece and bring the story forward and help to tone along. When I look at this painting it does give me a very unsettling feeling because it's portraying people dying, but it still is such a beautiful piece.
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