Painting is an art form which can depict scenes from a certain place and time. Often paintings are an emotional reflection of how an artist may feel. These expressions can be seen in the painting The Battle of the Amazons by Peter Ruben, The Heart of the Andes by Frederic Edwin Church, and Volga Boatmen by Ilya Repin.
Peter Paul Rubens was a Baroque painter whose style conveyed movement and sensuality. In his piece The Battle of the Amazons, the use of dramatic color aides in the mood and theme of this painting. Motion can be indicated by the use of curvature of each figure and can be seen as a theme in the painting, as is the testing theme of struggle. This battle illustrates the conflicting moods of passion and gloom. Rupen uses the large horses and weaponry as a symbol of strength and dominance. The artist’s intent in this piece is to display the conviction of each side in the battle. The passion deemed by each fighting soul demonstrates the obscure sense that each side is willing to sacrifice themselves for the sovereignty they believe in.
In The Heart of the Andes by Frederic Edwin Church, we find ourselves looking at a peaceful and serene Mountain landscape which shows a bit of untouched nature. With the cool tones of blues and greens, Church creates a peaceful mood, while neutral tones of light brown and olive create a neutral mood. The imperiled theme of beauty in nature is definitely noted in this landscape scene. Another theme can be seen as we take a closer look at this piece. It denotes a religious theme as we can see the symbolic element of a small cross just off of a trail, overlooking a waterfall. I believe this cross may be the painter’s intent to exhibit the endangered areas of nature as this world grows into a more industrial time.
In Ilya Repin’s, The Volga Boatmen, (1872) we see pitiable men struggling to haul a large vessel from the water. Repin skillfully conveys the different classes of social order in this...