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Analyzing, Interpreting, and Assessing Visual Arts
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Company Analysis: Survey of the Visual Arts
For this lesson plan, Van Gogh’s masterpiece Sunflowers was chosen to be analyzed and evaluated based on the elements and principles of design. The length of time allocated for this project is between 45 and 60 minutes. For measuring the student's learning progress, several assessment criteria will be utilized. They include content relevance, students’ understanding of art principles and elements, creativity, and ability to interpret artworks.
The assessment must begin with the description of the artwork. Thus, Van Gogh’s picture Sunflowers (its third version) is a masterpiece full of color and life. The lines that the author uses are soft, which makes both this visual artwork and the artist recognizable among others. Sunflowers by Van Gogh is a great example of light and color used together to convey positivity. Even though there are flowers, a vase, a table, and walls, the picture has no definite structure that is why everything seems to be mixed, combined, chaotic but still very colorful. Emphasizing the light, Sunflowers play a role of a so-called source that brings grace to the world. As for the next elements of visual design, space and time, they are not particularly relevant for this painting as Van Gogh did not mean to provide a chronotope in this masterpiece .In addition, there is no pattern in this artwork as it is unique; it became famous as an example of a provocative and ridiculous masterpiece as artists did not use to mix so many shades of yellow in one picture at the time. The last but not the least element that characterizes the Sunflowers is texture as this series of artworks was made using the impasto technique when an artist sometimes applies paints with a regular knife. As for space and motion, these art categories have nothing to do with the Sunflowers masterpiece as well as any other picture by Van Gogh.
When it comes to the principles of visual design, Sunflowers could be analyzed in the context of balance, focal point, scale and proportion, unity and variety. Regarding balance, Van Gogh did his best providing balanced yellow shades that do not burn one's eye. “As for the focal point, there are no doubts that the three bright flowers” heads that are located to the right draw the viewer’s attention at once and make the rest of the composition pale and unnecessary. These heavy, filled with inner strength, and elastic flowers and their stems seem to be in continuous motion: they are moving and growing in comparison with other flowers that are slowly dying.
The author seems to be the genius of proportion and scale as the vase, the flowers, the leaves, and even Van Gogh’s signature look naturally. Sunflowers is a quintessence of unity: the wall, the vase, and all of the flowers are painted in a common style and color. As for the variety, attention must be paid to the red sunflowers’ heads that are on the right. It can be a symbol of diversity as there is only one fresh flower that differs from the other ones. Thus, this picture conveys general unity, and the red color, which breaks out from the monotonous state of things in Gogh's life, is associated with variety.
There is no need to mention that the evaluation of the quality of the artwork is one of the essential procedures for any masterpiece. Each concept that the artist intended to communicate through the artwork is valuable as it is the true quality of any piece people enjoy looking at the pictures as it brings up certain feelings and emotions. As for Van Gogh's Sunflowers, the artist intended to tell the story of his resistance to the inevitable fate. Such elements as the pale flowers that used to reach for the vital life beautifully presents this idea. This painting was created in Paris, where Van Gogh had a rather calm life according to his friends, but it was not calm for him. The petals on the picture are disheveled, and Sunflowers demonstrates the convulsive withering inflorescences and thick curved stems. Despite the fact that the fate of these plants is known ahead, the picture wonderfully conveys dormancy in their great vitality and resistance to their life full of twists and turns. As for the significance of the title, Van Gogh intended to show that life is bright, beautiful, and short as a sunflower's life; however, like any flower, a human being cannot withstand the inevitable obstacles and problems, such as illness, mental issues, and death. The artist compared a person’s life with a life of a pale flower to demonstrate that everybody can be fresh and beautiful, but people are powerless in the face of death. Such elements as faded leaves and inclined flowers’ heads perfectly reflect this concept.
It is hard to overestimate the importance and value of such masterpiece as Sunflowers. This painting is the hallmark of Van Gogh and one of the greatest examples of the post-impressionism era. According to Van Gogh, he idolized this flower and considered it a symbol of gratitude and friendship, and it is exactly what he attempted to demonstrate in his work Sunflowers.
The article was conducted by professional writer Eshley Durst. She works as a professional writer at cheap-papers discussion board post writing service, where you can find her already written stories.
