Saturday, February 15, 2020

Paintings by Georges-Pierre Seurat and Vincent Van Gogh Essay - 1

Paintings by Georges-Pierre Seurat and Vincent Van Gogh - Essay Example The essay "Paintings by Georges-Pierre Seurat and Vincent Van Gogh" analyzes The Starry Night’s intricate details while comparing it to the ‘Grandcamp, Evening’ painting by Georges-Pierre Seurat. Looking at the ‘The Starry Night’, one gets a feel of boldness in the painting. There is the use of dark shades of color to bring out a general feel of the painting. There is also the use of lines of different shapes and lengths. The clouds seem to be in motion as they are drawn in a continuous circular motion, while the stars and moon have unusual light around them. The focal point is a flame resemblance of a cypress tree that is a contrast from the village below. Vincent drew this piece while in bad mental shape and was in an asylum at the time. Some critics say that the scenery from his window could have afforded him the general idea with the rest of the features borrowed from memory. This is especially true with the illustration of the church spike that i ndicates Netherlands as his home land. There has been analysis of this painting showing that all the objects in the picture stand for various meanings. This is an iconography of Vincent’s world at the time. On the other hand, George’s work of art in ‘Grandcamp, Evening seems to give a different atmosphere. Here, the painter has incorporated various hues of color to create a sense of calm and isolation. The landscape in the background has been developed by the use of short strokes of lines to indicate a town in the far horizon, a grim sky.

Sunday, February 2, 2020

The Black Box Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Black Box - Essay Example The symbols she uses indirectly communicate the major theme of the work, in addition to the seemingly innocuous dialogue of the seemingly innocuous lottery happening in the town. One of the more potent symbols Jackson uses throughout her story is the black box, and, more generally, just the color black. Black, as it is traditionally interpreted, stands for death, decay, ignorance, and decline. The black box, of course, holds the lottery slips. While a similar ballot box would receive slips from voters in an election, this box only gives out slips, showing the lack of individual choice and freedom in this ritual. The blackness of the box gives off an ominous foreshadowing of events, and is itself a symbolic description of how the townspeople have sacrifice their individual wills to the social decree., as Jackson writes, â€Å"The black box grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained†. The keen reader recognizes that the box’s decay indicates not only the physical corrosion of the box but of the social and moral corrosion of what it represents: the lottery. As the process accelerates during the course of â€Å"The Lottery†, Jackson writes that the townspeople stay as far away from the box as possible. Once again, this description is clearly relating to physical distance; but it may also refer to the concept of responsibility, and the moral qualms people have about participating in the lottery. The townspeople avoid the black box as if it were some kind of evil spirit, and because of this endow the box with such great power. Jackson writes, â€Å"The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool†¦Ã¢â‚¬  What otherwise would be just some old dilapidated box is, as a result of the social order and status quo, is an