The document discusses the painting The Raft of the Medusa by Theodore Gericault from 1818-1819. It provides a detailed description of the painting's large scale, moody color scheme, and dramatic composition depicting survivors of a shipwreck clinging to a raft. The analysis examines the use of visual elements to create tension and movement. The interpretation discusses the painting's reflection of contemporary French political and social turmoil following the restoration of the monarchy, as well as connections to the emerging Romantic movement in art and philosophy emphasizing nature and human emotion.

1. Art AppreciationArt Criticism: How and (Why) to Critique Art

2. Art Criticism

3. “I don’t know anything about art, but I know what I like.”

5. Taste

16. Taste Taste as an aesthetic, sociological, economic and anthropological concept refers to cultural patterns of choice and preference regarding aesthetic judgments.

17. What determines aesthetic judgements?

18. What determines aesthetic judgements?

19. What determines aesthetic judgements?

20. What determines aesthetic judgements?

21. What determines aesthetic judgements? ….senses, emotions, intellectual opinions, will, desires, culture, preferences, values, subconscious behavior, conscious decision, training, instinct, sociological institutions, or some complex combination of these, depending on exactly which theory one employs.

22. “I know what my VALUES are.” My interests My taste My aesthetics My style My mood My enthusiasim

23. VALUES Personal Values Political Values Cultural Values Sub-Cultural Values Class Values National Values Religious Values Spiritual Values

24. EGYPTIAN Menkaure and Queen Kamerernebty Old Kingdom, Ancient Egypt 4th Dynasty 2548-2530 BCE

25. Reputations CHANGE

26. Caravaggio, The Calling of St. Mathew. 1599-1600. Famous and extremely influential while he lived, Caravaggio was almost entirely forgotten in the centuries after his death, and it was only in the 20th century that his importance to the development of Western art was rediscovered.

27. Impressionism started as a rebellious art movement by four students, was mocked and ridiculed 20 years before being reluctantly accepted…and yet today it is considered one of the most important art movements in history.

28. ÉdouardManet, Olympia, oil on canvas, 1863.

29. Olympia stirred an enormous uproar when it was first exhibited at the 1865 Paris Salon. Conservatives condemned the work as "immoral" and "vulgar." One journalist later recalled, "If the canvas of the Olympia was not destroyed, it is only because of the precautions that were taken by the administration.” However, the work had proponents as well. Emile Zola quickly proclaimed it Manet's "masterpiece" and added, "When other artists correct nature by painting Venus they lie. Manet asked himself why he should lie. Why not tell the truth?"

30. BAD GOOD

31. “Degenerate Art”

32. BAD GOOD

34. Membership in the Nazi Party did not protect Emil Nolde-whose woodcut The Prophet is shown at right-from being banned by Hitler. 1052 of Nolde’s paintings were removed from German museums, more than any other artist.

35. “Quality” Is Relative Is Subjective Is hard to measure.

36. How does society seem to measure the quality of art if quality is so SUBJECTIVE?

37. MONEY $$$$$$$$$

38. $ 728.40

39. $ 7,284.00

40. $72,840.00

41. $728,400.00

42. $7,284,000.00

43. Mark Rothko, "White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose)" (1950)

44. $72.84 million

45. 3 Types of Art Criticism Formal Theories Sociocultural Theories Expressive Theories

46. Formal Theories Form over Content. Style and Innovation are valued.

47. Titian. Pietà, 1576. Oil on Canvas. 149”x136”.

49. Raphael. The Holy Family, 1518.

50. Titian. Pietà, 1576. Oil on Canvas. 149”x136”.

51. Sociocultural Theories Political, Cultural, Social Values Historical Context is emphasized. Art embodies or resists dominant cultural attitudes and themes.

52. Titian. Pietà, 1576. Oil on Canvas. 149”x136”.

53. The Church of the Frari, Venice.

54. Tintoretto. St Roch in the Hospital. 1549, Oil on canvas. The plague was a constant danger in the harbour city of Venice, and the state sought to counter it by taking careful precautionary measures, for instance the building of the LazzarettoNuovo as a quarantine hospital around 1470. Tintoretto's painting could equally well show the plague hospital of the LazzarettoVecchio, also built on an island in the lagoon as early as 1423. The young women shown here entering from the sides of the picture to wash the sick, bind up their sores, and feed them, are probably unemployed prostitutes, who were pressed into service in the LazzarettoVecchio in times of plague.

55. Titian. Pietà, 1576. Oil on Canvas. 149”x136”.

56. Expressive Theories Artist’s Biography is Primary. Psychology and Intent are emphasized. Humanistic and Individualistic.

57. Titian. Pietà, 1576. Oil on Canvas. 149”x136”.

58. Titian. Self-Portrait, 1562.

60. The Feldman Method Description Analysis Interpretation Evaluation

61. ThéodoreGéricault, The Raft of the Medusa, 1818–1819

62. Description

63. Description Visual Elements: Line, Implied Line Shape Mass/Volume Illusion of Space Time/Motion Color Scheme Texture

64. Description Question to ask: What is the subject of the work? What media is the work executed in? What is the size/scale ?

65. ThéodoreGéricault, The Raft of the Medusa, 1818–1819

66. Description Initially the viewer is aware of the enormous scale of the painting, as the piece occupies a canvas 16 feet by 24 feet in totality, which has the effect of dwarfing the observer and adding a heroic or larger than life presence to the characters. Second, we are immediately aware of the moody darkness of the color scheme, as human forms emerge from an inky blackness into the golden light of a setting sun. The sombre colors and pallid flesh tones nevertheless deprive the work of any vibrant color, and so the mood remains ominous overall. The raft of survivors is surrounded on all sides by the swelling surge of the dangerous sea and the brooding clouds that hang low over the horizon; there is very little middle ground as the viewer focus alternately on the foreground action and the distant ship on the horizon line.

67. Analysis

68. Analysis Design Principles: Unity and Variety Balance Emphasis/Subordination Directional Forces Contrast Repetition and Rhythm Scale and Proportion

69. Analysis Some questions to consider: How do the visual elements contribute to a mood? What is the internal relationship between the objects or subjects depicted? How does the form begin to communicate the content?

70. ThéodoreGéricault, The Raft of the Medusa, 1818–1819

71. Analysis There is everywhere a feeling of movement and energy-compositionally the work is dominated by a strong diagonal directional force that thrusts upward from the lower left hand corner to the upper-right, This directional energy is counter-balanced by the weight of the full sail to the left that fills with the angry air. The viewer seems to focus alternately on the sad despondent man in the lower left and the figure who waves a cloth in the upper right. As observers, we seem to assume a position floating in the air, as a circling bird might view this grim tableau. The overall unity of the piece is powerful, the consistency of light and the energetic figural forms create a visual tension that nevertheless remains harmonious despite the variety and repetition of nude/semi-nude figures in various states of distress.

72. Interpretation

73. Interpretation Generally: How does the work relate to the world it was made (historical context)? How does the work relate to today’s world? What does the piece remind you of, how does it make you feel? What is the MEANING of the piece?

74. Interpretation Government/ Politics/ WarWhat was the political situation that the work emerged from ? Who were the leaders at the time, and what sort of social structure was dominant ? Monarchy, Republic, etc? Was there a major conflict or war at the time ?PhilosophyWhat was the prevailing intellectual climate, major thinkers, scientists, etc ? Was there even an intellectual climate at all? What was the state of science and how did powerful was "skepticism" for forming or influencing beliefs ? How did the philosophy of the time conflict with or support the spiritual beliefs of the people ?ReligionWhat was the dominant spiritual tradition and what were its major tenets? How was religious practice manifest in people's daily lives and were there alternatives vying for control ?

75. Interpretation Artist and BiographyWhat sort of life did the artist lead ? What type of personality traits did they possess and how did the arc of their career unfold ? Who were the other competitors, comrades that they worked alongside of ?Geography/EnvironmentalWhat was the environmental reality that people faced? Was the climate cold, warm, prosperous, harsh, etc Cultural ValuesHow powerful were the institutions of marriage, family, love, citizenship, morality, etc.. What did the culture value or devalue at this given moment ?

76. Interpretation Formal Sociocultural Expressive

77. Eugene Delacroix

78. Jacques-Louis David

80. Interpretation Sociocultural/ExpressiveThe 27 year old Géricault has taken as his subject a tragic and controversial naval accident of 1816 which left a French frigate sunk off the coast of Africa and the nation gripped with scandal. At the time, the French Monarchy had been recently restored, and the obvious inexperience of the ship's Captain served to re-enforce the public anger and resentment that had been brewing in re-action to the return of the remnants of the French aristocracy who had been banished during the Revolution. Because of the extreme conditions endured by the survivors who were able to find a spot on this hastily prepared raft, the story evokes deep sympathy for the epic struggle of human survival in the face of overwhelming odds. It is this stark realism and visceral connection to the privations and horror of constant death, madness, cannibalism, and hopelessness that connect the work to the larger Romantic sensibility that was much evident in painting at the time. Contemporaries of Géricault, like Eugene Delacroix, also favored such titanic and sublime subject matter, rife with frantic human drama and an acknowledgement of the power of nature. This focus on "natural" and irrational components of human behavior was of further interest to writers like Jean Jacques Rousseau who’s political theories had actually influenced the French Revolution and the development of modern political thought. Although the piece was initially met with lukewarm reception in France, it was exhibited profitably in Britain and is hung today in the Louvre as a great exemplar of Romantic sensibilities.

81. ThéodoreGéricault, The Raft of the Medusa, 1818–1819

82. Interpretation Expressive/FormalThe formal language employed by Géricault is emblematic of the Romantic sensibilities and historical context that surround this painting. It was clearly Géricault's intent to evoke an upsurge of emotion in the viewer, and his handling of light and shadow as well as the swelling and energetic forces of the waves and wind contribute to this purpose. The grand scale of the work demonstrates that it was meant for a large public audience that would hopefully discuss not only their empathic reactions to the subject, but the questionable legitimacy of the political order. By creating a visual ascendency from despair to hope, evident in the diagonal movement from lower left to upper-right, Géricault formally demonstrates the emotional/intellectual content and deeper implications that the painting proposes. The painting asks profound questions about the nature of survival, barbarism, and the miracle of human resilience in the face of the awesome and unforgiving power of nature, as well as the inner-struggle for meaning and purpose we all face. Only through his virtuosic handling of compositional space, light, and dramatic theatrical effects is the full force and meaning of this work made real.

83. ThéodoreGéricault, The Raft of the Medusa, 1818–1819

84. Evaluation

85. Evaluation Some questions to consider: Why does this work have (or not have) “value”? What is it that makes the work worth considering among others? What is valuable to you in a work of art? Are there things that others may value that you do not? Does the piece communicate an idea or feeling well, or do you remain unmoved? If it fails or succeeds in your estimation, can you point to specific remarks you noticed earlier in our criticism to emphasize your evaluation?

86. ThéodoreGéricault, The Raft of the Medusa, 1818–1819

87. Evaluation The piece is significant, powerful, and daring. The work is beyond monetary valuation-it’s real significance is its ability to weave historical drama with monumental human expression and to invoke a powerful response from viewers regardless of their knowledge of history. Géricault’s genius and skill lie in his ability to synthesis a new form of visionary art in which contemporary events become timeless testaments to the human struggle as it has, and will always exist.

88. Critical Thinking There are many positive and useful uses of critical thinking: Formulating a workable solution to a complex personal problem. Deliberating as a group about what course of action to take. Analyzing the assumptions and the quality of the methods used in any assessment or judgment of value.

89. Critical Thinking Critical thinking, in its broadest sense can be described as purposeful reflective judgment concerning what to believe or what to do. Critical thinking clarifies goals, examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, accomplishes actions, and assesses conclusions.

90. The Feldman Method

91. The Feldman Method Description

92. The Feldman Method Description Analysis

93. The Feldman Method Description Analysis Interpretation

94. The Feldman Method Description Analysis Interpretation Evaluation