Senior Journal #1: Degas or Vermeer?
The Star 1878 Edgar Degas
The Milkmaid 1658-1660 Johannes Vermeer oil on canvas
The Girl With The Pearl Earring (not dated) Johannes Vermeer
In John Updike's The Lucid Eye in Silver Town, Jay and his Uncle Quin have a minor disagreement over which artist is better--the Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer or the French Impressionist Edgar Degas. The disagreement not only reveals Jay's early development of arrogance (he haughtily pronounces, "In terms of paint, I think Vermeer makes Degas look sick"), but also reveals something about Updike's own artistic vision. Assuming the young Jay might be a young John Updike (both showed early interest in fine art) and knowing Updike's typical characters and heroes, one can assume that Updike's choice of Vermeer as Jay's favorite artist was carefully chosen. Like Vermeer, John Updike often makes the ordinary character his subject. Often bathed in a beautiful light or doing their jobs with concentration and care, Vermeer's ordinary servants and common laborers look extraordinary; likewise, Updike's heroes are common people dealing with common problems in uncommonly, extraordinary short stories and novels. Remember this: the modern writer, the modern artist, often attempts to make the ordinary extraordinary. The classical writer and artist had no use for the common man, peasant, serf, groundling, and certainly few women. His job was to write poems and plays about kings, nobles, religious leaders ... you know, the people who really mattered. That's what Brit Lit was all about, wasn't it, up until your study of Wordsworth and Shelly and Coleridge?
Now let's move on to our writing task. But first some questions to get you to perform a basic analysis of the paintings.
Analyze the painting in terms of its title, historical context, subject/theme, characters, color, light/shading, composition/perspective, symbols, and tone.
Which one of the paintings (shown above) do you prefer? Give your reasons, using the points of analysis that preceded this question.
How does the painting make you feel upon first glance?
Imagine the "story" that the painting tells.
How does the painting make you feel upon first glance?
Imagine the "story" that the painting tells.
If neither of these four paintings appeal to you, choose another by Degas or Vermeer (you can easily find them online) in order to complete this assignment below.
Write a good solid paragraph or creative piece responding to any ONE of these options. Write a minimum of 200 words.
1.Why do you like one of the paintings, or prefer it to one of the others? Do not be intimidated if you do not understand too much about artistic composition.
2. Compare and contrast the Degas paintings with the Vermeers. Which artist do you prefer? Why? Be specific.
1.Why do you like one of the paintings, or prefer it to one of the others? Do not be intimidated if you do not understand too much about artistic composition.
2. Compare and contrast the Degas paintings with the Vermeers. Which artist do you prefer? Why? Be specific.
3. You are one of the characters in one of the paintings. Write a 200 word minimum interior monologue where we can "hear" your thoughts as you converse with yourself (in the first person) in the setting provided by the painting.
4. Compose a descriptive "set" piece in which you describe what you see in vivid prose language, using good concrete nouns, motion picture verbs, vivid images, and/or original figures of speech. No need to tell a story. Just write to set a particular mood.
Post before Wednesday, November 11. If you need some inspiration, read some of the responses by the Class of 2014 in the October 2013 archives.
Post before Wednesday, November 11. If you need some inspiration, read some of the responses by the Class of 2014 in the October 2013 archives.
posted by JTF @ 10:31 AM
11 comments
11 Comments:
My favorite painting is The Milkmaid. I like it because of the details in the painting. The milkmaid is pouring milk in a traditional domestic kitchen. The painter shows what kind of life the maid is living through the things in the kitchen. The lichen on the wall and the small stove in the corner prove that the maid is living a hard life. Her clothes seem to be old but clean. The painter is very good at the illusion of three dimensions. We can even see the layers of the dress and the irregularity on the bread. The colors of yellow and blue used by the painter give us a feeling of old and distress. She works with her sleeves rolled up which proves that she is an experienced worker. She focuses on her work which is pouring the milk. She is strong which means she has to do a lot of work every day. The people who see the picture can even feel the weight of the milk. It is very sad that although she is a milkmaid, she may not have a lot of chances to drink fresh milk herself. There must be a lot of stories behind the painting. I like this painting because it makes me feel real about things in the picture. The paintings of Degas are vague and unreal even though he has more sense of romantic. In my opinion, Vermeer’s painting is better at expressing feelings. The colors and details he used show what kind of life the lower class people was living perfectly. It is amazing that Vermeer could express the depress of life and the youth of the woman at the same time.
In my personal opinion Degas’ paintings are more appealing. I prefer his painting “La Classe de danse” because it shows the classical image of a ballet class. I have had multiple ballet teachers and they all have a different teaching styles. One of my teachers told my ballet class about her experience taking class in Russia when she was a young girl. She said she had an old male teacher who could barely walk. As dancers they had to know what every movement was because if he had to get up he made their lives miserable. They did not have anyone to show them each movement so they had to listen very carefully. That picture seems to be portrayed perfectly in this painting. The dancers seem to respect the old man and are fully attentive. Not only do I also prefer this painting because of the story told, but I also like his painting style. His paintings are not always as clear cut as some people may like. That is the exact reason why I like them. Degas’ “La Classe de danse” seems to have very light brush strokes that make the picture not as clear. The ballerinas are all in white and the teacher is in a dark grey making him the center of attention. The painting seems to make me feel like Degas put him in the center of the painting on purpose. From the outside of the painting looking in it it almost feels like you are paying the old man the same amount of attention as the dancers in his classroom. Degas created a clear picture with a story, without a “clear” painting and that shows his true talent.
Although both artists have amazing talent, I personally prefer the artwork of Vermeer. Vermeer’s paintings are extremely clear and have a main focus. However, Degas’ paintings often feature more than one character. Also, Degas’ paintings are like a fantasy in his head. Vermeer’s artwork is so precise and picture like. My favorite painting of Vermeer’s is The Milkmaid. I cannot believe that The Milkmaid is a painting. The shadows and the color are shocking, considering the limited supplies that were available in the sixteen hundreds. To think that this was painted on a canvas with oil just amazes me. The vibrant yellow on the woman’s shirt was the first thing that drew my eye to the picture. The wall behind The Milkmaid is plain and simple, which makes the image of the woman pop out and grab your attention. The artist chose the color blue in the apron to shows trust and honesty. The look on the Milkmaid’s face seems like she is enjoying her job and she is content and loyal to the family she is working for. The shadowing makes her face almost fade into the picture and places the focus more on the job that she is doing. Although Degas’ paintings are beautiful, I prefer the images of Vermeer because they are more realistic, almost photographic.
When I look at Degas' paintings compared to Vermeer's paintings, I lean towards Degas' paintings. Degas' paintings are not as detailed or realistic compared to Vermeer's. Degas' paintings give you lead way and allows you to add scenes and images in the paintings. Vermeer's paintings are more realistic and show each shadow and detail of the picture and gives the effect of an actual image or picture. Personally, I enjoy Degas' paintings better because I see them and I can make up a situation that is going on in the painting. Also I like Degas' paintings more because I prefer ballerina pictures compared to the images that Vermeer paints. I personally like "La Classe de danse" by Degas because it shows the pain and struggle that ballerinas go through and how being a ballerina is very hard and tiresome. This picture depicts the life of a ballerina and how each day they have to put in their best effort to become better and to succeed as a ballerina. I feel as though with Vermeer's paintings I am not able to picture what the person in the picture is feeling and doing. Vermeer's paintings are also very boring in my perspective and I wish he would create an image that is more interesting and complex. Degas' paintings are not very sharp or detailed but they create an image that is completely miraculous and because of that I prefer Degas's paintings over Vermeer's.
Between Degas and Vermeer, I personally prefer Degas. I especially like “La Classe de Danse.” In this painting, power, poise, and softness are evident yet a subtle hint of strength is portrayed as well. The fuzziness of the painting is romantic, and dreamy. The colors are more understated and muted, but make a statement in that they draw you in since there is little color in the painting other than white and neutral colors. The center of the painting has an old man with a walking stick as tall as he is. He obviously has the power in the room and the girls are obedient to him. The girls’ body language, between one holding her back and others grasping their heads, indicates that they are tired. The man must be the dance teacher and pushing the girls. While dancing is a beautiful art, it’s also physically demanding and that is showing. He wants them to keep dancing, although many of them probably do not want to. I like how the painting shows the beauty but strength in these dancers and how something so cohesive must revolve around one thing, one power source, in this case the man. It portrays a story to me that’s soft, and flowing, and delicate. I can tell what’s going on, but the picture is not clear just how the story isn’t. It’s almost a metaphor to how the story isn’t completely clear, and there’s room for your own scenarios for what’s happening.
Dega and Vermeer are both extremely talented artists that depict a scene a viewer can enjoy. However, it is hard to compare the two artists because they both have very different styles of painting. Grant it, they both are very talented and acclaimed, but their genre of painting is different. For example, Dega’s work is very light and feathery. His paintings are as if they were painted to look like a daydream. Vermeer on the other hand, his pieces are much more full and have no holes or fluff in them. This effect gives the painting a more direct feel, like whatever is going on in the painting is it, nothing more. His paintings are also usually of a single person or object. Unlike Vermeer, Dega seems to paint multiple characters or objects. The scene in Dega’s work also has more depth. For instance in La classe de danse, a viewer can notice another room that stretches the painting back further. A good example of how Vermeer’s painting’s are of a single thing and do not have much depth is his piece The Milkmaid where a single person stands in a single room with a single window. Vermeer’s singularity effect is powerful though. It allows the viewer to focus more on specifics instead of in Dega’s work where the viewer can almost float aimlessly throughout the painting. Comparing these artists is tough, but they are both definitely two of the greats.
Personally I enjoy looking at Vermeer’s work, not only because he puts so much into his painting by adding so much detail. Yet, how he protrudes the person he is going to paint and makes them seem lifelike. By paying attention to detail, he makes you look at key objects you normally wouldn’t look out for, as well as how he makes use for making the painting seem as if it is a photograph with the light beaming in on them or in the room. Vermeer, made his art work ‘come to life,’ making in my personal opinion more realistic, but still imaginary and fun at the same time.
However, when I look at Degas work, yes I can see his story, but I don’t see the realistic factor that drew me in. Degas, to me didn’t show as much character as Vermeer's, yet degas paintings were more soft and delicate, but didn’t draw me in like the other. Plus, every time Degas paints it is stuck to one type of style, one type of character type. Yet, Vermeer, uses different characters, and draws attention to different aspects in the painting. Yet, I do admire how Dega made the artwork flow and work well with its surroundings. It made the art seem as if it were a dream or a fantasy.
Between Vermeer and Degas, I personally prefer the paintings by Degas more. I think Degas paintings are seen as more whimsical while Vermeer’s painting are more realistic. Vermeer uses a light shining through a window in many of his paintings. Vermeer uses very bold colors than stand out and draw your eye to the canvas. This light usually falls right on the person as in a spotlight. The overall look of Degas’s paintings seem to look fuzzy like a dream. I also think I prefer Degas over Vermeer because I relate more to Degas’ work. I was a dancer for many many years and can relate to his paintings. My favorite is the one in a dance studio where the headmaster looks very in demand. I know as a child I was terrified of my ballet teacher because of how demanding she was. I think the faded colors used in Degas’s painting make the art more dreamy and soft. I admire how great of an artist Vermeer is with his realistic paintings but I am more of a whimsical and soft type of artist. The paintings of the dancers draw me in more than the paintings of the workers in Vermeer’s pieces.
Degas and Vermeer are both talented painters. Both painters depict their own vision of reality. There are some similarities between the paintings and the painters themselves but there are many differences between the two. Degas paints a fantasy. He shows the happiness of the dancers when they are dancing. He also depicts the hard work that all of the dancers put into their dances. Degas has a deeper meaning to all of his paintings. The paintings that Degas paint look as if they are in dream. They are showing that it is a fantasy that has not yet been reached. Vermeer's paintings show that there is clarity in his paintings. He shows that there is hard work being put into what the women do. He uses dark and light colors to show a deeper meaning to all the paintings. It allows the viewer to focus on one thing and draw their own conclusion as to what they mean.Vermeer is able to show the clarity of what you see. It is more realistic because of the clarity. Everyone can have their own idea as to what they think the paintings mean. Both artists are very talented in their own way.
While being a dancer with always make me partial to Degas, Vermeer holds a special place in my heart. His portrayal of women is unparalleled, he was able to capture their posture and facial expression in a way that showed their truest lives in a time when a woman's life held little value. A little girls dreams of the ballet will always be caught in the soft lines of Degas's dancers, but the true sentiment of a woman is found in the eyes of the Girl with the Pearl Earring.
Don't think I didn't read this!KimHenshaw Sadly without a section...wonderful last line...sounds like something I read two years ago.
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