Uccello, 'Hunt in the Forest', c.1470

THE HUNT IN THE FOREST | Ashmolean Museum

My eye is immediately drawn to the vanishing point of the painting, because that is what the use of perspective here is designed to do. My eye follows the leaping hunting dogs into the rows of trees and beyond to where every figure is excitedly heading. Everything about this piece screams symmetry, from the way the trees are positioned to the depiction of the animals and humans. Uccello has even laid down tree stumps and branches on the ground to point the viewer in the direction of one point perspective. By using these foreshortened logs he is spelling it out to the viewer - here is the perfection of Renaissance painting.

Although it may not be the most detailed painting in terms of the actual figures, everyone is at least doing something different. From the figures running into the trees to the men on horseback waving their arms to point the way for the viewer and the other hunters, this is a painting of movement and excitement. You can almost hear the cry of the dogs and calls of the men as they shout to one another for encouragement, firing the dogs into a frenzy in preparation for the meat they are about to catch. Furthermore, the viewer has a panoramic view of the forest, which not only involves them more fully within the painting but intrigues them as to what is occurring in the distance. Uccello has used a colour palette that goes from light to dark, meaning the viewer is being drawn into the darkness, making them ask questions about what is out there. Will this party be successful in their hunt? Or is this actually just a false alarm, and nothing will be caught at all? There is not just excitement in this painting, but there is intrigue. And this links back to the use of perspective.

Uccello was a master of linear perspective, and this painting is a great example, linking closely with the design of the perhaps more famous The Battle of San Romano. There the viewer sees not logs but lances to mark the perspective. Equally in the painting above Uccello has created that grid-like pattern to show his talent as an artist. Although Uccello may have glorified the hunt somewhat here, it does not lack emotion and drama. But with the dark sky and rolling clouds coming in, perhaps Uccello is foreshadowing an unsuccessful hunt after all.

Comments

Cellini, 'Perseus with the Head of Medusa', 1545-1554

My eye is immediately drawn to the head of Medusa. At first glance it looks gruesome, as though Cellini has captured the moment just after the head has been decapitated, and it oozes blood and bodily matter. However the viewer then notices the similarity between that and Medusa's hair. Maybe it is just her hair after all. Cellini has cleverly enticed the viewer in here, to take a closer look and therefore involved them in the sculpture as a whole. Once they do come closer, they begin to notice other things such as the similarity between Perseus' hair and Medusa's snakes. Hero and monster are not so separate. Even the features of their faces are very similar. Perhaps Cellini wants to suggest that evil can often wear the mask of good. Or he could even be implying that everyone has some evil within them, even the hero Perseus. One of the good things about sculpture is that the viewer is able to walk around it, and fully immerse themselves in the piece. Cellini has used this...

Guccio di Mannaia, 'Chalice for Pope Nicholas IV', 13th century

As the only work remaining of Sienese goldsmith Guccio di Mannaia, the chalice he created for Pope Nicholas IV in the late thirteenth century is an incredibly important work of art. Not only does it highlight the rich, opulent nature of papal commissions, but it proves the talent of Sienese goldsmiths and their resulting influence on painters and sculptors of the period. The chalice is innovative in shape and form, but it is striking first and foremost through the use of gold. It is an object that deserves to be viewed in the flesh, because of its reflective and therefore mimetic potential – like a bronze sculpture it is activated by light and should be experienced in the round as a three-dimensional, highly decorated art object. Its complicated design features an almost architectonic base, star-like as it spills out towards the viewer. The base builds up into the stem of the chalice which is decorated with an array of enamelled plaques featuring saints, prophets, angels and furt...

Artemisia Gentileschi, 'Jael and Sisera', c.1620

My eye firstly notices the hand wielding the hammer above the unsuspecting man's head. Gentileschi is depicting a new and particularly horrible kind of weapon here instead of the huge sword she gave Judith to slice Holofernes' head off in 1620. The tent peg seems all the more violent, especially as the viewer is looking at the split second before the deed has been committed. Moreover, the gaze of the women (Jael) is focused and calm, making the piece seem unnerving. This is not a moment of hesitation but a snapshot of action - the woman has made up her mind and will commit to this murder. The viewer can only imagine how Gentileschi would have depicted the bloody aftermath, in her usual violent and tenebristic way. The fact that the artist has signed her name in the tomb-like stone above the man is significant - she is signing his life away in this painting, sending him swiftly to the grave. The body of the man (Sisera) is also interestingly depicted. He lies in a rather eff...

Art and Eye

Search This Blog