Art and Eye

  It is difficult for the eye to decipher the true subject of this work. Most critics agree that Van Dyck depicts an  Ecce Homo , the Latin words with which Pontius Pilate presented Christ, although others prefer to label it as a Man of Sorrows. Certainly the pain, emotion, resolution and turmoil is visible in both Christ's features and his body language. Like many artists Van Dyck seems attracted to this subject displaying deep suffering. The choice of a three-quarter length, turned profile allows the artist to exploit the stark nudity of Christ against a dark background. The flesh is dimpled, the arms veined and muscled, with flecks of blue in the canvas to give a human touch to Christ. The hands of Christ are brought in front of him, tied to show his capture and torment. A single tear drops down his deeply shadowed face, the twisting profile allowing Van Dyck to present heightened emotion. The light from his crown of thorns is all that pierces the darkness, echoed by the heaven

  Claude's seemingly idyllic, archaic landscapes are made to attract the eye, and lure the viewer into the world of the antique past. From the sixteenth century onwards, a taste for the antique pervaded art across genre and space. The landscape paintings that Claude seemingly mass produced during his lifetime are no exception, occupying the genre of history painting with the addition of figures, mythological and classical subject matter. This was Claude's last landscape, depicting a Virgilian subject with over-elongated figures on the left, buried within the foliage of this stage-like composition. Scholars are uncertain as to whether the piece is indeed finished, but it is inscribed with the date and subject matter, which implies completion.  Looking closer however, this is not simply an idyllic landscape as many of Claude's paintings appear to be on the surface. The classical temple with its fluted Corinthian columns is falling into ruin, crumbling out of the picture frame