Jupiter And Thetis By Jean Ingres

For my analysis, I chose a painting by Jean Ingres called “Jupiter and Thetis”. It is a reflection on the roman myth of Jupiter (Zeus in Greek mythology). The myth behind the painting is important to understand before you try to analyze it. In the myth, Thetis, a goddess of the sea, heard a prophecy that said she was destined to bear a son greater than his father. This made him a threat to many people due to his father being a very powerful man. During the Trojan war she was desperate to protect her son and traded favors to the gods to do so. This painting is representative of her asking those favors of Jupiter. The elements of this photo I chose to analyze are the Physical aspects, the effect it has on the viewer, and the true meaning behind the painting (the theme, so to speak.
A few are color, composition, lighting, and character emotion. The use of color appears to be carefully planned due to what some of those colors represent, which I will explain later on. In this painting, the artist used a vivid color palette, and also a very dark one, representing the despair of the situation. The green of Thetis's cloth harshly clashes with Jupiter's red toga. Perhaps the artist was trying to show further contrast between the characters to depict their differences.

The composition of this piece is very organized and even. Jupiter's broad body nearly takes up the entire canvas. I believe his stature in the painting shows the weight of his importance. It is his decision at this point whether or not the son of Thetis lives or dies. She seems small and insignificant in comparison. The painting is also proportioned well with Thetis and the eagle on either side of Jupiter, and his stance is mirrored on each side of the