Compare and Contrast
Raft of the Medusa vs. Le Dejeuner sur L’Herbe
In “The Raft of the Medusa” by Theodore Gericault there was use of the Baroque treatment of light in this painting. There is a physically powerful contrast between the spread-out group of survivors to the movement of the raft itself. There is a sharp contrast of light and dark colors of dynamic poses. There is a black man at the top of the survivors that is waving a rag or piece of cloth in desperation for rescue. The raft is full of saddened emotions for everyone involved. There is also Baroque treatment of light in the painting “Le Dejeuner sur L’Herbe” by Edouard Manet. The ways the colors of light and dark are used are reminders of the Baroque period. The woman that’s nude seems to be the focus of the painting and has an illuminating glow of her body surrounded by a dark background as she looks at the viewers with defiance. The other woman who is at the pond also seems to glow as she bathes with her white gown on. There are really no dark areas of shadow from any of the figures in the painting.
In “The Raft of the Medusa” the painter uses a lot of dark colors because the scene is very sad. He used brown, black and red; there is also a lot of form in this painting starting with the ocean waves on the left side of the painting and the around the survivors. Also in the sky where it looks like the sun is setting over the horizon. The line within the painting is the shape of a triangle. Light color is used on the men that seem to have fallen deathly ill or who has passed away.
In the “Le Dejeuner sur L’ Herbe, there are some dark colors that are used in this painting, brown, red, black, and green. There are also some light colors that were used two color blues, white, orange, yellow, and light green. There is a line form on the grass from the left side of the painting that ends on the right to a tree. The form and technique used for this painting was innovative with the flat application of color. The most significant form of the painting is of the nude woman and also the woman by the pond.
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