An Analysis of a Certain Piece of Painting: North and South (Essay Sample)

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Recognition- North and South
Constant Mayer was a French artist who migrated to the United States in 1857. His topics were mostly sentimental and religious. His work, Recognition: North and South is a famous piece of work that he painted in 1865.It is a large painting.The medium used was oil on canvas. The American civil war was arguably the darkest and bloodiest chapter in the history of the United States. The work is a depiction of just how ruthless the American civil war was. Typical of Mayer's work, the piece induces a combination of sadness and remorse of what transpired during the civil war. This paper is going to analyze every aspect of the piece and offer an opinion of it.
Formal Analysis
This painting is a typical embodiment of sfumato. This is a style that employs the use of light interplay that has a distinct smoke on the work. Such a style was very prevalent in Italy during the Renaissance. The major effect of sfumato is that it brings the painting into life. It immerses the viewer into a direct context of what the painting is all about-the battlefield experience. The general outline of the painting is very vivid. The outline is however darkened and pushed to the background by the effect of the sfumato. The artistic style employed through the sfumato is consistent with the general methods used during that time. This is highlighted by the haziness of the surrounding landscape as shown in the background of the painting. The painting grows clearer when brought closer to the viewer.
In the analysis of the lighting, the viewer comes into focus. The combination of the outline and the sfumato makes the lighting appear as if the sun was right above the viewer. The lighting seems dull; a probable indication that night is approaching. This is also a likely message that darkness is befalling the dying soldier and sadness engulfing the Confederate soldier holding him.
Further Analysis
Recognition: North and South is a painting that depicts a dying soldier being held by another soldier. These two are brothers. The soldiers of the Confederacy wore a grey uniform while the Union soldiers wore blue. The painting depicts this very clearly .The dying soldier is clearly the Union soldier while the one holding him is a Confederate soldier. They look like experienced soldiers as evident from their tattered uniforms. The dying soldier is lying on his side with his backside leaning against the rock. He seems to be slowly dyi...