Art Comparison Paper (Term Paper Sample)

Art comparison
Name:
Institution:
Course:
Tutor:
Date of submission:
Description of the art
The first painting is "Samson and Delilah" by Peter Paul Reubens, which is of the baroque movement. The second painting is "Aquis Submersus" by Max Ernst, of the surrealism movement.
Figure 1: Samson and Delilah, by Peter Paul Reubens. 1609-1610.
Figure 2: Aquis Submersus by Max Ernst. 1919.
In fine art, the Baroque style is described as a fairly complex idiom which began in Italy (Rome), begun around 1600 and lasted through to 1730 (Stokstad, 2008). It was used for three mediums of art, which were architecture, painting and sculpture. The style, which was adopted after the periods of renaissance and mannerism, was mainly embraced in the catholic religion. Given this, most historians are of the opinion that it was a reflection of the religious tensions that existed before the times of industrial revolution and the contemporary period. The style was mainly used by catholic-aligned painters to fight against the protestant reforms, which were threatening the solidification of the church. Given this, Stokstad (2008) asserts that the style is synonymous with Catholic Counter-Reformation Art. The massive support for the catholic religion in Europe during those times was one of the factors that are attributed to the extensive use of the style in painting, architecture and sculpture. However, the use of the style in art in Europe was not primarily because of its religious meaning. For instance, Stokstad (2008) says that in Holland, it was embraced because if its appeal to the upper-class, who comprised of wealthy merchants, and the bourgeoisie.
Surrealism is an art movement which begun in the 20th century in France. The key dates of the movement were between 1920 and 1930. According to Harris (2004), the style is a literary one that is dedicated to expressing the imagination that the artist has in their dreams. Therefore, in nature, it is free of the conscious mind and reasons. The style draws heavily from the principles of dada, which was anti-rationalist in nature. However, the main difference between the principles of the two is that the former was lighter than the latter. According to Adams (2013), the style was also highly influenced by the new theories that were used to describe reality. It has been argued that the principle behind the movement was to "resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality into an absolute reality, as super reality (Harris, 2004). This is the reason behind the intense love of bizarre drawing techniques exhibited by the followers of the movement.
Adams (2013) argues that surrealism as one of the most influential movements in the 20th century. Beginning in France, it spread to other parts of Europe, being adopted by other artists who had dropped previous movements from the mid to late 19th century. This is because the artists were beginning to reject the boundaries to imagination set by these styles, and embraced the "modernistic" opportunity that was presented by surrealism. Despite the rebellion against the early movements, surrealism was less violent and more artistic. This is because it gave the artists a platform to combine both conscious and subconscious imaginations into an absolute reality. Today, arts historians describe the movement as a psychic automatism which is a manifestation of the real process of thought (Adams, 2013; Harris, 2004).
Location and origin
"Samson and Delilah" is a painting that was created by Peter Paul Reubens. Reubens was popular for such paintings in the 17th century, being recognized as one of the most influential Baroque movement painters. However, previously, there are reports that the painting was attributed to Gerard van Honthorst (Judson, 2013). The painter, of Dutch origin, was also one of the most popular ones of the similar style. The painting was completed between 1609-1610. Upon completion, it was presented to Alderman of Antwerp, who commissioned it. Other historians have said that Rubens worked on the painting while he was living in Rome in the 17th century. The theme of the painting is the shaving scene of the old Bible legend Samson.
Aquis Submersus was painted by German Dadaist max Ernst. Complete in 1919, it has been reported that the painting was influenced by metaphysical art, which was one of the artist’s early demonstrations of his prowess in surrealist accents. However, according to Porath (2005), the real inspiration behind the creation of this painting was an earlier one that shared the same name. Ernst was inspired by a painting done by Theodor Storm, which had been completed and published in 1876. Using the same techniques, brush strokes and most importanty, name, he created this painting on canvas that was recognized as one of his greatest works, and one of the most recognized paintings of the movement.
Why they should be compared
According to Morphy (2009) comparing works of art is guided by some important factors, including the significance of the paintings of the time period, their cultural and historical backgrounds and their contributions to the development of art. During the creation, the Baroque movement was one of the tools that the Catholic Church used to counter Protestants, who were beginning to gain momentum in terms of numbers in Europe. The painting depicts an important historical event in the history of religion. However, there are certain elements in the picture which contrast the actual account of Samson and Delilah in the Bible. The painting contains details of Venus and Cupid, which was perhaps a demonstration of the...