Instructions:
- apply constructive criticism model in evaluating a design OR artwork
- choose anything on the internet!
- upload brief and succinct report on blog
This is a painting, in oil paint, titled ‘Godspeed’ by Edmund Leighton. It is known to the public in 1900, exhibited in the Royal Academy of Arts, Britain.
The main focus of the painting is the woman and the man. A ginger woman, wearing a patterned, cream gown perched on the front step, with her hands holding on to a red fabric that rests on the arm of an armoured knight. They are looking at each other. There is a banister separating them. There are flowers in the background on the woman’s side. On the knight’s side, there are smaller figures of other men ahead of him, dressed in the same attire as the knight in front.
The visual effect of this artwork displays a variety of mild colours (pastel yellow, light brown, green), bright colours (red, ginger, pink) and dark (deep brown, grey).
The texture of this painting is luminescent due to its medium being used (oil paint). For the colours used, there is a contrast between light and dark, intense and mild, allowing to painting to be very striking to both a trained and untrained eye.
The proportion of people and the architecture is very drawn to scale, allowing this painting to be realistic.
The woman is tying the red fabric on his arm. The man is likely her lover, due to their close proximity and intense eye contact. The man is going to war or battle, and they are bidding each other goodbye, correlating to the title ‘Godspeed’.
The artist is trying to show a farewell between two lovers. The smaller men ahead in the background signals that the knight is is lagging behind, as there are no soldiers beside him.
The colour red communicates intensity and passion, foreshadowing the values that a soldier must have in order to fight for war. The pastel creamy white is a colour that signifies purity.
(reminder to self: my personal evaluation based on my understanding of the work)
This artwork communicates the themes of duty and love. Subthemes can include yearning (for each other), risk (of never seeing each other again due to the brutal reality of war), loyalty (to each other, but also to the country) and law (the obligation to obey it). It is clear that the knight has chosen duty and loyalty to the country, expressing the painful reality of so many couples that part in light of war.
This is a timeless artwork, because even today, war is still waging.
Shortcomings –> really hard to find….. what’s lacking? i think im afraid to sound unrefined in my judgement and end up sounding like some aunty on stomp ..
But to really put the poison out there, I think the facial expressions should be captured more aptly. For now, I can only see the side profile. The man doesn’t even show any emotion, he looks apathetic. I can barely see the woman’s face too. It would be more emotion-provoking if there is a sliver of emotion.
Side note: maybe there are perhaps reasons as to why this is so, like a poker face reflects how the man tries to keep his emotions in, or maybe this artwork intends the audience to interpret however they want. But that’s just my balance argument. hehe
