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  • Essay / Analysis and Interpretation of Rio Di Santa Maria Formosa by John Singer Sargent

    The piece Rio di Santa Maria Formosa by John Singer Sargent was a near and dear painting that he created from his many trips to Venice. Beginning these trips in the 1880s, he frequently painted watercolor landscapes, often in a gondola. This particular painting was created in 1905, during one of his escapades and takes its name from the Santa Maria Formosa church in Venice. This work is a landscape painting, done in watercolor on graphite and pen and ink on wove paper. This is a contemporary two-dimensional piece and a more realistic painting. This is a representation based on John's real-life accounts and includes color, shape, texture, space as well as line. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay. Colors include light blues and golds, as well as some whites. This includes the blue gondola and water, as well as blue accents in the buildings. The gold reflects on the water and on the bridge, brightening the landscape and giving it a heavenly look and a feeling of happiness. White is visible in buildings and the sky, as well as in water. The color palette most closely resembles the monochromatic palette. The shapes in this work are geometric, rectangles in the buildings and triangles creating the facade of the gondolas. When it comes to the texture of this piece, it's visual. Because it is a watercolor on wove paper, the painting does not actually have any texture, however, the way the water and shapes have been painted into the image creates a sense of texture. Space is created through the use of proportion and depth. proportion and depth are used to create smaller buildings and a smaller bridge along with their larger counterparts to create the feeling that some are closer or further away from the viewer, thus creating space. The lines created include vertical and horizontal lines, used in buildings and bridges, creating movement and carrying the eye through the landscape. As well as curved lines at the bottom of bridges and gondolas. The design principles of this piece are harmony, movement, informal balance and contrast. Harmony is created by the use of objects included in the room and the color palette, creating a feeling of fullness and happiness. Colors that complement each other and similar shapes everywhere. This piece shows movement through line work and the illusion of waves moving in water. This includes an informal balance as the work is not completely symmetrical but nevertheless comes together to create a visually pleasing and logical image. This is done by having some objects symmetrical like bridges and other objects that only have a slightly symmetrical appearance like buildings and other gondolas. Finally, contrast is created by color, shadows and lines. The gaze is directed to this room across the bridges and buildings, from top to bottom, as well as from side to side. The first and main thing that catches the eye is the front gongola, it is the largest image in the painting and its beautiful colors contrast it with the rest of the objects in the painting, such as the darkest shade of blue in the work . The gondola makes it feel like you're really sitting in the landscape and enjoying a ride through Venice. The background of this painting is made interesting by creating an almost endless feeling in the work, as if it is a photograph taken and the image continues to extend beyond the boundaries. He achieves this by adding vertical lines above the bridges.