And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
I'm talking about the layout of the painting, not the layout of the town. The painting is crap because it's packed too full of everything. There's no space left.
Sir, you may wish to consider your level of artistic hubris, and recall what comes inevitably after hubris, before you post a comment like that. You reveal more about yourself than you intend.
The eye hits the dark foreground ship, whose sail drives it up and through the white sails of the tall ship in the background. Everything points to that ship, as it should be. There is plenty of open space, it is your mind that is closed.
Indeed, the sail of the scow in the foreground literally points at the Illuminated sail of the tall ship, and the bridge behind the scow is opened a crack to symbolically allow and invite our eye to travel in the intended direction. Genius in composition.
I think the artist is an idiot. Or, alternatively, the painting is targeted at people that have no connection with sailing, or knowledge of the practice. Probably both. He has a large square rigger ship, with two masts showing, (that would actually have at least three), with full sails unfurled and distended with air. They are quartered, and the ship should have a bit of tilt from all that thrust, and it is sitting, unmoving, in a harbor. One would not try to contain that with anchors. Sails up=anchors up, generally.
In addition, he has the small boats, with sails up at nearly the same angle as the square rigger, and they are limp. The main reason for having exposed sails while sitting still is drying them, or repair. It invites bad things to happen, when a gust of wind hits. Not a normal thing to do.
NOT a good composition. Way too much crap and thus nowhere to settle the eye.
ReplyDeleteI think the composition is correct. A port city, even in 1874, would have been a hive of activity. Have you never been a bustling market or wharf?
DeleteI'm talking about the layout of the painting, not the layout of the town. The painting is crap because it's packed too full of everything. There's no space left.
ReplyDeleteSir, you may wish to consider your level of artistic hubris, and recall what comes inevitably after hubris, before you post a comment like that. You reveal more about yourself than you intend.
DeleteThe eye hits the dark foreground ship, whose sail drives it up and through the white sails of the tall ship in the background. Everything points to that ship, as it should be. There is plenty of open space, it is your mind that is closed.
DeleteIndeed, the sail of the scow in the foreground literally points at the Illuminated sail of the tall ship, and the bridge behind the scow is opened a crack to symbolically allow and invite our eye to travel in the intended direction. Genius in composition.
ReplyDeleteNope... a crap composition. All it's lacking is the kitchen sink.
DeleteI think the artist is an idiot. Or, alternatively, the painting is targeted at people that have no connection with sailing, or knowledge of the practice. Probably both. He has a large square rigger ship, with two masts showing, (that would actually have at least three), with full sails unfurled and distended with air. They are quartered, and the ship should have a bit of tilt from all that thrust, and it is sitting, unmoving, in a harbor. One would not try to contain that with anchors. Sails up=anchors up, generally.
DeleteIn addition, he has the small boats, with sails up at nearly the same angle as the square rigger, and they are limp. The main reason for having exposed sails while sitting still is drying them, or repair. It invites bad things to happen, when a gust of wind hits. Not a normal thing to do.