The Subject is Color
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- The Tragedy of Lucretia, Botticelli
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- swatches
The Subject is Color
“The Tragedy of Lucretia”
Sandro Botticelli
a. Immediate response: Although the piece uses a variety of color, some of which are amped up more than they would be in real life, in relation to each other, the colors are very believable. The color palette is fairly “earthy,” and although it does utilize a range of colors, it in no way distracts from the narrative of the piece.
b. Objective description: Within this piece’s range of earthen reds, yellows and greens, a clear historical narrative is present. In a room on the far left a woman is attacked by a man with a dagger. In the arcade on the right, a woman—potentially the same woman as on the left, is found dead by three men, who look alarmed. The center of the painting feature a courtyard in front of an arch of triumph, in which soldiers with swords, capes and armor either make to kill or attack a woman lying on a black pedestal.
c. Formal matters: Botticelli’s painting is fairly warm overall, featuring many bright whites and yellows that contrast with the dark clothing worn by the military men, as well as the deep greens worn by the women. It utilizes a single point perspective that recedes in the back of the center of the piece, creating a balance, almost symmetrical composition. The colors are not overwhelming, but are still very rich.
d. The story it tells: As the title implies, the work tells a story of tragedy. Although I don’t know the precise historical background personally, it is clear that the subject matter involves a woman, or multiple women, who are victimized by a group of militaristic men. As mentioned before, the bright lightness of the buildings and the blue sky of a clearly lovely day do reinforce this idea because the clothing of the men is dark, and feels out of place and ominous. The woman dressed in deep green doesn’t seem to suit the scene either.
4. The online color reproduction differs from the original in that it is dulled down—the colors in the piece in person were a bit more vibrant. The online reproduction also does not have the oil paint sheen to it that the piece had in person.
5. For a painting, this piece is remarkably smooth. Once of the benefits of viewing a work in person, for me at least, is usually being able to see the texture. Online reproductions are deceiving because regardless of what the piece looks like in person, online, they are flat. This piece is physically flat in person, but the skeptical online viewer may not be able to know that for sure.
6. Viewing the piece is person was obviously much more dynamic—I could physically get up close to the painting to look at the brushwork, or I could back up and view it overall. You can zoom in and out on an image online, but the experience is not quite the same.
7. I definitely prefer viewing the work in person to online because I love being able to get up close to a painting and really look at it. I also feel like it’s much easier to get in an artist’s shoes when you have his physical painting in front of you, not an online reproduction.
