Paragone Discussion

Paragone Summary Questions for “Standing in the Shoes” assignment:

Michelangelo vs. Da Vinci

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1. Do you think that one type of art is superior to another?
We didn't think that one kind of art is superior to another. Sculpting and painting are both amazing and equally take quite a bit of work to produce. It's just a matter of the talent that the individual artist has which determines its “worth”. We all gained more an immense appreciation for the process of actually sitting down, planning, and creating art in whatever form that it occurs.
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2. Do you think a discussion such as the Paragone is useful?
We thought that the discussion was useful as it allowed everyone to share both their unique as well as common experiences while working on their project. It also allowed us to learn from each other because artists need to draw on the experiences and inspiration of others to be able to create great works of art. In particular, Stephen could relate specifically to the paragone of Leonardo because he listened to music while sketching and found that it did help him relax and enjoy the process more. Kevin realized how technically difficult it was for Da Vinci to produce accurate looking sketches but concedes Leonardo’s point that it is easier to “repair damage” produced in painting (or sketch) more easily than a mistake in sculpture.
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3. How did your week as an artist influence your interpretation of this reading?
It definitely gave us all an insight into the real world experiences of an artist. It gave us a familiarity with producing art that made the reading more applicable. Those that did the sculpture could absolutely relate to the part where if too much material is removed then you pretty much have to start over. The group members who worked with soap noticed that chunks would break off quite easily making the process even more of a challenge. LaTaira ended up switching to wax as a more “solid” medium. Melanie in her effort to create a dolphin (and as soap shavings lay scattered on her couch) says she saw the process as more of revealing the dolphin within the soap bar by just removing everything that wasn’t her dolphin. Jenna found it hard to carve smoothly. Carving her domino was a lesson in concentration and patience.
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4. Did your group reach a consensus?
Yes, our group did reach a consensus in that all of us do not think that one type of art is superior to another. It all depends on the talents of the individual artist and all of us can appreciate a great work of art no matter whether it is a sculpture or painting. Also even though the assignment took either as much or more effort than planned, we all really enjoyed the experience. It allowed us to explore art further than just face value.
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"Standing in the Shoes"

“Standing in the Shoes” of Michelangelo – Melanie Zoch

I had fun carving, I may take it up as a hobby.  I just took the advice of something I read once about sculpting and that is to take away all that which is not your object.  I just took off everything that did not look like a dolphin.  I wish I had a bigger bar of soap and if I continue in this hobby, I will find a larger medium, maybe wood to work with. I did buy carving tools at Wal-Mart.  I appreciate the patience it takes to do this, but the reward is worth it.  It feels good to create something.  I am artistic anyway so I really enjoyed this assignment.  Doing it yourself is better than just looking at someone else's work.

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“Standing in the Shoes” of Michelangelo – LaTaira Wilburn

After three tries with three different bars of soap I decided to use a candle which was much easier to sculpt than the soap because it was not as soft.  Carving the candle into a potted flower took a very long time because the slightest mistake could have ruined the entire sculpture.  Sculpting the petals was the hardest part of all at first I started out with square petals and then began to curve the rounded edges which was harder than I thought.  After doing this I now have a lot of respect and appreciation for artists such as Michelangelo; the time, effort, and creativity that it takes to make a sculpture amazes me.
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“Standing in the Shoes” of Michelangelo – Jenna Sumners

I attempted to sculpt a domino out of soap. Even though it was not a complex thing to carve, it still took me quite a while. It was really hard to get a perfectly rectangular shape, so I ended up with a fairly small domino with a curved back. It makes you respect those who have the diligence and talent to sculpt something so perfect it could be real if it weren't made of marble or stone. I chose a domino because in a way people are like dominoes. If dominoes are set up on end side by side in a line, and you push one over it will hit the next one which will hit the one beside it...etc, until all of the dominoes are knocked over. As people, we thrive on social interactions, and the things we do and say may only appear to affect one person, but in reality it could affect everyone that the person comes in contact with afterwards; a domino or ripple effect.

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“Standing in the Shoes” of Da Vinci – Stephen Warren

In order to demonstrate the various techniques used by da Vinci, I chose to do a sketch of a painting called “Oceanside Villa” by the artist Silverado.  The atmospheric change between the foreground and background is demonstrated in the way that the foreground is an enclosed courtyard and the background is the wide open ocean and the fresh, clear blue sky.  Perspective in the sketch is demonstrated by the use objects in the foreground and background.  In the foreground, the objects that stand out the most are the two pottery planters, whereas in the background, the eye is drawn to the two boats on the beach which appear much smaller and this effectively demonstrates perspective.  The vanishing point is the horizon where the parallel lines of the ocean and sky meet just above the boats.

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“Standing in the Shoes” of Da Vinci – Kevin Thomas

I chose to stand in the shoes of Leonardo Da Vinci and make a sketch using some of the principles that he used often in his artwork. I started with the idea of a courtyard that incorporated both several of the architectural elements seen during the time of Da Vinci (colonnade, fountain, etc) along with modern architecture (window sill, door structure, etc). I made an attempt to create an Atmospheric/ aerial perspective by lightly applying diagonal shading to more distant objects in an effort to create the “blueing” that is very noticeable as objects retreat from the foreground to the background in Da Vinci’s color paintings. Of course since I was standing in the shoes of Da Vinci, “my” shoes were available to be placed in two locations within the drawing to show scale and depth. The shoes located far away to the right are made smaller and less distinct emphasizing their position in the background, while I tried to draw the shoes which are located near and to the left more distinctly with a heavier stroke and less shading. The vanishing point is far in the background directly above the fountain’s water spring and to the left of the middle column. I created the vanishing point with: the four (4) dark/ slanted horizontal ground/ roof lines, the different height of columns (middle is the longest), and the vertical water fountain sprout beneath.

Van Gogh - Artist Description

Van Gogh - Artist Description

Vincent van Gogh was born March 30, 1853 in the village of Groot-Zunder in the Netherlands. His father was a Dutch minister. He had three brothers and three sisters, although one brother, after whom he was named, was stillborn. Van Gogh attended a boarding elementary school. While in middle school he showed an increasing interest and talent for art. Eventually, Van Gogh became an art dealer but was unsuccessful and was later fired. He then turned to religion and worked for a while as a minister’s assistant. Ultimately he failed in his attempt to become a theologian, unable to handle the rigorous theology study and examination that was required.

Leaving theology school he worked temporarily as a missionary in Belgium but didn’t get along with church authorities because he, in their view, demeaned their “holy” profession by living among the people and making them subjects of his artwork. Van Gogh attended the Royal Academy of Art where he received a formal study in Art. He then moved home, continued drawing and fell in love with and proposed to his cousin (Kee). She along with family denied his proposal, which eventually prompted him to leave furiously.

Van Gogh moved to The Hague, the Netherlands where he had children with a drunken prostitute from whom he caught gonorrhea (she killed herself many years later.) He left her and moved back in with his parents in Nuenen, the Netherlands. It was there that Van Gogh’s father died. Around this time he used lots of dark colors in his art work (not the bright impressionistic painting he later became renowned for).

Moving to Antwerp in Belgium, Van Gogh attended the Academy of Fine Arts. During this time he allegedly caught syphilis and possibly even got a village art model pregnant. Continuing his nomadic ways, Van Gogh then traveled to Paris where he studied a wide variety of impressionistic painting/ painters (learned about pointillism/ visible brush strokes/ use of bright complementary colors/ depictions of ordinary subject matter etc.)

He then spent time giving art lessons and painting with fellow artist Paul Gauguin in Arles, France. A dark time in his life in part derived from a turbulent friendship with Gauguin began and culminated with Van Gogh cutting off a part of his earlobe while suffering from delirium and terror of being poisoned. Van Gogh was taken to a psychiatric infirmary and later began attending sessions with a physician, Dr. Gachet. He continued painting throughout this time. In the end, Van Gogh’s depression and despair became more profound. He shot himself in the chest and died in bed a few days later at the age of 37.

Over the next few paragraphs, we will examine three of Van Gogh’s most famous and admired paintings, “The Potato Eaters”,“The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum,” and the “The Red Vineyard."


The Potato Eaters
“The Potato Eaters” was Van Gogh's first conscious effort to gain acceptance within the art community. At this point in his life, he only had five years of study behind him, yet he was eager to prove himself to the world.

This piece was unique in the fact that the peasants of the picture were not sugar coated; the piece was a “real peasant painting.” Van Gogh said that he “wanted to convey the idea that the people eating potatoes by the light of an oil lamp used the same hands with which they take food from the plate as they did to work the land, that they have toiled with their hands—that they have earned their food by honest means." The painting that was completed consisted of five people sitting around a square table eating potatoes, one of them is male and the other four are females. Although the piece is dark and bleak, the emotions in the faces of the occupants are clearly visible. “These figures are so intense that one can nearly hear the conversations being spoken around the table”, perhaps this layered with the darkness is what draws one to examine the smaller details of the painting.

The significance of Van Gogh’s piece “The Potato Eaters” was that, although the piece never gained the acknowledgement or notoriety that he yearned for during his lifetime, today the piece has garnered great acclaim within the artistic community and is widely considered to be his first masterpiece.


The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night
"The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum," was painted in 1888 towards the end of his life in the south of France. He was excited by the unique colors and light that he found in the south of France. He was also eager to experiment and tried to show the range of colors seen at night in Arles.

It is the first painting that Van Gogh did in his most famous series of 3 paintings that included "Starry Night" and "Starry Night Over the Rhone". I chose this piece because of my love for it. The contrast of the bright yellow walls which give it so much warmth, and make it so inviting, with the darkness and dreariness of the city on the right is striking. The brightness of the sky together with the vivid yellow stars shining over the people outside the café adds an extra element of hopefulness and interest to this fascinating outdoor scene.

To me, as well as millions of other people, this painting tells a significant and compelling story. I see it as a view of a warm and hopeful place bustling with people, with the darkness and uncertainty of the rest of city almost eclipsed by the bright yellow of a happy and lively place. The stars overhead convey a sense of warmth and benevolence, looking down on this cheery and magical scene. I love this painting and always have because it speaks volumes about the human spirit, a spirit that yearns for the warmth, comfort and friendship our fellow human beings.


The Red Vineyard
During his life, Vincent van Gogh was never famous as a painter and struggled to make his living as an artist. Van Gogh sold only one painting from his vast collection of works while he was alive, "The Red Vineyard", making this painting both unique and significant in this aspect. The painting sold in Brussels for 400 francs only a few months before his death.

"The Red Vineyard" is one of his most vivid paintings and one of his first attempts at painting an actual outdoor scene that he was physically looking at, while trying to learn from, and somewhat mimic a fellow painter, Paul Gauguin. I chose this painting for its practical and aesthetic appeal, as it depicts a scene that was probably quite common in those days.