Baroque period Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Baroque period - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to analyze one artwork of the Baroque Period, namely, the Judgment of Paris by Jacob Jordaens. This painting uses the medium of oil on canvas. It portrays a scene from Greek and Roman mythology where Zeus selected Paris to judge the most beautiful goddess among Athena, Aphrodite and Hera. Jordaens has portrayed Paris choosing Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess in this painting. This painting was created by Jordaens between 1620 and1625. In order to properly analyze the painting, this painting will be compared with other paintings created in the same era by different artists. The painting of ‘Judgment by Paris’ painted by Jordaens is quite characteristic of the Baroque art period. It takes inspiration from many of the artworks created during that time period and has the same elements of drama, tension and opulence. In terms of the composition, the painting depicts the three nude goddesses in the foreground along with Paris. While there are other figures in the background, Jordaens manages to cast them in the background. He skillfully does this by covering these figures in clothes so that they do not attract the eye in the first instance. He also blurs some of these figures by painting them roughly. Another technique used by Jordaens to create a distinction between the figures in the background and foreground is by casting the figures in the foreground in bright light while those in the background have little light cast upon them. The three goddesses in this way are the most prominently displayed figures as their bodies glow the most and they are shown with curvy bodies. This technique of light and dark in the painting is quite characteristic of Baroque art. This can be observed in many such paintings of the same era such as ‘Midas and Bacchus’ by Nicolas Poussin. Poussin also uses the same technique to bring his main