Art History Form, Content, Context. The Ghent Altarpiece

Form, Content, Context.

The Ghent Altarpiece

Form

What is the size and scale of the painting? Is it small, life size or larger? It's important to know the dimensions of a painting. Saying that it's large or small doesn't provide enough information as people's ideas of large and small vary. It's subjective. The size and scale of a painting, especially portraits, can impact on a viewer's first response to a work.

What shape is the painting? Landscape or portrait? Is it a regular shape? Is there symmetry in the artwork? What is the composition? How are the elements arranged within the space? In the case of The Ghent Altarpiece there are twelve separate frames. Within them are a range of scenes and people depicted. The work is symmetrical, and the balanced composition draws your eye to the centre of the work which is the figure of Christ (or God) who wearing bright red robes. Using a variety of techniques, such as composition, colour, tone and line, an artist will lead the eye of the viewer to important people, objects or scenes they want noticed.

What sort of frame does the painting have? Some artworks have very elaborate ornate gold frames with floral designs or engravings. The fame does have an impact on how a viewer sees the overall work. It can enhance or sometimes detract from the painting.

What colours are dominant in the work? What medium has the artist used? Is there any evidence of mark-making? How was the paint applied? Can you see the texture of the brushstrokes? Colour is an impotent tool for an artist, not just to make it more real or lifelike, but also to help create mood and to attract the eye of the viewer. In the past some colours were more expensive than others so they were reserved for important figures such as kings. In The Ghent Altarpiece, the Virgin Mary is painted in a rich blue which was an expensive colour at the time. The Ghent Altarpiece is very large, measuring about 4m x 5m, painted in oils, and took several years to complete. The fact it was painted in oils allowed greater detail than the medium that was usually used by artists at the time, egg based tempera paint.

Content

What is in the painting? What style is it? What is the subject matter? Is it abstract or figurative? What is the artist saying? Is there a narrative? What symbols are there? What is their meaning? Symbols can relate to gestures that people are making, as well as different objects. It is important to make sure the meaning of the symbols is considered in relation to when the work was created. The meaning of symbols can change over time. There can be different theories about artworks, especially in relation to what they are about and why the work was made. It must also be considered where the painting was to be displayed and who would see it. Art galleries are relatively new. In the past, most works were created for the church, or to be privately displayed in someone's home.

Context

Why was the painting made? What or who influenced the artist? What effect did the work have on the public? Many old paintings depicted biblical stories. The artist would have likely been influenced by how other artists had in the past portrayed the scene, as well as what he wanted an audience to see in the work; the narrative. Most artists were commissioned by rich patrons or the church. An artist wasn't wealthy enough to paint a large work of their own choosing. They relied on a rich benefactor to commission a work. The patron sometimes wanted a subject painted that personal meaning for them. The Ghent Altarpiece for example, was displayed in a chapel where the people in the town could go and look at the paintings, and pray under them. One of the reasons the rich couple commissioned the work, was so the people in the town could see it. As the couple were childless, they had no children to pray for them after they died, so they had this painting made and put in the chapel so that the towns people could pray for their souls.