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In your written exam you will
have to compare and
contrast the work of two
artists.
Compare and contrast
means describe similarities
and differences in the artist’s
work.
If you can remember the
following sentence it will help
you remember the points you
have to cover.
“Chocolate Cake Fills My Tummy Say St. Paul’s Pupils!!!”
Read over then remember the information below about each
artist’s work.
William Harnett
b.1848 – 1892
Harnett’s work shows a few
different layouts. In some
paintings objects were hung
on a wall or door, for example
‘after the hunt’, but in others
Harnett placed objects on a
table top and the still life was
captured straight on.
The layout looks random and
unplanned but Harnett
deliberately placed and
arranged objects to lead the
viewer’s eye around the
image.
THE ARTISTS
Juan Gris
b.1887-1927
Gris used a lot of table top,
straight on compositions.
He also, occasionally,
employed a bird’s eye point of
view.
His compositions were very
grid-like, with lots of straight
C
lines and angles.
for
He quite often placed the
COMPOSITION largest object in the centre of
the piece giving a triangular
shaped layout.
He often overlapped colours
and shapes through the
objects which leads the
viewer’s eye around the
piece.
The overlapping collage
technique he used tended to
make the compositions look
very busy.
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dark, rich, sombre
Often places a large object
near the centre of the image
to draw in the viewer for
example, in ‘the old violin’ the
focal point is the violin as it is
the biggest object and placed
in the centre.
Oil paint
Harnett built up very thin
layers of oil paint to create a
very smooth, flawless finish.
C
for
COLOUR
F
for
FOCAL POINT
M
for
MATERIALS/
MEDIA
Dark, obvious, strong, bold,
dramatic
Harnett often used one direct,
strong light source like a
spotlight to create lots of
shadows and highlights to
give a feeling of depth in his
work.
T
for
TONE
Fairly bright, opaque colour
which was applied flat and
then worked in to.
He used colour families to
pull the whole piece together.
Many focal points, as
mentioned in composition, he
often placed the larger
objects near the centre of the
work to draw the viewer’s eye
in and then the overlapping
objects, shapes and colours
draw your eye around the
image.
Oil paint, gouache paint,
Pencil, collage.
He used more than one
media in each piece which is
called mixed media.
Often tone was quite dramatic
as he used white and black in
a lot of his pieces.
He often employed tone
around each objects in a
smooth, glowing manner to
allow each object to stand
out.
Mostly occupation or hobby
related:
Hunter - After the hunt
Musician - The old violin
Banker - The bankers table
S
for
SUBJECT
MATTER
Traditional still life object such
as bottles and glasses. He
used musical instruments, in
particular favouring, violins
and guitars.
Still life – traditional
Extremely realistic,
‘trompe l’oiel’ - trick of the
eye.
S
for
STYLE
Cubism – semi abstract, this
means the objects are
recognisable but highly
stylised and simplified.
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Sharp angles, grid-like
structure.
Bold outlines around shapes,
black or white.
Harnett created pattern in his
work by repeating shapes
and colours throughout. He
tended to repeat colours such
as browns and ochres
through objects and then also
repeated them in the
background making the work
feel complete.
P
for
PATTERN
Very precise and detailed,
the brushstrokes are not
visible.
P
for
PROCESS
Gris creates pattern in his
work by using a similar,
stylised outline around has
objects.
Repeats diagonal/straight
lines throughout the piece.
He also creates pattern by
repeating similar colours
throughout the image.
Begin building up a collage
background and then works
on top of that.
The objects are outlined and
then some areas filled with
fairly flat colour, in oil or
gouache paint.
Tone is then added to make
the objects stand out and
give a feeling of depth.
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