Benjamin West Venus and Adonis, Essay Example

Truly, art is in the eyes of the beholder. This is said as such because of the manner in which art has been completely subjective throughout the ages. It is such because of the fact that certain pieces of art bring about certain memories in individual’s mind. Because of the fact that these memories are personal and the memories that a certain piece of artwork may bring about may differ among a variety of individuals, art is completely based on the opinion and biased opinion of individuals. In addition to that, individuals might come to the conclusion that they like or dislike a certain piece of art on a specified day because of the kind of day that individual may be having. In this analysis, Benjamin West’s “Venus and Adonis” will be compared and contrasted with John Fulton’s “Folinsbee Lehigh Canal.” Despite the fact that these two images may contain meaningful portrayals behind the superficial image, the art will be analyzed through the viewer’s eyes and be completely opinion based.

To begin with, John Fulton’s “Folinsbee Lehigh Canal” can immediately identified as an image that deal with the mannerisms through which society is modernizing. Specifically, society is modernizing through the act of industrialization. The kind of colors that are used in the painting are both vibrant yet gloomy. The former may indicate the fact that this might be a very exciting point in society’s time, in which everything is becoming modernized and society is being catapulted into greatness. The latter, however, may refer to the idea that through so much modernization, society will eventually digress because of the fact that it will be leaving behind its ideologies, values, and traditions. If one analyzes the drawing closely, a man is seen walking next to what appears to be a wooden wall. This individual does not appear happy, but rather gloomy. Perhaps he has been worn down by so much industrialization in his environment? The fact that an artist is able to portray these two ideas through one simply image is breathtaking. Fulton fortifies the idea that industrialization is taking place because of the manner in which he was able to depict machinery in the far scenery of the picture blowing smoke up in the air. What this might represent is that society will slowly come to an end because pollution will create an unhealthy environment for individuals to keep residing in.

In regards to Benjamin West’s “Venus and Adonis”, the viewer immediately gets a sense of depression, stress, and sadness through the image that is portrayed. This is due to the kinds of colors that Benjamin West used in his depiction of Venus and Adonis. He could have been doing this in order to show how so many individuals were suffering in his time when undergoing the kinds of factors that they were undergoing at that time. If, however, a viewer is willing to take a closer look at Benjamin West’s image, the viewer will most likely come to comprehend the fact that there is no suffering going on in the image. As a matter of fact, the viewer might come to notice and see an abundance of happiness going on in the scene that is portrayed in the image. The reason as to why a viewer might first see a sad scene in the image is because of the colors that were used to depict the image. When a closer look is taken, however, children (or angels) are seen playing in the water with the adults under a tent enjoying each other’s company. Furthermore, the adult woman is seeing stretching out her hand as if she is saying “Enjoy, my sons and daughters.” Though this might sound dramatic at best, considering the fact that art is subjective, any given viewer might get this impression if he or she decides to analyze the image at length.

If one were to compare Benjamin West’s image to John Fulton’s image, one would see two very distinct images. The former deals with nature and the manner through which happiness is achieved by being with one’s family. This is exemplified by the way everyone in the image is portrayed as being together and enjoying each other’s company, whether in the water or not. The latter, however, is a complete opposite, considering the fact that it is centralized around the idea of modernization. What is meant by this is that nature would be seen as taboo in Fulton’s image because of the fact that everyone in the society has modernized. So much so that not even a hint of nature is portrayed in the image. Every single aspect of Fulton’s image is made up of a society who has worked hard to attain the status that it is at the moment. Because of these reasons, both images are complete contrasts in all aspects and there are little to not similarities between the two paintings.

Despite the fact that these two images may contain meaningful portrayals behind the superficial image, the art was completely analyzed through the viewer’s eyes and was completely opinion based. Because of this, another viewer might not see any of the things discussed above. That is the beauty of art; the beholder can make anything of the image. He or she has the ability to create a whole different world within the image or he or she may decide to just take the image as it is and not see beyond the superficiality of it. Because of this, it is always interesting to decipher the kinds of things that certain individuals see when they take a look at certain pieces of artwork.