John Singleton Copley and Benjamin West were both painters and portraitures. John Copley and Benjamin West both had very distinct styles of artwork. There were also some comparisons between their artwork(s). I have decided to look further into Copley’s and West’s artwork(s) and this is what I have found.
John Singleton Copley’s painting: Mars, Venus, and Vulcan: The Forge of Vulcan features Venus which is the symbol of love and sex. It shows Venus as very seductive young woman. It also has cupid’s arrows which also represents love. Half of the painting is painted dark giving the painting a dreadful feeling.Half of the painting is painted light giving the feeling of relief.
There are three cupids in the picture doing completely different things. One of the cupid’s is silencing everyone, one is tormenting the soldier while the last one tries to steal the soldier sword. There is also what seems like a peasant in the painting trying to get some of Venus love potion. The texture on this painting is very smooth. The tree looks realistic and so do the clouds.
The colors in the painting that stands out is red and blue. Red represents strength and blue represents trust.This painting tells a story about a soldier who cannot be seduced easily not even by Venus’s love. Copley’s portrait: Mrs. Samuel Quincy is painted in black and white.
The brushstrokes on this portrait are smooth. The texture of the shirt sleeve on Mrs. Quincy is oily but the texture of the rest of the portrait is smooth and polished. The first thing that my eyes see when I look at this portrait is the hat that wealthy people usually wear when they are going to a gathering. The background of the portrait is black but it does not give the picture a gloomy feeling because the portrait is white.
In the portrait Mrs. Quincy is holding a flower which is sprigs of larkspur that represents devotion. By the portrait viewers can see that Mrs. Quincy is of some sort of wealth. This portrait tells the story of a loving a devoted wife. Benjamin West’s painting: The Savage Chief (The Indian Family) shows a Native American Chief, his wife, and young child.
The painting is painted in black and white. The Chief is muscular. The Chief’s wife looks young as if she is in her mid to late 20s. The Chief looks as if he is the head of the household. The wife looks as if she is respectful towards her husband.
The people in this painting are in the woods or forest . The texture of the painting is smooth with a touch of rough. There are more curved lines in Benjamin West’s paintings and portraits than in John Singleton Copley’s paintings and portraits. The first things that my eyes fall upon when I look at the picture is the way the husband is standing.
The husband stands like he is a master. This painting tells the story of a young woman who loves and respects her demanding husband. Benjamin West’s painting: The Death of General Wolfe shows a general who is dying in war.The general and his soldiers are wearing the color red which represents war, strength, and domination.
Half of the clouds are midnight black which represents death meaning that the end is near. The other half of the clouds is a light blue which represents healing and health meaning that a new beginning will come. The painting also shows a gun which represents protection. The texture of this painting is a little rough and polished.
Benjamin West used short dominant brushstrokes in this painting. The first thing that my eyes fall on when I see this painting is the Native American soldier that is crouched down by General Wolfe.This painting tells a sad story about a general who is willing to die for his citizens. This story also tells a hopeful story about unity between two completely different civilizations. All in all, these two artists use similar textural techniques in their paintings and portraits.
Benjamin West use more curved lines in his paintings. John Copley mainly painted people of wealth opposed to Benjamin West. Both painters used oil canvas for their paintings and portraits. Both painters always have an eye catching art piece for every type of eye.
