Art

4 Pages 955 Words

David does a great job at directing the viewer’s eyes where he wants. Upon first looking at Gerard David’s lamentation (or as stated in the syllabus his deposition) the viewers eyes are directed towards St. John then to Christ himself. The main emphasis of the painting is the lamentation of Christ. The lamentation is emphasized by placing the characters in the fore ground in the center of the painting. The composition of the painting allows the viewer to see the whole painting while focusing on Christ’s lamentation. David made the painting so the viewer will see the background and the foreground as one then drawing the viewer’s attention to the foreground where St. John, Mary and Christ are. There are a few objects that are fascinating or attractive. One of the objects is the white lily in the foreground with a yellow flower. Another thing that attracts the eyes is the circular object to the left of the lamentation, which looks like the thorny crown Christ wore. There are also the nails that held Christ to the cross and the tools used to pull out the nails. Some objects are puzzling like the city in the background most likely Jerusalem or the heavenly Jerusalem. This is a huge beautiful city coming out of the hills behind St. John. Another is Joseph of Arimathea wearing a turban and exotic clothing. Joseph of Arimathea clothing is the only clothing of that style in the painting.
There are many first responses to David’s painting discussed in the first paragraph. How David promotes these responses is shown throw the space, placement of the viewer, light, color, line and shape, and the composition. For example, David provides much depth in his painting. He illustrates an illusionistic 3-D boundless space. He does this by having objects (like the cross) leave the picture plane. He has characters touching, with some in front of others and some behind others. He places the city of Jerusalem behind the main sce...