Introduction
Art always has a deep meaning depending on the interpretation and analysis of the audience. Artists always have the meaning in mind when choosing what they will have or include in the art piece. Most interpretations of art pieces have been drawn depending on the society and the time of the art (Parry, 2010). Time and subject are essential considerations when interpreting art. Different features in art can be analyzed differently from one time to another. Modern art has borrowed a lot from the art in the older periods to pass on different messages to people in a way that respects the elements of art.
Annunciation by John Collier is a 2000 modern art piece of what Leonard da Vinci did with The Annunciation of 1475. John Collier made a modern-day representation of this art piece, including features that differentiate it from da Vinci’s pieces. Most of the ideas of this painting have been borrowed from the 1475 painting and aim to pass a similar message on with a modern-day approach. Art has revolutionized over time, and the inclusion of ideas different from Leonard da Vinci’s 1475 piece indicates that society looks at art in a more classical and modern way. The different elements like light, strokes, color, background, lines, and the intended message are evaluated to analyze art accurately. Different styles in the art piece are used to identify the category in which the art piece falls and why the artist used that particular style (Parry, 2010). In this paper, we will look into Annunciation by John Collier and the elements featured in the piece.
Annunciation by John Collier
Painted in 2000
Retrieved from http://www.stmonica.ca/painting/the-annunciation-john-collier
Analysis of the Annunciation
John Collier’s Annunciation is Christian art, and the analysis will be based on the message that the artist intended to pass on a Christian approach. Annunciation is borrowed from the Biblical annunciation of the birth of Jesus. The biblical annunciation had the angel Gabriel telling Mary that she had been chosen to carry Jesus, who would save the world (Saint Monicas Paris, 2023). In the art, John Collier has included a woman and the image of a man. The woman represents Mary, while the man represents Gabriel. The image of the man includes wings, which differentiates him from other men as an angel. In this painting, Mary is wearing a blue dress with what seems to be a white color. She also wears white socks and some shoes. She is holding a red book, and it is difficult to tell if it is an ordinary book or a Bible.
The long blue dress and the white shirt are a modern representation of a young schoolwoman. The color of the clothes indicates that she was young and a naive schoolgirl, which in the modern day is mainly related to virginity, as in the Bible. The girl’s posture also indicates that she is surprised by the presence of the angel Gabriel, as it was in the Bible. She seems meek and humble, and her posture and dress indicate reverence (Saint Monicas Paris, 2023). Her shirt’s blue and white colors also convey the message of peace and calmness. The color of the image of the angel includes gold, which was, at that time, only used to represent the riches of God. The image of the man is also shown in a long form of dressing, which is cream and golden. This is an everyday dress seen in most images used on men of God, angels, and biblical figures of the time (Saint Monicas Paris, 2023). The posture of the man image is bowed in respect, and as a religious gesture, most people do in churches or places of worship. This posture also indicates that the message, which, in this case, is Angel Gabriel, hopes that Mary will accept the message from God.
The surroundings of this painting also include lilies, which indicate purity. Around annunciation is the central theme of purity. Mary, from the Bible, was chosen because she was pure. It is challenging to tell purity from the image of Mary but to ensure that people get the interpretation of purity, the artist has included lilies. ThAove perched on the house’s roof nearby, as the biblical representation of the holy spirit. According to the book of Luke 3:22, the holy spirit is said to have descended like a dove (Saint Monicas Paris, 2023). The distance between her and the dive shows that God is looking over her and that she is expected to give her response to the message that the angel came to deliver. The artist has attempted to make the meeting of Angel Gabriel and Mary holy, as the Bible explains. Because he cannot put that in words, he has emphasized symbolism, which, if correctly interpreted, gives an accurate meaning to the audience.
John Collier also included proper lighting in the painting. In the images of Mary and the angel Gabriel, the light used is greater than that of the surrounding, indicating that the audience should focus on the images. The surroundings also include modern structures, which we can see from the background. The artist has differentiated this painting from the Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci. The art depicts modern and classical times. The architecture in the background is not close to the art of the 1400s. The environment has included what we find in modern-day homes, making it easier for the audience to relate to the environment and what Mary might have felt when she received the news (Saint Monicas Paris, 2023). The doorstep has a mat that symbolizes that angel Gabriel, and the message he came to deliver were welcome. In modern days, most homes have door mats, which indicate the owner’s home and that the guests are welcome.
Conclusion
The art piece Annunciation by John Collier tells of the events before the conception of Mary, where Angel Gabriel gives the news. The interpretation of the artwork has been based on the Biblical narrations of the events and symbolism. Because it is a painting, most of what can be spoken has been put down in symbolism. A Biblical approach and a breakdown of events have been made to understand the pain. The emphasis is on the color and size of the dress. Although these two do not mean that they are pure, the topic in question indicates that the dressing represented purity.
References
Parry, J. D. (Ed.). (2010). Art and Phenomenology. Routledge.
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=NgqsAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=The+Annunciation+(John+Collier)&ots=gkVrLHtXZz&sig=NReuF0l5dpqaTOt6s4z3Hd_g24c
Saint Monicas Paris (2023). The Annunciation by John Collier
http://www.stmonica.ca/painting/the-annunciation-john-collier
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