This is a pretty powerful viewpoint and one in which the depiction of depth is absolutely essential for the success of the painting. A few techniques create depth here. First, the really impressive precision with which Mantegna depicts the body from the severe angle does a lot of the work - for example, the chest's prominence, sticking out and obscuring the upper chest, shoulders and neck. There's also a slight diminishing of detail as we move back in the painting, especially on either side of the body. Most importantly, the strong lines of the arms, legs and edges of the bed utilize perspective to lead to the vanishing point, which (almost) approximately corresponds with the head and face, which is the center of interest. (The wounds - which fall along those same perspective-lines - are another center of interest.)
-Dave Hanyok
No comments:
Post a Comment