synthesize this October 9, 2007

Thesis:  The influence of alcohol is the only way Krissy will be able to finish her English paper.

Antithesis:  Alcohol is not beneficial to the quality of a written paper or highly recommended while doing schoolwork.

Synthesis:   Although alcohol can help with fatigue, it may cause negative effects on grades.

Class topics:

Thesis:  Education is necessary to gain social status.

Antithesis:  A person is born into the social class that they end up in.

Synthesis:  Although a person can be born into a high social ranking, it is also possible to move up the social ladder by means of education.

differences between paintings (kyle) October 3, 2007

  The two pieces  being compared both depict scenes of war, the death of several individuals, and emoitions of people fighting and dying for somthing. The people in Delacroix’s piece that are fighting wear expressions of determination, the dead show no emotion in their facial expressions. this possibly infers that the people are at a peaceful state. Knowing they died with purpose for a just cause. The characters in Picassos piece are animalistic, making it hard to infere what the expressions are the dying have. but there seems to be more confusion, and despair. this may say something for the situation the people are in, a state of unbelievable, destruction and confusion.      

honorable vs. repulsing death October 3, 2007

Delacroix’s painting potrays the thought that there is just meaning behind war. He paints a picture of a beautiful woman leading a group of men who appear to be fighting for her; or in other words, they are fighting for something they believe in. The men that are dead, are not cut up, or bloody or dismembered or anything. They appear to have died a peaceful meaningful death that they could be proud of and that the people around them are greatful for.

Picasso’s painting on the other hand, completly contradicts all of Delacroix’s ideas. Picasso’s painting show us that his opinion of war is that it is very disturbing, and death is not pretty nor is it honorable. He does not leave the impression that he is for war at all and that he is probably a pascifist, because if  you look closely to the palm on the left bottom corner you can see a clearly marked pentagram which is a pegan sign and considered to be very witchcraft like, and especially hated at the time.

These two paintings are completly different views and reflect the idea of war being very honorable and to die in battle as a glorious death. and the other view is that war is not honorable and there is nothing glorious about dying in battle, in fact it is repulsing.

the blessings and curses of war in Rocky’s eyes October 3, 2007

Delacroix’s and Picasso’s depication of war and death are definatelty different.  In Delacroix’s portrayal, there is hope in war.  The people have a reason to fight and to die for.  The dead people facial expressions are not horrified, or twisted,  they knew the cost of fighting, for whatever side they were on.  Picasso’s painting shows the side of unjust wars.  There is confusion, pain, screaming, and death.  Nobody knows what is going on.  The dead and living both want to live.  Others are wishing they could have died instead of their loved, that’s what I see in the mother’s eyes who’s baby has just died.  These are the differences between the paintings, the wars, and deaths.

The Eyes of Death By Ross T. October 3, 2007

Quickly glancing at the paintings one might think that both artist few death as something very terrible. Looking closer however you will see they have very seperate ideas on the matter. First observe Delacroix’s painting, look closely at the eyes of the fallen soldiers. They appear to be sound aspleep, peacfully dreaming like nothing is happening at all. We know that they are dead though and we make the connection that death is a peacful quite thing. Now look at Picasso’s, the first thing you see is the mangled bodies and more importantly the repitious eye. The open eye is seen everywhere throughout the painting even in places it shouldn’t be. Picasso views death as terribley painful and horrific as opposed to Delacroix’s peacful view of death.

Posting 6– By Julia G.K. October 3, 2007

  The two visual texts are using different artistic styles. Eugene Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People is one of the famous Romanticism oil paintings. Delacroix said he had not fought for his country, so he painted for his country. He used his painting to shows that he had a strong wish for freedom. In the center of this painting is a woman her body is exposed, I think Delacroix use the nude and robust woman to show people really want freedom. Later the French government bought this painting uses it as a reminder to the Louis Philippe of the July Revolution. Pablo Picasso’s Guernica is his finest cubism painting. He painted it to shows the senselessness of war. He created it from an actual event. In this painting, everyone looks full of sadness, and seems there is no hope. Like those people who died in a test of destructive capability of air force. I think sometimes war is an unnecessary and vile thing to happen.

Realism > Abstract… =( October 3, 2007

D.) Artwork is unable to use words to explain itself so it is up to the viewer to decipher the artworks meaning. They say a picture is worth 1000 words, the two paintings we are shown on pages C – 4 and C – 5 in our texts have many thousands of words written about them (I’m adding to that right now). These paintings are both about separate wars, but their symbolism shares many feelings felt by the creators. Both portray figures that took place in their respected wartime events. In Delacroix’s painting lady liberty is portrayed as a partially nude woman looking back on the rebels in their revolution. She is drawn lighter and higher than any of the other characters in the painting. This symbolizes the mobs righteous reason to fight for. In Picasso’s painting human figures look to be in pain and suffering. Being an advocate of realism I really find it hard to look at his painting for more than a few seconds without thinking it’s just a bunch of scribbles. Anywho I assume that the agonizing faces of the figures symbolize the pain and suffering that war brings to everyone, even those that do not partake in it themselves (it looks like a mother is holding a dead son or wife holding her dead lover on the left side of the painting.)

Posting 6- Jon Robitaille October 2, 2007

the living persons in both painters pieces serve as symbols. certain characters in the paintings carry a stronger message than others. for instance in the Delacroix piece the naked woman serves as the primary symbol. i believe she is there to represent that the people have been stripped of their rights and now they have come together to fight their oppressors. Picasso’s  piece carries a similar message however it is portrayed in a different manner. Picasso uses much more expression in his painting and the interpretation is left up to the viewer. i portray it to mean that people have been oppressed and are now willing to stand up and die for the rights they deserve.

Guernica and Liberty Leading the People October 2, 2007

The bodies in Guernica are mangled and twisted. It portrays the war as a slaughter and horrible. In Liberty Leading the People it portays war as a good thing and victory. It shows the good of war and winning. While Gurnica portrays how horrible war is and how bad war is. Picasso sees the humans getting killed and war as a bad thing. His painting just shows the killings. Delacroix portrays the magnificance of war and success.

may the force be with you or go to the dark side October 2, 2007

ok, so the paintings make me think of things such as star wars, or that one movie called “glory”. anyways…

Guernica is very dark. pain and suffering, no hope. shattered. disfigured. agony. the light in the painting only shows how darkness is prevailing over these people. this light is not for hope. this is showing that these people had no chance at hope because it was taken away from them. this is a slaughtering. helpless victims. no opportunity to fight for what they believed in. the assumption is that picasso is not giving this painting hope, when in reality, there was no hope to begin with in this painting. think about it, they were bombed. its devestation. compare it to a tornado on the great plains. the threat is known, but the surprise attack leaves little to no hope. picasso is just showing a side of war. one where you are unable to defend yourself.

delacroix’s painting is showing this sense of hope. maybe because these people in this revolution started this fight. they were not the innocent victims. they were prepared to fight, but with the hope they could win. this is where liberty leading the people and guernica are different. delacroix’s painting was creating a fight for something better, for good. picasso’s painting is a result of hatred. do not compare these paintings as if they were going for the same thing. yes, they are from the results of war, but what where their purpose in war? such as innocent victims of hatred or those creating a war for a better life? delacroix’s painting was for hope, because they were FIGHTING for something. picasso’s painting, they did not have a good chance to fight for themselves.  i see picasso’s pain in the painting comparable to what happened on 9/11 (innocent victims). delacroix’s painting shows hope and this would be comparable to the civil war (think of the movie glory, if you have ever seen it, for others, theres a part where he knows he is going to die, but he has hopes that his side (north) wins).

very similar October 2, 2007

Although these paintings are from different time periods the ideas in the paintings are very similart in ways. Both of these painting show agoney and death with in them. They are painted in differnt moods, Guernica seems to be more of a gloomy painting while Delacriox is more of a rejouceful painting thate truly shows the celebration of life rather than the mourning of the loss of life. These painitngs although very different show a great deal about the same topic of loss and death overall.

Delacroix and Picasso October 2, 2007

C. How do the dead bodies in the foreground of Liberty Leading the People compare with the tortured human figures in Guernica?  How do Picasso and Delacroix view the human cost of war?

The bodies in the foreground of Delacroix’s painting and the tortured bodies of Picasso’s painting represent the pain the people suffered in war. Delacroix views war as a nesscessary aspect of humans, if the people are upset with the government then they have the right to revolt against the current controlling power. Picasso was always against political drawings and paintings, but the dropping of bombs on the innocent civilians forced him to do Guernica. Guernica shows the pain and suffering of those that are caught in between the forces at war. Both paintings show the lose of life, the artists’ however, see the deaths of the people in different ways. This is mainly the cause of the events at the time they worked on these.

Delacroix & Picasso by Mariko October 2, 2007

C. How do the dead bodies in the foreground of Liberty Leading the People compare with the tortured human figures in Guernica?  How do Picasso and Delacroix view the human cost of war?

 The dead bodies of Liberty Leading the People are emphasized as well as the women. On the other hand, the dead bodies  of Guernica seem to be cut off by part and have same suffering face. Picasso and Delacroix view the human cost of war as bad and good thing . Delacroix emphasized the dead bodies but at the same time, he also did it for the women which seemed to be obtained through the fighting. Hence, he sees the both good and bad part in the war. In Guernica, Picasso seemed to express how terrible the human cost of war is by drawing a lot of scars on people’s body .

Thoughts on Visual Text By Tommy D October 2, 2007

Both of these paintings are very symbolic and have many hidden meanings.  Both painting are meant to show the horror of war and violence with the half naked man that died on bare earth and a small child holding two pistols in Liberty leading the People.  Then with Guernica their are men and women with horror in thier eyes.  There is a mother holding her child which looks to be dead.   A shattered sword wich probably is there to show this was a battle of some sort.  Much of the symbolism that is shown is expressed in the peoples faces.  Like the protective look in Lady Liberty over her people shows the power of liberty and pride over people. Or the look on the man who is dying at her feet you can sense through his facail features that he has a sense of hope after seeing her. Then in Guernica the looks of utter terror shows that these people are not only suffering physically but also thier souls are being tortured.  The symbolism portrays the feeling of the artist.  You can see what thoughts the artist had about the subject he was painting about through the faces of the subjects.

the cost of war, by Christian October 2, 2007

in Delacroix’s painting the dead people are a small part of the big picture. the main idea is that people should fight for liberty. Delacroix sees the dead as part of war, or colaterial damage in the fight for freedom. this is not how Picasso sees it. in his painting the dying people are what war is not part of it. i think this has alot to do with the context of each painting. the french revolution and a pointless german bombing. when delacroix made his painting it was to illustrate that war was the french peoples way to freedom and that freedom was their cause for war. in Picasso’s painting war is just people being killed. these two painter had differing views on what the human cost of war was, i think this is because of what was happening when they painted their paintings.

Comparing Suffering in Art by CamW October 2, 2007

C. How do the dead bodies in the foreground of Liberty Leading the People compare with the tortured human figures in Guernica?  How do Picasso and Delacroix view the human cost of war?

It is obvious to the casual viewer of art that in both paintings, the forms of people are being tortured and are dieing. Both are making strong political statements as well, though it is less evident just looking at Guernica if the history behind it is not know, whereas Liberty Leading the People  is obviously a political war message. But both make strong cases against war and the suffering it imposes on its people. The cost of war is so much greater than the “reward” and it is clear that these paintings depict that. For Liberty Leading the People, Liberty is shown as a woman, a figure to be seen, not just an idea–which is something tangible for the soldiers and it seems that she is giving hope to the soldiers. And it is hard to know what liberty and freedom look like until the war is over, even then it is not clear. It is a nice portrayal for the soldiers to realize what they are fighting for before they die. But both in the end paint a horrible picture of death and suffering that only stem from a war.

Both Ends of the (color) Spectrum, by Coleridge October 2, 2007

Picasso’s painting is more chaotic, whereas Delacriox’s painting is just a tad bit more calm. The bombing of Guernica probably hit close to home for the Spanish native, so he created a masterpiece. One of his first attempts at cubism, it still is amazing. Guernica is a dark painting, probably because he is sad, or mourning. Meanwhile Delacriox’s Liberty leading the people is bright, probably a more positive painting, Liberty is bright and a female. I believe that the painting is showing the glory and beauty of having it. The French people hope for liberty while the Spanish people morn for Guernica.

Delacroix and Picasso October 2, 2007

Delacroix and Picasso have two completely different views on war. In Delacroix painting there is a half naked woman standing tall than everyone else. If you look in the colored painting it shows that liberty has a “beam” of light shining down on her. I feel that the light shining down on her represents that she is the way. Her being half naked is representing how should the people be free and bare from their burdons. Delacroix is trying to show that peace can be won without death. He is also showing that war is a good thing eventhough death is upon them, the goodness over powers the death. Picasso’s painting is the complete opposite. There is no “leader” in this photo. All that can be seen is violence. The characters are either dead, being killed, injured, or is the one who is killing. Picasso’s painting is all about death, there is really no hope in this painting. Picasso is also using abstract images to explain/show the brutality of war and how it can not be over come.

interpreting symbolism October 2, 2007

Much can be interpreted by the paintings by Delacroix and Picasso about war.  The main focus of the painting by Delacroix is the half naked women standing tall in the center of the painting.  The puts an emphasis on her by usign a white around her so that she stands out from everything else.  The white seems to symbolize hope and that everything is going to be ok.  The woman herself is the symbol of liberty.  I also think that she symbolizes strength with liberty, maybe because women were a minority and the fact that she looks so powerful.  The dead men symbolize the cost of liberty, but in the end the results are worth it.  Picassos painting is the exact opposite as Delacroixs.  Delacroixs depicts war as a good thing, he shows the devastation, but that devastation is overpowered by results.  Picassos painting depicts war as a horrible act.  The people and their face symbolize the pain that everyone goes through.  The different shapes and their placements symbolize the chaos that comes with war and that it affects everyone and everything.  Nothing will be the same after.  It just shows that there is nothing that goes untouched and to fix everything that is messed up will take a lot of work, if it is even possible. 

Human Cost October 1, 2007

Eugene Delacroix and Pablo Picasso are from two different times yet their paintings portray death the same. Even though the styles of the two paintings are very different seeing hurt and pain in these paintings makes them hard to look at. Picasso’s painting is more a collage looking painting where the people and animals in it resemble cartoons. Delacroix painting is realistic and looks almost like he took the picture instead of painting it. Looking at  these paintings one could defintily tell that Delacroix and Picasso felt the same about human cost of war. They obviously felt the same in that people’s lives were not worth losing. They portray in their work that death is a horrendice thing and war is not the acceptable answer. It was very disturbing to me to see these paintings because I do not do well with death and they show so much truth in these paintings about death that it is hard to imagine how the real war is.

Posting 6 – Delacroix & Picasso October 1, 2007

Due Wednesday 3 October before class.

Choose one of the following:

A. Compare the portrayals of war in Guernica and Liberty Leading the People.  How are the political messages of both paintings connected to their artistic forms?

B. How do the living figures in Liberty Leading the People compare with the living figures in Picasso’s Guernica?  How does each painting’s style affect its content?  Its message?

C. How do the dead bodies in the foreground of Liberty Leading the People compare with the tortured human figures in Guernica?  How do Picasso and Delacroix view the human cost of war?

D. Examine and compare the use of symbolism in these visual texts.  Where do you see the symbolism?  What connnections does this symbolism bring to mind?  What is the symbolism doing?