HOW TO UNDERSTAND A WORK OF ART

The goddes and the dancer

Venus from Milo
around 100 BC

Looking at the illustrations you will realise how much depends on the material used by the artist. The first illustration shows Venus (Afrodyte) - the Greek goddes of beauty, the second one a balet dancer. The period in which they were made has certainly had a great effect on the two ladies (the difference is about a thousand years), but not only that. The materials that they are made of play an important role here as well. Venus, made out of marble is idealised - her skin is smooth and the drapery bends quite sharply and looks a bit "stiff" - these are the qualities of marble. The dancer made out of bronze looks totally different to the ancient sculpture of the goddes - she is much more realisitic. Molten metal which is used to make casts gives away even the smallest detail. It is worth noticing that in bronze there is the possibility to obtain contrasts of facture: the face and upper part of the body are rather smooth, while her skirt has a distinct facture. The surfaces of Degas` sculptures (he was actually more of a painter) remind us of brush strokes on a canvas.

EDGAR DEGAS
Big dancer in her balet garment
1880 - 1881