Gonzalez 1

Celina Gonzalez

Art 1b

Professor Barrows

1:30-2:55
Formal Analysis

Placement and Saint Given a Sign

A formal analysis of Saint Given a Sign, N.D., (Mexican heritage center) by Carlos

Contreras expresses the faith between a saint and religion by using the formal element of

placement. When taking a first look at the painting the viewer sees the halo that has lines which

demonstrate directional force and those lines point the saint. That makes the viewers eyes

follow where the lines are going. What follows is the placement of the saint which is to the

bottom left quadrant and that makes the viewer feel as though the saint is closer to them. The

placement of the harsh lines on the clothing of the saint pulls the viewers down and to the

hands. There the viewer sees the placement of the cross in the saints hands. This shows how

important the cross and Jesus is in the painting because she is also with her eyes closed in a
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peaceful thought. The painting of the saints position how she holds the cross, the viewer can see

that there is a stable triangle. This makes the viewer feel that the painting is stable and his eyes

stay focused in the painting. The placement of the cross in the saints hands leads the viewers

eyes to the background. In the background the viewer can see that are small figures struggle

moving across the background with no end. Finally the viewers eyes end up at the top of the

background where are what appears to be a glass window and it has triangles inside. That makes

the windows appear solid and that they wont fall apart. Thus, the artist achieved his job of

having the viewer eyes follow the painting in the way it is intended to be analyzed.
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Color and No More

A formal analysis of No More, N.D., (Horton Gallery), by Mario Moreno expresses the

turmoil of life by using the formal element of color. Moreno uses acrylic on canvas as many

artists do today. The way Moreno uses bright colors like yellow and white are seen in the middle

to pull in the viewer. Moreno contrasts those bright colors with secondary colors and some dark

colors. This allows the painting to be balance out on all four quadrants, and it makes it easier for

the viewer to keep looking at it. The colored figures also use contrasting colors as though to

stand from each other. Color is also used to have the figures stand out from the background and

not be lost. The viewer can see that on the figures there are also white and yellow colors on them

to make them appear a bit 3-D. The artist manipulates the colors and has the viewer look at

around the painting by having different colors and having the figures close together. By having
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color instead of empty spots there appears to be no illusion space. The use of color helps

distinguished the bigger more important figures from the others. The scale between two

abstracted faces is significant because it is emphasized by the some of the primary colors, blue

and red. The blue face being bigger than the bright red face, gives a feeling of sadness that the

painter wants to portray to the viewer. Therefore, the artist by using color makes the viewer look

for the things within color and finds abstracted objects.