Comparative Essay: Renoir, Luncheon at the Boating Party and Caravaggio, Narcissus

The two pieces of art that I chose to compare are Renoir, Luncheon at the Boating Party, and Caravaggio, Narcissus. These two pieces art both depict the olden ancient times. There mode of dressing from the hairstyle which is a simple curly mode running down the ears. Again, both of the art are historical paintings each with a unique meaning and a possible historical explanation.

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The third similarity in both paintings is that they are both the great paintings of the artists. The first luncheon of the bating party was Renoir's largest painting in his artistic experience, the painting in measurement has the size of 51 by 68 inches by size. The other one, Caravaggio, Narcissus is legendary painting and a self-reflection for the life of Caravaggio who happened to be the most handsome man in his town but could not find his true match. The painting reflects his love for himself as he is trying to look at his image through the water.

There three differences that are evident in this pieces of art include the following, The first, the difference with the background of the two pieces of art is way different to each other, with the Caravaggio, looking at the scene of the painting, it is a simple and also minimalist. The drawing of a pitch-dark coloured ground, with an image of a young man who seems to be lean down the dark waters, the reflection of his image is evident. On the other hand, the Luncheon of the boating party is one among the best and finest and most versatile paintings. Looking at it, the piece of art is set on a restaurant on a balcony, the picture seemingly shows an impressing scene of a group of friends, looking at the picture, and the friends are having lunch on an afternoon. There is a newly constructed railway line at the back of the picture which denotes the modernity with the time that the painting was done.

The themes portrayed during which the paintings were done also sets as a significant difference, in the Caravaggio art, we are looking at a very handsome and who could not find someone else as lovely like him. The young man in the art ended up falling in love with himself as he got a view of himself from the reflection in the water. The art shows a lonely young man staring at the image of himself in water, the story behind the art tell that the young died of thirst since he could not get the image in the water that he had fallen in love.

On the other hand, the luncheon of the boating art shows a group of friends who are very happy having a meal at a restaurant; the art expresses love and unity, unlike the Caravaggio art which expressed loneliness and sadness. We are looking at men and women holding bottles and grapes and in a very happy mood. Some women and men seem to be interacting happily with one another as they enjoy their meal.

The third difference is with the mode of dressing and fashion. With the Caravaggio art, the young man is dressed up in the 16th-century style, which portrays him as pageboy which was the fashion at that time. In the Luncheon of boating art, some of the people in the pictures are casually dressed unlike with the young man in the Caravaggio art. Again, the seemingly newly built railway line shows the modernity of times with the Luncheon art, unlike the Caravaggio painting which expresses ancient times.

Conclusion

Paintings and art were used in the ancient times to communicate some themes and messages to its recipients. Great artists would capture moments that were very significant to the people and have them in paintings, these paintings were kept for decades, and the story behind them told from a generation to another. They were great symbols of culture and the ways of life.