{"id":1046,"date":"2014-04-17T23:57:26","date_gmt":"2014-04-17T21:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.americanartistinrome.com\/plog\/?p=1046"},"modified":"2017-04-29T10:46:11","modified_gmt":"2017-04-29T08:46:11","slug":"seeing-is-believing-caravaggios-conversion-of-saul-formal-analysis-and-critical-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.americanartistinrome.com\/plog\/2014\/04\/17\/seeing-is-believing-caravaggios-conversion-of-saul-formal-analysis-and-critical-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing is Believing: Caravaggio’s Conversion of Saul, Formal Analysis and Critical Thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"

I teach a 100 level on-site Art History class for The American University of Rome called Art of Rome<\/em>.\u00b9 \u00a0I began teaching it in the Spring of 2007 and, as of this writing, have taught it every semester since. \u00a0It is, in essence,\u00a0a hybrid of historical fact\u2014names, dates, places and vocabulary\u2014combined with a methodology designed to enable students to describe, analyze and interpret the meaning of a work of art based on its formal qualities.<\/p>\n

It was back in December of 2006 with The Calling of Someone at the Table<\/a> that I demonstrated\u00a0how formal analysis serves the understanding and interpretation of a painting. \u00a0Here is yet another attempt\u2014perhaps long overdue\u2014to further the cause.<\/p>\n

What Something IS<\/em> is Not What Something MEANS<\/em><\/h2>\n

This is the hardest thing to get beginning students of formal analysis to understand. \u00a0This concept runs parallel to the mantra I use with my beginning drawing students: draw what you see, not what you know.<\/em><\/p>\n

When discussing this idea in class, I’m quick to make comparisons with literature, i.e., pointing out that The Wizard of Oz<\/em> is<\/span> a story about a girl, her dog, a tin man, a scarecrow and a lion and their quest to find a great and powerful wizard who can help the girl and her dog return home. \u00a0But what The Wizard of Oz means<\/span> is something else entirely and it is fun to point\u00a0to some of the many\u00a0theories<\/a> that litter the web.<\/p>\n

Now, while narrative is often the fruit of the sum of the parts of a figurative painting\u2014the hand of a nude female extending fruit to a nude male easily excites a literary\u00a0imagination\u2014often times the way in which those parts are arranged, modeled and emphasized may speak to a meaning that is completely detached from the title of the work or the overt actions of the figures. \u00a0Narrative in formal analysis is a trap.<\/p>\n

What is Formal Analysis?<\/h2>\n

Formal analysis is an examination of the formal qualities\u2014the parts\u2014of a painting; it is\u00a0an investigation of\u00a0the management of those parts and an attempt to understand why and how the decisions made by the artist affect meaning.<\/p>\n

The formal qualities of a painting\u00a0include: size, subject matter, scale, light, line, shape, color, texture, perspective, proportion, rhythm and composition.<\/p>\n

With so many to choose from it can at first seem overwhelming, but, often times the artist helps us by limiting the thrust of meaning to one or several of these formal qualities. \u00a0Let’s take Caravaggio’s (second) Conversion of Saul as an example:<\/p>\n

\"779px-Conversion_on_the_Way_to_Damascus-Caravaggio_(c.1600-1)\"<\/a><\/div>\n

What Is<\/span> the Painting According to the Patron and Context?<\/h2>\n

For the answer, all we need to do is read the title: The Conversion of Saul on the Road to Damascus<\/em>. \u00a0Easy enough. \u00a0In fact, Caravaggio’s realism makes it hard to see it differently. \u00a0Saul, having fallen from his horse, embraces the divine light (as opposed to seeing the light\u2014<\/em>clever to the last, is Caravaggio\u00a0not?) and marks his conversion to Christianity and his change in name from Saul to Paul.<\/p>\n

What\u00a0Is<\/span>\u00a0the Painting According to a Philistine* or a Man from Mars?<\/h2>\n

A man on the ground, on his back, arms outstretched, his head closest to the viewer, with the body of a\u00a0horse above him and\u00a0a second figure standing behind the horse’s head.<\/p>\n

In essence, this is the first part of our methodology, Description, albeit a succinct version of it. Description is an objective account of the image with\u00a0every effort made to avoid value judgements.<\/p>\n

* Philistine:\u00a0a person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts, or who has no understanding of them<\/em>. \u00a0Apple dictionary.<\/p>\n

Formal Analysis of the Conversion of Saul on the Road to Damascus<\/h2>\n

Let’s pick four formal qualities: Light, line, shape and composition.<\/p>\n