Final Compare and Contrast

In my final, I tried to keep a lot of the same elements used in the original Picasso, while making some changes to to the composition in order to correct some oversights. First, I expanded the color palette of the original, adding in more vibrant reds and blues, while keeping the earth tones of the original. I also tried to keep the simplistic structure and texturing of the original piece, with some minor expansions. I added a third dimension to my piece to give it more perspective than Picasso did. I did however try to stick to the roots of Picasso's stance with perspective by giving my two buildings a different vanishing point. This allows them to have an extra element of depth, while keeping with the unorthodox, differing perspectives implemented by Picasso. I also tried to give the composition more unity, by balancing the structures along the lines of thirds of my composition. I also think the solid background color I laid down first does a good job of unifying all the elements, as opposed to the original, where the elements run together. Overall, I tried to keep the basic elements Picasso used, while expanding them in a new direction to achieve a smilier, yet in some regards, vastly different composition. 

Work In Progress Update #4

I finally continued my way to the foreground and began to work on adding texture, detail, and shading to the piece. 

Work In Progress Update #3

Next, I began working my way to the forefront of the scene. I used tape to keep my building edges straight and keep everything flowing towards the same vantage point. I did this so each building will have the same perspective within it. I did however, alter the perspective between the two buildings to harken back, slightly, to Picasso's style of multiple perspectives.

Work In Progress Update #2

I then began to work my way from the background to the foreground. I did this because I think it is the most pragmatic way to create a flawless composition that has components on various levels of distance.

Work In Progress Update #1

First, I put down several coats of paint to add as a background of the composition. I did this first so I can have a strong background pushing through the foreground.

Pre-Pro Work

This is pre-production work for this project. I tried using a small piece of canvas and watercolors. As you can see, I simplified the building structures to allow for more unity throughout the composition. I also added some perspective to them, compared to the original piece. Last, I tried to alter the color palette by using reds and blues. I don't think watercolors are the ideal medium, so I will be using acrylics on my final composition.

Objective Critique

Summer Village Landscape is a form of Naive Art (Primitivism) created by Pablo Picasso in the Neoclassicist & Surrealist Period of the 1920's. This composition favors implied shapes and chroma of earth colors. Picasso relies heavily on implied shapes in this piece, such as adding color to the buildings, but not giving them any definite outline. The same happens with the multitude of trees and other objects. This acts to blend the various objects together, giving the piece a good sense of rhythm and movements, as your eyes will flow from one object into another. The piece relies on earth-based colors and indulges in varying values of a few, simple colors. Overall, this composition doesn't focus on details of minutia, but rather allows the viewer to fill in the missing gaps. This allows for a variety of different opinions and emotions to be exhibited when viewed by the audience.

Subjective Critique

My subjective critique of Pablo Picasso's "Summer Village Landscape" is fairly negative for a variety of reasons. This piece, at first glance, has a somewhat limited variance in color. The landscape, vegetation, and buildings in this scene blend together with no clear boundaries due to a lack of varying chroma. I am also not enticed by the lack of perspective that Picasso used in this piece, which results in a very flat composition with no relative use of proportion or scale. I think this is a critical failure of the work, which could be quite impressive if changed. Picasso also used implied shapes in this composition, letting the buildings merge into the landscape behind them. This is my chief complaint with the composition as it prevents any possibility of unity or balance. To give this piece a more naturalistic look, I would start off by adding perspective to the piece, allowing there to be a defined depth between objects. I would also do away with the implied shapes and work with building a unity in the composition. I also feel the limited color palette severely hurts the composition and would look at adding more pigmentation here. I want to keep the same feeling Picasso's piece invokes of a beautiful, European landscape so I will be looking to expand upon the colors used already in the composition. Last, I might alter the size of some of the building structures to better play on the rule of thirds in this composition.

Pablo Picasso's "Summer Village Landscape"

Summer Village Landscape, by Pablo Picasso is the depiction of a small village in the European countryside. Picasso painted this piece in 1928 utilizing oil on canvas. This work of art measures 53.5 x 80 cm and is an example of Primitivism. This piece was completed during the Neoclassicist & Surrealist Periods.