PROJECT 1
Exhibition Text
Through the inspiration of Roberto Ferri's ''Il Canto Della Vergine'' and the lady of justice statue, I was able to create my illustration using colored pencil. The piece is a critique on modern day America, a symbol of the current state of the nation through the use of line, color, and value.
Inspiration
Il Canto Della Vergine, oil on canvas, 2015, 100 x 140 cm - Roberto Ferri
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Roberto Ferri is an italian painter from Taranto, Italy. He often creates his pieces with inspiration from the baroque movement as well as the romanticism movement. I stumbled upon this artist on instagram and fell in love with this work. He paints his figures in such interesting positions and poses, and so I thought this piece would fit perfectly with my idea that I had in mind for my first project. I thought I could use the pieces in this painting as symbols of what is wrong in the US right now, in 2019. |
The first known depiction of the blindfolded lady of justice was Hans Gieng's sculpture in the mid 15th century. I based my depiction of lady justice off of all of the replications of the statue, adding her features to my final piece. I decided I wanted to have lady justice as the one depicted to represent the United States currently in modern time. The reason that (specifically) the lady justice statue in the supreme court has a blindfold is because she is supposed to be unbiased. The scale represents the balance of justice within the supreme court, that everything is fair. Today, that is not the case, and lady justice, I feel is neglected in many ways. This country isn't what it once was, and so I felt the way to best critique the United States was to have lady justice as my focal point in the illustration. Although there are many depictions of her, I chose to use the first depiction of her with a blindfold. |
Lady Justice with sword, scales and blindfold, 1543, on the Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen in Berne, Switzerland - Hans Gieng
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Planning
When I first began sketching I wanted to include certain aspects from lady justice that would allow the viewer to easily make the correlation and identify that it was her in the illustration. Personally, hands and feet are tough for me to draw, so I began to practice and sketch them in order for me to become more familiar with the structure. Drawing full body figures is easier when you begin to start with simple geometric shapes in order to break down the figure. I began doing this in all of my sketches so that for the final illustration I would be able to correctly draw the figure according to Ferri's painting. Something I was worried about was the cloth that the woman is laying on in the painting and how I would draw the folds. I figured shading would be the best option, with various values, highlights and contrasts. This would give it the appeal that there were folds and wrinkles in the cloth as it did in the painting.
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In order to have some originality, I was going to change the cross seen in the painting, to the US flag. This would make a bold statement about modern day America and have powerful symbolism within the illustration. I also wanted to incorporate the doves, and began to sketch a dove and the wings. It was difficult drawing the position that the woman was in in the painting. The feet were in an unusual pose so it made it quite hard to draw and determine how to highlight and contour them accordingly. |
Process and Experimentation
In my final illustration, I had completed the outline of the lady justice as well as the outline of the doves as well. I had made a part of her eye peek out from the blindfold to show that lady justice is no longer blind, she is no longer fair. The cross with the American flag behind it is a critique on the US and religion. The cross is placed in between her ribs, a visible wound in the illustration. I had colored the cross a shade of deep blue to match the blue used for the flag to symbolize unity, that they go hand in hand. I then added shading to lady justice in order to show her malnourished figure. I purposefully did this to convey the idea that lady justice isn't being taken care of, that she has been neglected.
Experimentation
There was a lot of highlighting and contouring to be done with the cloth, which I found that outlining where each color roughly goes makes drawing wrinkles and cloth more easy to draw. I felt that using a light grey as my highlighting color instead of white, would allow me to easily contour with the dark charcoal grey. The ash grey would also be more easy to blend into white rather than highlight with an eggshell white and try to blend it into the white of the paper. Originally, the birds had just been outlined in the light ash grey, but they were getting lost in the background. So, in order to prevent that from happening, I used a cherry red, the same as the blood, to have them stand out and not get lost in the white background. This also turned into unintentional symbolism, since doves are a symbol of hope, and prosperity, and they are covered in the blood of lady justice. It kind of illustrates a domino effect, meaning if lady justice is neglected, the hope for the US will also suffer too. Overall, when I had finished, the background was looking too white and plain. Everything seemed to be washed out by the white of the background, so I had decided to add something in order to have the piece pop, and also look more completed. So, I had chosen to put a yellow halo-like circle around lady justice, with a yellow background. This would make the sea blue floor pop, as well as the cherry red on the doves, and the cross and flag. The halo-like circle would also put attention onto her face, particularly the blindfold.
Compare and Contrast
Lady Justice with sword, scales and blindfold, 1543, on the Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen in Berne, Switzerland - Hans Gieng
Il Canto Della Vergine, oil on canvas, 2015, 100 x 140 cm - Roberto Ferri
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Similarities
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Reflection and Meaning
I created this piece because I felt it was important, not only for my theme, but for myself as an artist to critique the current state of America. The government is in a state of chaos and all of the rights lady justice stands for is being neglected. I am proud if I can make people think about the meaning of the piece, and have them consider to pay more attention to the news today.
I would have spent more time on the background, because I don't quite like the yellow, maybe I would add a lighting point, or ray of light instead of having it flat on the paper. I think the highlights and contours on lady justice do a good job at depicting that state that she is in within the illustration. The bright yellow halo-like circle adds more to the symmetry of the piece. Adding color to the background made the piece look finished and overall I am happy with the finished illustration. |