A stylistic analysis of paintings can provide significant information about artists’ creative decisions. Thus, the visual elements of the painting, such as composition, color choices, and textures, allow the artist to convey the message of the painting to viewers in more effective ways. The following comparative analysis will focus on the painting Raising of Lazarus by Joachim Wtewael and the workshop and Luca Cambiaso’s Ecce Homo. The paper argues that even paintings with apparent differences in visual content share similar creative decisions that allow artists to create more compelling images for paintings and effectively convey important messages to the audience.
Firstly, in order to ease the process of comparative stylistic analysis, it would be more helpful to start from the elements that catch the viewer’s attention in the first place. Thus, the most pronounced difference between the two paintings is the composition. Cambiaso’s painting features two people in the foreground of the painting with the addition of barely visible figures of people behind them that seem to merge with the background. The simple composition of the painting allows the artist to focus the viewer’s attention on the figure of Jesus and his sufferings. On the other hand, the Raising of Lazarus captures a moment of divine miracle (Wtewael). Thus, it was important for the artist to convey the miraculous nature of Lazarus’ resurrection through the surrounding people’s reactions. The complex composition of the painting that features many people allowed the artist to display the public’s different reactions, such as surprise, admiration, confusion, and reverence. Therefore, the difference in composition between the two paintings reflects how artists build their creative process around an idea they want to convey to the audience.
Next, an equally important and noticeable difference between the two paintings is their color scheme. Ecce Homo is executed in predominantly dark colors, allowing the artist to draw more attention to the contrasting pale figure of Jesus (Wtewael). The creative decision allowed the artist to emphasize the purity of Jesus’ intentions and oppose the dark and sinful nature of the people who crucified him. On the contrary, Raising of Lazarus is full of vibrant, warm, lively colors, in which only the white burial robe of Lazarus can stand out to the viewer (Wtewael). In this painting, white can be perceived as a lack of color or a symbol of a line between life and death. Therefore, in both paintings, artists used specific color choices to provide additional context to the viewers.
Furthermore, the artist’s decisions in the choice of textures in a painting can also influence viewers’ impressions and reactions. The Raising of Lazarus features flowing and delicate textures which draw the viewer’s attention to the thrill of the miracle’s moment and the sincerity of faith in Lazarus’ resurrection (Wtewael). The soft texture of the fabric is repeated in the gentle depiction of people’s faces and bodies, creating a pleasant impression of the overall painting in the audience. On the other hand, textures used by Cambiaso in Ecce Homo appear more angular and discomforting. Furthermore, in combination with dark colors and unpleasant facial expressions of people in the background, the textures draw attention to the sharp crown of thorns on the head of Jesus. Therefore, the tenderness of soft textures in Raising of Lazarus makes the viewer feel reverence for the power of faith, while angular textures in Ecce Homo emphasize the evil intentions of sinful people.
Lastly, it is important to note the different techniques used to depict the human body in the paintings. In Raising of Lazarus, the mannered and sophisticated poses of depicted people allow the artist to emphasize the importance of the captured moment and its effect on spreading the faith (Wtewael). On the other hand, a more modest depiction of the human body, constrained poses, and low body language use in Ecce Homo aims for more effective communication of Catholic doctrines (Cambiaso). Thus, Cambiaso made the decision to feature fewer details to avoid distracting viewers’ attention from the central message of the painting.
In conclusion, this paper featured a comparative stylistic analysis of the Raising of Lazarus and Ecce Homo. Through the analysis, the paper demonstrated how artists make creative decisions in the choice of visual elements to develop viewers’ understanding of the painting’s message. Thus, the combination of artists’ decisions on similar elements, such as the paintings’ composition, color palette, and the use of textures and techniques, allowed the two artists to create significantly different paintings. Moreover, different creative decisions for the same elements allowed the artists to focus viewers’ attention on various aspects of the painting. Thus, the paper explained how the use of white color allowed Cambiaso to focus attention on Jesus’ innocence and purity, while in Wtewael’s painting, the color symbolized the line between life and death. Therefore, conducting the comparative stylistic analysis allowed defining important insights into the creative process behind the creation of paintings and the impact of creative decisions on viewers’ reactions to the painting.
Works Cited
Cambiaso, Luca. Ecce Homo. Early 1570s. Blanton Museum of Art Collections, Web.
Wtewael, Joachim and workshop. Raising of Lazarus. 1595-1600. Blanton Museum of Art Collections, Web.