An artist’s choice of technique greatly affects the outcome of his/her piece. It is also what makes paintings very different. Two paintings that show great contrast between the techniques of the artists are The Skaters by Jewett Campbell and Manhattan, I by Lyonel Feininger. Both paintings include representations of buildings, but they way that these buildings are represented are clearly distinct.

                         In The Skaters, Campbell uses very defined lines to show the building in the center. However Feininger doesn’t use precise techniques and instead the buildings in his painting are jagged and sort of odd. The details of the buildings in Campbell’s paintings such as the windows in the buildings are also prominent, but in Feininger’s the details seem to be subtle. The building in The Skaters is striking, it’s in the center, it is large, and it is outlined whereas in Manhattan I, the buildings are more towards the side and they blend into each other. Shading is used much more in Manhattan I than it is in The Skaters, the buildings aren’t too defined in Manhattan I.

                       As for light, there is also a big difference in that as well. The Skaters has a darker tone that Manhattan I does. There are more grayish tones in The Skater while in Manhattan I the light is vibrant and it shows throughout the paintings. It seems that this light is indicating sunrise as it is shining on the paintings, whereas in the Skaters it could very well be a gray afternoon. Manhattan I includes two prominent colors, which are blue and yellow, and is essentially more colorful than The Skaters which has duller brown-grayish tones. There is a little color with the blue peeking out in the sky in The Skaters, but the overall sense of the painting is that of a darker mood.  

There are other focus points in The Skaters, such as the people on the bottom who are actually skaters, but it seems to me that the main focus of this painting is the central building which is huge and overtaking. In Manhattan I, I think the focus of the painting is the outline of the buildings in Manhattan. Rather than focusing in on one building or a couple, this painting is showing how all those buildings come together and blend to make Manhattan.

 

The Skaters by Jewett Campbell

Manhattan I, Lyonel Feininger