Activity #5

Themes and Functions


The Voyage of Life: Manhood






When first viewing this piece, a theme that is very relevant is that of the sacred realm. There is an angel in the top left hand corner glowing in a bright light and gazing down at the man on the boat. The man on the boat is on his knees with his hands folded and staring upward, as if to show he is praying. This seems to be a very religious piece with the angel, the man praying, but if one were not religious they could see a theme of overwhelming fantasy and nature. From the dark red colors of the mountains and shy that dominate the painting, to the faces in the clouds, to the contorted trees, and finally the glowing figure in the top right can be depicted only be the viewer.


The Vintagers








The Vintagers is a great painting resembling the human experience through everyday life. A vintager is a harvester and producer of grapes, and in the painting you can see a grouping of vintagers walking home with bags on their backs filled with grapes.
Life for a vintager is their work. There are also homes in the background as well as a church to the right of the homes. These images add to the sense of human experience and the everyday routine of the villagers in the painting.