Brianna Green
Professor Tim Cruise
Introduction to Art
15 April 2014
Seeing The Liberation of Peon by Diego Rivera The Liberation of Peon, by artist Diego Rivera is portrayed through a Fresco media with dimensions of 73'' x 94 ¼ ". It was painted in 1931 and is on display in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Looking at this artwork brings a mood of sadness. Five men, four horses, burning villages, and sandy hills occupy the scene. The focal point of the painting appears to be a slave being cut down and freed form a wooden post. The directions of the staring men’s eyes all point me to the direction of the slave being freed. Looking at this artwork I feel that even though the scene seems hostile and dangerous there is positivity because someone is being helped.
VISUAL ELEMENTS 1. Line- The lines used in this painting vary. Overall the lines appear smooth, but they are a little more jagged in other places. The fire and smoke created in the village of this art is made of curvy lines. The curvy lines are not only to show a fire, but they are also used to show direction. The curvy lines rise to the air changing from red to black as if the fire is spreading and will not be stopping in the near future. Lines are also used to set boundaries and outline object, like the outlining of the blanket used to cover the slave and the outline of the villages. The lines set boundaries for the hills and some spaces surrounding the villages. Lines are apparent throughout this whole painting. It looks as if the brush that was used had fine bristles because each is visible. 2. Shape- The geometric shapes used in this artwork consist of, rectangles, and triangular shapes. The burning villages are in rectangular and square shapes. The head shapes of the gentleman covering the battered person look to be very concise circles. Some hills appear to have a three-dimensional shape, as