The Judgment of Paris and The Miracle of the Fishes Artwork Essay

How often do we see things in life that require a double-take, a second glance, a follow-up look, or even multiple subsequent studies? The answer is quite simple: everyday. The things we often look at a second time are often not intellectually worth the look, whether it be an irrational teenager attempting some outrageous skateboarding stunt, a monkey drinking its own urine, or even a two-headed cat, people have stopped spending their second or third glances on things that are meaningful and sensible. As a result people have lost the appreciation of evaluating and scrutinizing art and often don’t think of looking at it a second or third time to really â€Å"look† at it. Sure people go to museums and galleries, but nowadays, how many of them actually try and conceive the painters’ thoughts or motivation for the paintings? Upon my search two paintings really stuck out to me and required second and third inquiries, The Judgment of Paris and The Miracle of the Fishe s; both making me return to make a suitable judgment of my own. By looking at paintings multiple times in person a viewer can see different details and aspects of the painting they’re looking at or studying—making their observations more accurate and varied— upon a second or third scrutiny. In these two paintings by Jacob Jordaens, The Miracle of the Fishes and The Judgment of Paris, there are many similar and contrasting ideas. From a first glance they are quite different; The judgment of Paris is centered on the three Goddesses and their surrounding aura that is the bright center of the painting while The Miracle of the Fishes seems to have a rather dark and almost gloomy center. However, upon a second examination or a more thorough look one begins to notice an abundance of... ...utinize both paintings multiple times I was able to gather enough information to make accurate analyses. Even without seeing every miniscule detail a decent analysis can be made if an adequate amount of details is observed, whether the observation is in person or from a picture. Seeing a painting in person and being able to get close and look at the minute details allows a person to more accurately describe or analyze a painting. Works Cited 1. Julius S. Held and Donald Posner. 17th th century art; baroque painting, sculpture, and architecture, New York: H.N Abrams, 1971 2. â€Å"Jacob Jordaens.† The Artchive. 28 Sep. 2006 http://artchive.com/artchive/J/jordaens.html 3. Malcolm Gladwell. Blink, New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2005 4. â€Å"Jacob Jordaens.† The Getty. 28 Sep. 2006 http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=359