The Modern era, from 1939-1960, was a time of war and world strife. World War II had begun for the United States, and, as the years progressed, the world entered into the Cold War, a time of extreme tension. Finally, the world also began to turn towards civil rights and liberties, focusing on the individual and pondering whether all individuals were truly equal. Amongst the physical and psychological struggles, two artists, Pablo Picasso and Rembrandt van Rijn attempted to depict the pain of war, but with varying strategies. Picasso used cubism while Rembrandt used more psychological portraits to symbolize the same messages.
Their messages of world disarray, yet a possibility for future peace are both portrayed in Guernica by Picasso and The Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt. In his picture, Picasso uses discombobulated shapes and seemingly random shape orders to create a sense of chaos that was common during the era. The conflicting shapes help the viewer to understand the brinkmanship that occurred during the Cold War. In addition, Rembrandt creates an atmosphere of chaos by using dark color and placing crashing waves into the scenery. The ship is on the “brink” of tipping over. However, even though the pictures create a sense of chaos, they also create a sense of hope that the tragedy can be overcome. Picasso suggests peace may follow after the Spanish War because the strangely placed shapes do still come together to create one cubistic work. Rembrandt also suggests peace is possible because the men on the boat work together and the clouds are parting. Both Picasso and Rembrandt portray messages that were important for the Modern era.
Works Cited
"The Modern/20th Century Era." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation. Web. 24 Mar. 2012.
"Pablo Picasso : Official Web Site." Pablo Picasso : Le Site Officiel. 2010. Web. 24 Mar. 2012.
"Rembrandt." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Mar. 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2012.
Team 4: Cody Dunn, Stephen Hwang, Tyler Wong, Carlton Lew, and Tyler Wong
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