"Evening: Landscape with an Aqueduct" Theodore Gericault. By Amanda Marrero

The piece “Evening: Landscape with an Aqueduct” by Théodore Gericault in 1818 is a very striking piece, especially in person. In this painting, you see the dark, turbulent sky taking over the brighter sky seen on the left side of the piece. The rocks on the left side of the painting are seen in shadow, where as the rocks on the right side of the frame show the sun setting on the Italian countryside scene. The Roman styled Aqueduct seen in the center of the piece gets immediate attention, due to the light that shines upon its architecture. Also, the tree on the top left part of the painting has the setting sun beaming down onto it, giving it almost a feeling like it is burning or on fire. At the bottom of the painting, you can see five figures. There is a seated figure on a rock, who is conversing with a standing man who is clothed. By the looks of his clothing, the standing man seems to be a traveler. The rest of the three figures are nude, swimming in the river that lies under the ruins of the countryside. Style is of extreme importance to a painting, and this landscape piece has a surface texture that is very smooth. Although the image depicted is of rough, jagged ruins and grassy terrain, to me, there is a certain smoothness about the piece. The way that the paint lays on the canvas creates a soft and relaxing kind of feeling for the viewer. The palette that Gericault used is composed of many different kinds of yellows, browns, greens, and even some reds. The bottom half can be seen somewhat as monochromatic with many similar shades of colors, but the addition of the dark blue and grey sky creates a bold statement within the piece. The contrasting colors in the sky are an abrupt change from the earthy tones of the landscape and ruins within the piece. Another important component of this painting is the light. The light on the left side of the piece contrasts the dark sky that is shown. Also, there are many highlights in the painting, such as on the ruins, the Aqueduct itself, and the tree on the left, that contrast the many shadows, such as on the architectural structure on the left, the rocks, and of course the sky. The prevailing amount of light that was inside the Metropolitan Museum creates a fading of colors in the piece if you were to take a picture of it. Staring at it in person with this lighting on the other hand, gives you a real sense of how wondrous the natural landscape piece really is. Lastly, a main style factor of the piece is the figures on the bottom. The way they are painted is in a very classical manner. Their bodies are flawless, with finely detailed muscles and body features that make the figure look idealized yet realistic. This piece of course, is one that represents Romanticism in French Art. The painting is showing the sublime meaning of nature. It shows the relationship between nature and the human beings. Nature is so much bigger than the five men that are seen in the river. They are interacting with nature by swimming and splashing in the river, but still, nature is more powerful and a bigger element than those five figures. The turbulent sky shows the moodiness of nature: it can be absolutely beautiful one second, and the next it can change into a dark, stormy force that is more powerful than anyone can truly realize. The dramatic sky, classical ruins, and tree that almost appears as if it were on fire evoke a sense of melancholy, or even seen as part of a daydream. All of the architectural structures in the piece seem to be part of nature, as if they were growing out of the land itself. The landscape appears as just one solid mass. Overall, nature is much more powerful than the figures, and Gericault is trying to express that power through the dramatic features of the painting, that help us understand the meaning of the sublime.