This is a painting of Giovanni Battista Gualli. Various principles of design have been employed in it to enhance beauty and content. Some of these principles are: Weight and Balance; Emphasis and Focus; Scale and Proportion; Repetition and Rhythm; Unity/Harmony and Variety; and Economy and Ornamentation.
The ” Triumph of the Name of Jesus, Church of Il Gesu” painting is well balanced as the weight is well distributed. The painter divided the space very well by using thirds to create triangle composition thus achieving a visually balanced layout. The main content of the painting lies within the triangle. The focus and emphasis of the painting is at the centre. It is achieved through the use of value (the colors at the middle of the painting are lighter).
Proportion in art is measured by human body. The proportion of the painting can be described as being lessin scale with human body. This way the human viewer is dwarfed and hence not becoming the centre of attraction in the church. It looks more impressive this way. Repetition and rhythm are well depicted. Repetition is achieved through patterns on the right and left sides of the composition. They unit forms are big in size and small in numbers. This makes the painting look bold and simple. On the other hand rhythm is created through regular repetition of shapes.
There is unity in the composition of this painting because light colors that are appearing mostly at the top flows to the bottom and so are the dark colors that mainly appear at the bottom are flow to the top. Variety is depicted in the use of various colors and values. The decoration of the ” Triumph of the Name of Jesus, Church of Il Gesu” was done by use of color which is cheaper to acquire. This shows thhat Gaulli experienced financial constraints. However he used color appropriately to make a beautiful painting.
Repetition and emphasis are the mostly used principles of design in the Gaulli’s painting. They are used to enhance harmony and content of the painting respectively. In my opinion the design is effective. This is because various principles and elements have been use appropriately to create a beautiful painting that someone would want to look at it again and again.
Gaulli had come under sharp criticism before for his previous painting that didn’t look appealing to viewers. He was however given a chance to decorate the ceiling of the nave of the Church of the Jesus in Rome when there were better and more experienced painters nominated for the same position. This was surely a difficult task for him. This is what makes me appreciate more the aestheticism of this painting.
