Art Essay-
The context, of which art is created, clearly reflects its history and where it is from. Society’s values are further highlighted by the piece and give us insight into what life was like. This is interestingly interpreted by Juan Bautista de Espinosa’s exuberant baroque style painting, with a heavily catholic influence from Spain in the late 1500’s, as well as Margaret Olley’s contrasting and simplistic sensibility of the mid 20th century. Each artist’s aesthetic, although significantly different; equally allow us to understand a certain time and place
Juan Bautista de Espinosa was born in 1590c. into a heavily Catholic family and country. Originally a gilder of altarpieces, Espinosa mastered the technique of still-life in …show more content…

Olley’s 1985 work is no exception and is entitled “Spanish Bottles and Chinese Screen”. The composition of the crisp and embellished oriental screen, and the small and delicate Mediterranean crockery, is a unique one, but play to Olley’s strength in both technique and colour and makes it just as pleasing. There is a clear correlation between the multicultural quality of Margaret’s home of Australia and the work. The screen is focal point of the piece and could represent the significance of the east to our society and how important and engrained it is into everyday life. It is further emphasised with the way its bold colours is framed by more muted and submissive tones and how Olley manages to isolate colours to create shadows and highlights within the work. The clash between east and west becomes harmonious within the colour palette, with the way the tones of black, gold and jade complement each other and their cultures whilst encompassing individuality. The work is heavily dependent on this, just like Australia and its connections with both the east and t west. The subtle tension between them is softened through the use of both smooth and angular brush strokes. The work also has slight references to the past and other artists: 1“Spanish Bottles and Chinese Screen harks back to the French tradition of nature morte and probably references Vincent Van Gogh’ s Still Life: Majolica Jar