Title: The Unicorn in Captivity
Date: 1495-1505
Artist: Unknown
Where: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Unicorn in
Captivity
The unicorn in captivity is
realistic because the picture shows a unicorn drawn in full detail by the way u
can see the texture of the lines. This picture shows color, balance and pattern
from the background alone. First off it shows color from all they different colors
in the picture such as the deep blues and soft reds. It also shows balance
because there are other colors in the background that help make the unicorn
more on the page and connected to the art. Finally it shows pattern from the repeated
flowers in the background. The picture is also not realistic because there is
no such thing as a unicorn so it brings out the viewers imagination. It looks
life like because of the unicorn in the cage but the background doesn’t look
realistic because it’s a repeating pattern of plants and flowers, if someone
were to make it more realistic they would probably start with changing the
background to something like a field or a farm. They would also change the unicorn
into a horse or another animal because like I wrote before unicorns aren’t
real.
This image shows formalism because
most of the elements and principles of design are in this picture. For example
there is emphasis on the unicorn because it’s white and color from the
background like blue, red and yellow helps make the unicorn pop. It also shows space
and balance from the way distance between each plant and also inside the cage
how there’s plants so to show that the field is one piece and not to stop
randomly around the cage. This image has a balance that intrigues people to
look at the picture for longer so they can see the depth and detail in the
unicorn.
The unicorn
in captivity makes people feel intrigued and curious like they want to know
more or see more. It makes people feel this way because of the colors such as
the blues and ivory white, it also shows unity in the image from the way all
the colors match it helps make the picture flow in harmony. It’s unlike any
other picture of a unicorn because it’s not a real animal so everyone’s interpretation
of a unicorn is different. Unicorns look unalike in some art because people’s ideas
are different from one another, so the picture of unicorn changes every time.