The main idea depicted in Van Gogh's Pieta.

Essay by rhernandJunior High, 9th gradeA-, December 2003

download word file, 2 pages 5.0

Downloaded 68 times

A Bow Over the Strings of a Violin

Subject: The main idea depicted in this piece of art.

Focus: When we're shut away from the rest of the world, we find comfort in religion.

Thesis Statement: The main idea depicted in this piece of art is that when we are in time of need we find comfort in that which is most important to us.

Question: How do we find comfort in harsh times and how do can we use that to make us better people?

T.S. 1: Understanding Problems

STS 1: Figuring out problems

-Jesus is shirtless. This is "a sign of the deepest material deprivation and of utter moral loneliness and social abandonment unprotected by any group or any love" (Chevalier and Gheerbrant 876).

(The fact that Jesus has been abandoned by society like Van Gogh, help them figure their problem by allowing themselves to focus more because the fact that Jesus and Van Gogh are both isolated forces them to concentrate).

STS 2: No matter how hard these problems seem, remember that there is always hope.

-The sun is setting into darkness; however, there is another yellow light from a different direction. This represents hope in dark times.

-The yellow represents "the color of light and life, and can never be darkened" (Chevalier and Gheerbrant 1137).

T.S. 2: Taking steps to solve problems

STS 1: Find out what you love most

-Mary is extending her arms out to Jesus, comforting him because he is in a time of need.

-"I started making them inadvertently and now find that I can learn from them and that they give me a kind of comfort. My brush then moves through my fingers like a bow over the stings of a violin - completely for my pleasure." -Vincent Van Gogh...