Introduction
“Liberation of the Peon” is an art piece by Diego Rivera. The main subject of this artwork appears to be the tragedies of war. The image depicts four revolutionary soldiers who are seemingly releasing a slave from a stake where has been tied and perhaps left for dead. This appears to be the focal point of the art piece. There are clear beatings on the slave’s body and from the image; it is not easy to tell whether he is alive or dead. At the background of the image is a burning house that could have been set on fire by the same people who beat up the slave and tied him to the post. The artist also brilliantly captures eyes of the horses that are looking starkly at the man perhaps bewildered by what is happening. Although the premise of the portrait is based on a hostile event, the artist has configured his art piece by using various art elements to incorporate positivity in terms of the act of liberation.…show more content… The first is lines. The lines that have been used in this painting vary significantly. The lines generally appear smooth although some are jagged in several places. For example, the fire in the house is depicted by curvy lines. The lines do not just show the fire but also indicate the directionality of this fire whereby as they rise into the air, they change from red to a blackish color perhaps indicating that the fire is spreading and becoming even bigger. The other usage of lines is to show the boundaries and the outline of objects. For example, the blanket covering the man is outlined by lines. In addition, lines are used to outline the villages as well as set the boundaries for the hills in the vicinity. Simply put, lines are widely used in this art piece to define boundaries and set