Sanjani Prodduturu
Henderson
ARH 301
TA: Muslin
Analysis of Mayan Temple, Per II: Palenque by Alfred Jensen The use of colors and geometric design is evident of the Post-Modern Era, an era reminiscent of abstract designs and architecture. As seen through the Mayan Temple, Per II: Palenque by Alfred Jensen, the large size and the complex, intricate composition reflect the artist’s conceptual approach and vision of transforming the Mayan Temple into an abstract piece thought the use of multiple elements such as color, size, and more. The overall painting is large compared to most of the other works studied in the Blanton Museum of Art. The large size of the painting is effective in helping the viewer see the intricate details of the painting.…show more content… The painting is bordered with blue and red on opposite sides and black and white on the other two sides. Based on the artist’s intentions, it is evident that he meant to put the black and white on opposite side because he wanted to represent the night and day stars of the Mayan temple. This is an abstract representation of the aerial view of Mayan Temple. Red, yellow and blue are the primary colors; green, orange, violet are secondary colors. It seems as though the artist placed the complementary colors next to each other. As the colorful rectangles go towards the center of the piece, the colors placed next to each other are complementary. Starting from the bottom of the painting, the red is next to the green, the yellow is next to the purple, and the orange is next to the blue. The orange outline after the red triangles seems like it is supposed to point out the entrance of the Mayan temple. Then there are black and white triangles forming a cross thought the middle of the painting possibly resembling the edges of the pyramid of the Mayan Temple. The colors in the painting have edges because it is against the black or the white rectangle. The colors are pure, saturated colors without any gradations or hues. They are all bright and standout against the black and white edges. It is possible that the vibrant colors reflect the culture and traditions of the Mayans. These vibrant colors were…show more content… These lines cut into the paint in this painting and created a sense of motion within it. It can be interpreted as something receding into the painting but it can also be seen from the point of view that it is a bird’s eye view of temple. It is possible that the lines mark the edges of the steps the build up the temple when looking from the top. It forces the viewer to see a 3-dimensional image of the temple on a 2-dimensional surface because of the way the rectangles are staggered in the painting. The overall contrast between the black and white adds to the 3-dimensional effect of the painting. The solid black and white stripes, and the red and blue colors that border the painting imply the ground or base plane and the rectangles formed from the lines after that form the other layers of the Mayan temple giving the 3 – dimensional effect. The stark contrast between the black and white also allude the day and night effect. It appears as though light is shining from the right side because it is bright and white on the side whereas the right side of the painting is dark and