In "Night Terrors" an exhibition put together by Ellen Pelletier the dark and disturbing side of art is explored. Artists William Blake, William Bouguereau, Edward Munch, Francisco Goya, and Odilon Redon use different styles and techniques to create works of art that evoke an emotion in the viewer that is uncomfortable and eerie. When viewing these pieces there are many similarities and differences when it comes to color, content, and emotion. 1. The Image depicts a scene from Inferno, a poem written by Dante Alighiere. This story takes Dante through stages of hell led by the dead poet Virgil. In this painting the exact moment being witnessed is when Dante is seeing the true horrors of hell. There is static movement in the painting making it seem like a frozen moment in time. The dark rich colors give a feeling of a eerie and foreboding place. 2. Goya's number 4 plate is one of many paintings in his series titled Los Caprichos. These paintings dealt with the corruption that had fallen on Spain in the 18th century marking it "Black Spain." This painting in particular relates to Redon's painting in the sense of human deformation making the creature seem more monster like. The black and white tones along with the simplicity of the painting bring everything together in a creepy work of art. 3. In Edvard Munch's Death of Marat II the viewer is drawn into the painting by the open psychological space and then to the main subjects of the painting. The feeling the woman gives you in the painting is unnervingly . The way Munch uses blurred lines to give a shape and a mystery to his subjects makes the viewer feel as if they are right in the moment, but also makes them feel like they are eavesdropping on a personal moment. 4. The Great Red Dragon and the Woman clothed with the Sun by William Blake can be classified as a symbolic painting. This painting was actually done for chapters 22 and 23 of revelations, which is an apocalyptic text that coincided with Blake's own personal writings. What makes this painting a n unsettling image to look at is because the woman clothed in the sun represents the virgin Mary about to have her son the redeemer taken by Satan who is represented by the dragon. 5. This charcoal drawing created during Redon's dark period was one of many drawings he created while exploring metaphysical discovery. This drawing can be terrifying when discovered that Redon believed in the mutation of human beings. Redon believed in human and animal combinations.
