ART FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED

Mona Lisa

Leonardo da Vinci

The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous pieces of art in the world. The subdued tones of the paint give The Mona Lisa a smooth transition from foreground to background. The identity of the woman in the picture is not known for sure, but her enigmatic smile has captivated many. Her hair is thin and slightly curled. Her clothing features long sleeves and a shawl, and her sleeves are pushed up her arms slightly, wrinkling the fabric.

The Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci

Another of da Vinci's most known paintings, the Last Supper depicts the event from the Bible of the same name. Jesus sits in the center of a long table in a large room, with his gaze downcast and reflective. His disciples surround him, along with two women. They are all poised for conversation in groups of three, with six on each side of Jesus. Bread is the most common and clear type of food appearing on the table itself.

The Starry Night

Vincent Van Gogh

The paint in this picture makes a dappling effect, and the picture is composed of many overlapping lines and curves. In the foreground, a tall figure, possibly a building, arches upwards to the sky. It looms over a city from, the sharp steeple of a church and shingles on the roofs barely apparent. The star for which the piece is named swirl and dance in the sky.

The Scream

Edvard Munch

There is something eerie about this painting. Reality twists into opposing curves, and the figure in the foreground's face and body are distorted and twisted around. It appears to be standing on a bridge over a twisting river. A gourd-shaped bald head is framed by elongated hands as the figure opens a long mouth to scream.

The Creation of Adam

Michelangelo

This painting is a contrast of opposites. Adam lies on the smooth earch, which quickly drops off into a cliff. God hangs above the ground in the air, surrounded by angels. The space between God and Adam in the painting is very small, barely discernble from the painting, as they reach out to each other but fail to connect.

The Birth of Venus

Sandro Botticelli

Botticelli's painting depicts the birth of Venus from the ocean. In the painting, she stands on a seashell near the shore, without clothes, her hair down to her knees and tied with silver strands behind her neck. She holds the end in her hand to stop it from blowing in the wind. The waves are calm, and the seashell is poised to make a gentle transition onto the land. Around her, Cupid has sprinkled flowers, symbolizing her beauty. Another woman waits on shore to offer her a blanket with which to cover herself. That woman's clothing, and the blanket, are painted with flowers, and two trees stand behind them, which connects the scene to nature.

Girl With a Pearl Earring

Johannes Vermeer

A woman faces the viewer, her skin smooth and clean. Her hair is tied with cloth, and her pearl earring is about as large as one of her eyes, and is subtly apparent in its position underneath her ear.

The Persistance of Memory

Salvador Dalí

The scene is devoid of any living beings. There is an empty blanket on the ground with a saddle-shaped clock over it. Another clock hangs off of a table, sharply folded at at 90 degree angle. There is a barren tree, and from it hangs yet another clock. Even in the absence of human beings (or living beings), time has moved on, and their impact on the world still lingers.

Girl Before a Mirror

Pablo Picasso

In this painting, woman stands before a mirror. The mirror echoes her features, but her reflection is warped. One of its cheeks is hollow while hers are full, and its body is twisted into a unclear echo of her real form. Picasso's cubist style, which features geometric figures in the depiction of real life beings and objects, is on display in this painting. Though she is more true-to-life than her counterpart in the mirror, the woman's hair hangs off her head like it is barely connected, her neck is a triangular curve that ends in a point rather than narrowing more subtly towards the head. Like the neck, all the curves in the painting are sharply defined and exaggerated rather than the smoother transitions that exist in reality.