an. As stated earlier, the amount of naturalism that is shown in Joan is done very well, but the rest of the painting lacks a part of this and just becomes a background for her at first glance. This seems to be intentionally done by the artist so the person viewing it will immediately be consumed by this young woman’s state of wonder and awe. The viewer then wanders into the background of the painting to piece together the story that will ultimately explain and enhance the feelings given off by Joan’s image.Joan’s naturalistic image is surely one of shock, amazement, wonder, and awe all in one. The average Joe (or Joan) may not be able to relate exactly to Joan’s heavenly experience, but the image she portrays definitely rings clear in most everyone from human experiences in life. One can then imagine and have compassion for Joan in her situation that appears to be happening right before one’s eyes with such realism.At the other end, and to the right of the corridor where this painting is located, is an opening into other oil painting galleries. Looking into the other galleries through this opening and on through the next, there is a large painting aligned with these openings and centered in such a view that grabs one with it’s beauty from afar. It is a painting of a mountainous region with an aqueduct spanning a body of water and arriving in a city. Like the former painting, a Frenchman also did this piece in the 1800’s. His name was Jean-Andre Theodore Gericault and the title is “Evening Landscape with an Aqueduct.” This painting is only slightly smaller than “Joan of Arc” and is approximately six feet wide by eight feet tall.When looking at Gericault’s painting from a distance, it is almost like looking out a window into a far away land, and its position in the museum seems to have been well thought out. Unfortunately, this painting loses some of its g...
