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Essay from Modernism (Art History Course) - "Martyr in the Catacombs"
Martyr in the Catacombs, an oil painting on canvas by Jules Cave, depicts the subject of a woman shrouded in blue drapery with flowers placed upon and around her. She is lying as though she were in a casket; however her upper body is on an incline resting on two steps, and her head is turned slightly towards the observer, thus exposing her decolletage. The painting is moderately sized at 80 cm by 190 cm, allowing for full experience without feeling overwhelmed.
The use of colour is perhaps the most striking element of the painting. Cave starkly contrasts the vivid ultramarine cloth and light pastel flowers with a muted and rather monotonous taupe background. As a result, the woman is immediately brought to the forefront, aided by the fact that she dominates the space of the painting with little interference. Additionally, Cave ffers her surroundings less detail than the woman herself, declaring her the priority. This is enhanced by the light source, which, although not visible in the painting, is clearly emitting from the top right-hand corner, onto and illuminating the woman. Cave employs shading to great effect around the woman, folds of the cloak, and even the flowers in order to achieve this. Interestingly, while the light reveals the woman as the main subject of the painting, it also exposes text engraved on the stone behind her to the observer. Although the text is barely legible, its presence clarifies that one is indeed looking at a painting of a catacomb, and implicitly suggests the womans death and subsequent burial. The linearity of the woman is also quite prominent: she angles almost perfectly downward and the observer is visually directed this way. While colour has the most immediate impact, the form and pose of the woman guide the viewer to her expression (or lack thereof), the flowers she is embracing, and the nakedness of her feet. The scene itself is rather shallow, and so this linear, horizontal manifestation seems like the natural progression of observation. The composition of the work is such that attention is rarely, if at all, diverted from the woman. Through oil paints, a binary colour palette, and use of space, shading, and linearity, Cave is able to achieve a remarkable work of art. The juxtaposition of the woman and background renders the viewer unable to ignore the womans presence.