Judith Beheading Holofernes, also called Judith Slaying Holofernes or Judith, painted by Caravaggio in 1599, was painted in a seemingly less conformist way. “Less conformist” is used in the sense that instead of painting Judith after killing Holofernes and holding the head like earlier depictions, Caravaggio had decided to paint her during the killing. Judith Beheading Holofernes is a snapshot depiction of the moment, during which, the Jewish heroine, Judith, is severing the head of the drunken general, Holofernes. This Judith was painted during the Renaissance era and is discernible as such from some key elements. One such element is the background, or the lack-there-of a background would be more accurate. Renaissance painting usually did not have very detailed backgrounds. This painting in particular influenced history by putting a new perspective on the scene in the sense that it did not just detail the after image, but rather the during image. This piece relates to the overall theme by having someone die through a means that is not just old age. In this specific piece, death is brought on by a sword.
Marshall, Cavendish. "Caravaggio." Great artists of the Western World II . London: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 1988. 11-42. Print.
The Death of Socrates, painted by Jaques- Luis David in 1787, is a piece that conforms to the unnatural death theme. This painting displays the exact moment where Socrates is handed the Hemlock for him to drink, as his sentence, after being proven guilty for his charge of “Corrupting the minds of the youth” by telling the youth that what they were being taught in school was wrong and for “Not believing in the gods of the state." It seems as though the people around Socrates do not want him to die. This is a harmonious portrayal, shown by a few key elements. The first is that the focus is Socrates and the goblet of Hemlock. The second is that the painting is balanced around the focus. If you count the number of people on each side of Socrates and the goblet, you will find that he has six on each side, with two - one on each side- interacting with him. The death in this case is Hemlock
Continuing with our theme of non-natural death is the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial, created by Maya Lin in 1982. This large “V” in Washington D.C. documents the name of every person who died fighting in the Vietnam War over the beginning of communism. It was shaped like a “V” to stand for “Vietnam Veterans”, because it is a memorial for the Vietnam Veterans. According to www.thewall-usa.com/, there are, at present, 58195 names on the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial. This is a modernist work because the definition of modernism, "in its broadest form is a modern thought, character, or practice." (wikipedia) The artillery of the Vietnam War brought on the death here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernism
