Analysis and comparison between “The Agony and the Ecstasy” and “Girl with a Pearl Earring”.
The film “Girl with a Pearl Earring” is about a girl, sixteen-years-old, named Griet. She is who hired by the famous painter, Vermeer after her father loses his eyesight as a result of kiln explosion. Her primary role was to clean Vermeer’s studio. The play opens with Vermeer and his wife, Catharina, visiting the family of Griet to have a meet the girl they were about to hire. “The Agony and the Ecstacy” is about a pope who contracts an influential painter, Michelangelo to do forty statuses for his tomb. The two keep clashing because the vision of the painter does not match with the demands of the Pope.
The two films explore portrayal and differences as well as similarities between the roles played by artists in a play. After watching the two movies, the audience is lead to understand the positions held by film artists in the society at the time of setting the films. The artists from the two plays share a lot of similarities based on the roles they play in society. However, there are several differences in the way the public views their work, and consequently, how they are perceived by society. The artists themselves are contrasting characters, and despite the artists, both fulfilling the same role which when put in its purest form is of course to paint, the extent to which their work is valued, the society receive it. The motives behind their artwork are very different.
In the first film, “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” the artist, Johannes Vermeer, received praises and adornment from the society because of his art. After he is done with his painting work, Vermeer joins his family who are sitting at the table. With them is Vermeer’s wealthy patron, Pieter van Ruijven (Zumrotun, 45). Members of the society are celebrating him for his artistic works, which is a source of pride both for the artist and patron. It is through his work that the family gets an opportunity to share a dining table with a member of the affluent class in the society. In addition, his work elevates him to higher social status in the community. One of his leading role in the society is to please the luxurious class with good-looking paintings. For instance, the wealthy patron has him to make a beautiful painting of Griet’s portrait into something that wants the eyes of Pieter. The society expects an artist to pleasure the wealthy members of community.
In the other play, “The Agony and the Ecstasy,” the artist, Michelangelo, does not receive the praise and acknowledgment for his art in the same way that Vermeer does. He is first specially made to craft the tomb of the Pope, after which is then ordered to paint frieze on the Sistine Chapel. From watching the film, we can conclude that Michelangelo is given little free will and he is not allow to explore his creativity. He is limited to simply stick to orders from the Pope. Like Vermeer, his role in the society is to meet the demands of higher status people by following their rules. When he was painting for the first time at the Twelve Apostles, he abolishes his work and escapes to Carrara (Stoszkowski & Dave, 76). The audience can argue that his creativity is intimidated by the people of higher status in the society, as it is when he is lonely in the mountains that he becomes motivated and persuades the Pope to allow him to paint the entire vault. Unlike his colleague, Vermeer, Michelangelo’s artistic work and creativity are not celebrated neither is it being appreciated, yet both artists hold the similar roles in the society, mainly pleasuring the higher ranked people more than themselves.
Moreover, despite both being artists, Vermeer receives higher recognition and is bestowed with a better societal status than Michelangelo. People are not allowed to cause disturbance near Vermeer when he is painting, simply his work is treated as very vital. We can see from the play mother in law to Vermeer betraying her daughter when she decided to takes Catharina’s pearl earring and gives it to Griet (Roy, 321). Ironically, all is done, of course, for the sake of art. The artist and especially his social role is considered essential and worth risking his family status.
One can go further to argue that the artistic works are given preference more than the emotional needs of the family of the artists. Contrary to the way Vermeer is treated, society does not see Michelangelo as doing any meaningful work. He is not respected by the members of the community. Instead of giving him peace of mind, the members of the church keep on disturbing him to finish up his work. Worse, the same church members accuse him of blasphemy. He gets humiliated when he had blindness after his paint was poisoned and was fatigued from overwork (Stoszkowski & Dave, 106). We see his painting scaffolds being torn down while his commission given to Raphael, another painter. The church prioritizes its work more to the artists’ health needs. They want Michelangelo to put his artwork first so that he finishes up the job first before attending to matters affecting his personal health. We can argue that Michelangelo is dedicated to his art at the expense of everything else. He can put everything on hold to concentrate on finishing up his project and to the happiness of his clients.
The societal roles of both artists call for self-sacrifice. We have seen, in most cases, Vermeer compromising the needs of other family members when working on a painting. Michelangelo, too, has been putting efforts in his work despite the reprimands from the people he serves. However, the difference in their roles lies with the message passed by each artist. Michelangelo, for instance, claims that his artwork brings him closer to his faith and that he plays the role of strengthening the church through the artwork. He says that part of his role is to move his society closer to religion and that whatever he does for the church was a miracle massage from God through paintings. We have seen him mostly dedicate his time to religious pictures and icons.
On the other hand, Vermeer does not paint for the church. He concentrates on painting the portraits of people, like for the case of Griet (Roy, 213). He aims to make people happy through his work. In as much as the two are very committed to their work, they fulfill the needs of society in different ways.
In conclusion, society has two painters’ different roles because they do not paint for the same reasons, despite both being painters. They, however, have similar character traits, that the paint to pleasure people holding higher social status in the community. The artists are committed to their work, and rarely do they allow something to hinder them from their work. Despite this, the artists receive different treatments even though the community is expecting them to be self-sacrificing and put their artwork above other matters. One is treated so well, is celebrated, and feels recognized while the other suffers harassment in his work, and no one bothers to appreciate him. He does not get is not even compensation when he gets sick in his line of duty. The film surrounds around themes of wealth, repression, sex, human heart, and power.
Work Cited
Stoszkowski, John, and Dave Collins. “The agony and the ecstasy: Student-coaches’ perceptions of a pedagogical approach to coach development.” International Sport Coaching Journal 5.2 (2018): 136-144.
Trowse, Pip, and Donna M. Cooper. “The agony and the ecstasy: Sacrifice and pain for financial gain: Have their intended parents exploited Indian surrogate mothers in commercial surrogacy arrangements?.” Journal of law and medicine 25.2 (2018): 388-407.
ZUMROTUN, INDAH. SOCIAL INEQUALITY REFLECTED IN TRACY CHEVALIER’S GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING. Diss. Diponegoro University, 2016.
ROY, RAJARSHI. “The Sphinx of Delft: A Study into the Milieu of Domesticity in the Paintings of Johannes Vermeer.” Labyrinth: An International Refereed Journal of Postmodern Studies 10.4 (2019).