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Matt Rigodanzo
Seascape (A View of the Maas at Dordrecht)

For my project, I chose a piece by Aelbert Cuyp called A View of the Maas at Dordrecht. I chose this piece largely due its inspiring, almost cinematic, quality. It reminds me of a classic film ending, where the hero sails/rides off into the sunset.

It's odd that such an association comes to mind, since the medium of film is so removed from 17th-century painting. I guess I was instantly drawn to this piece largely due to its easy association with narrative.

Upon doing some further research on the artist, I came to realize that Cuyp is famous for his paintings of the Dutch seascapes and countrysides. He almost always painted these scenes in the beautiful early morning or late afternoon light, like many of his contemporaries.

Therefore, the goal I came up with for my own interpretation was to maintain the aforementioned "cinematic" quality, but completely change the lighting, creating a moon-lit fantastical seascape. The motion I added to the piece is a camera animation intended to slowly reveal the entire frame. I did this because I found the movement created by the reflections in the water to be especially interesting and aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, I didn't want to do a static picture, and I thought this would be a cool and dynamic way to reveal the scene.