A Formal Analysis of Rene Magritte's Painting, The Human Condition

Then there are also many psychological lines to be seen in the work. One such line is of the woman and the floor, where she is staring down towards it. Another is from the young child and the store clerk, showing a defiance between the two. Next, light and value are not very contrasting in this painting, with only the basic highlights and the shadows seen. It isn’t completely contrasting or contradicting since the colors blend well together with close to the same value ranges, dark colors seen throughout except for the people’s pale faces. There also seems to be a variety of light sources since the woman’s face along with the shop clerk and the young boy’s is lit up by what seems to be a light bulb since they’re much brighter and highlighted and then the men and women in the back aren’t really as bright, except for the ones who close to the open door, creating a blue tinge from the outside light. The shapes shown through the painting is shown to be either very round or very geometrical. There are organic shapes in things such as the umbrella or even the back of the chair, but mostly it is either straight lines and geometrical shapes. The volume shown in the painting is very much implied, correctly showing the

When I first looked at this painting, I thought to myself, "It's boring. It's boring to look at. Why paint a picture of an empty bedroom?" However, once I started looking at all the elements, my mind changed.

Thirdly, the texture of the painting I see when viewing the painting is velvety and silky. I feel that the velvety texture is caused by the smoothness of Marilyn’s face. In addition, the silkiness I see is due to the gold paint that surrounds Marilyn’s face. Fourthly, the use of value is present on the painting by the lightness and minimal darkness. For example, the darkest value is seen on Marilyn below her chin on her neck, eyes, her lips, on the right side of her face, and on minimal parts of her hair. I feel that the dark value creates the illusion of shadows. In addition, the golden brown paint that surrounds Marilyn is dominant because it shimmers when light reflects it. Moreover, the lightness is present by the yellow, turquoise, and pink colors. In addition, the lightest value of color is white which is on Marilyn’s teeth. Lastly, the colors viewed on the painting consist of golden brown, black, yellow, pink, turquoise, dark red, and

There are three main aspects of this painting, each representing a different aspect of society. The first and lower part of the painting shows the working class, gathered in desperate and impoverished lines. This shows the lack of compassion available in the American economy.

The effect that forms are that of biometric feel beside the people they have more of geometric feel. The colors do impact this artwork greatly because each color is harsh and sot of clash with one another. The colors are black, gold, red, brown, white and light blue. The colors are mixed. The color on the mother's dress is a harsh black versus that of her children which are every light and airy. The hue of the piece of art is very light in some spaces but in other places it can be very dark. The saturation is very different in many places if you look at the woman's dress and in the dog, you can see that it is very saturated but if you look at the two girl's dresses you can tell that its less saturated. When

There is also a mirror placed on the table allowing the viewers to link with space beyond the frame. Also in the far back right of the painting you can see a young man talking to an elderly. The artist created an very old or old-fashioned look by using opposing colors, red and green. “The second half of the fifteenth century in northern Europe saw an expansion of genre

Further more, in the painting, “the Gleaners”, the entire screen is filled with contrast elements. First of all, the main figures in the front labor scene are full of rich vigor, contrasting to the background with silent objects such as hay, trees and farmhouse. Secondly, the color brightness of the front contrast to the back, as well as the comparison of relative sizes between figures and scenery, applying the principle of perspective. What’s more, the most classic is the horizontal line, the intersection of the sky and the ground, contrasting with the light source, from the top left. Consequently, 2D and 3D spatial effects are combined precisely. Meanwhile, the sense of space of the image is strengthened as well.

Hill painted a perfect looking scenery which made it realistic as if a real scenery picture was taken with an advanced technology. Hill applied a wide range of vivid colors to help enhance this piece more. If I was to visit a senior citizen home and had to depict this painting to a blind fe/male. I would start off by saying firstly, my attention was drawn towards the upper atmosphere’s bright blue color which reflected from the large body of water underneath it. Which is often associated with feelings of breaths slowing down and when one reaches a certain state of relaxation. Secondly, by imagining one mashing a pillow against their palms I was able to feel the fluffiness of what floats in the sky. In order to picture, the way the sizes and shapes change I would compare it to when one

Beginning roughly around the year 1400 an era in Europe began; one that would shape the ideas and the lives of men. This era of rebirth or renaissance came within the fifteenth century through the revival of classical texts. One central effect of the Renaissance was the production of a new intellectual idea: humanism. Humanism being defined as a, “[t]erm invented in the 19th century. . . [regarding] developments relating to the revival of Classical literature and learning in European culture from roughly 1300 to 1600” left its mark on all of Europe leaving nothing untouched not even the artist. Both northern and southern art would be affected by humanism but in different ways ranging from changes in the human form, new choices of

Concerning color, there is a stark contrast between the figure on the painting and the background. More specifically, the figure of the woman is predominantly delineated in white color, especially pale, ashen white, as far her apparel and facial complexion are concerned, while there are also various hues of grey, with respect to her hair and accessory feather. These white and grey shades are vividly contrasted with the prevailing red and crimson hues of the background (viz. the drape, armchair, and table). Moreover, one can detect colors of dark green (jewelry), some beige on the left (pillar), and darker or lighter shades of blue on the right side of the canvas (sky), which all in concert and in addition to the subtle purple hue forming the sun or moon exude a certain dramatic sentiment. Also, there is brown, which often easily segues into gold (viz. books and attire details respectively). The main contrast of colors between white and red would be interpreted as serving the purpose of rendering the figure of the woman, and especially her face, the focal point of the work, despite, paradoxically enough, the lush red shades at the background. Bearing that in mind, the significance of the woman’s face will be enlarged upon later, when discussing aspects of her identity.

This painting shows how close and codependent humans and nature were. How well humans worked together with one another and their world. How peaceful those that are close to nature are, which is why it (nature) must be celebrated and appreciated.

Magritte lived a rather conventional lifestyle, perhaps that was the reason for his philosophy about not following the crowd. He created many paintings of "those following the common path" so in his painting Golconda, depicting men dressed the all the same pouring down from the sky, we can only assume Magritte was trying to show common man on their daily schedule. In the painting the men even though are dressed the same, are in slightly different poses and faces. Maybe the artist was stating that even though he believes most men are stuck following the crowd, all men have different personalities and/or qualities. Again, Magritte was trying to signify that most men are try to behave and look like everyone else in order to fit in, which is why

The feel of the picture lends to emotions of unease and recognition of sexual innuendo. The colors of the painting are vibrant, but for the most part are dark. The heavy tones and shades of the colors are well balanced throughout the piece. It can be noted that the brightest shades of color are found on areas depicting the actual woman. In areas that are understood as landscape, the colors are more dreary and create a sense of instability. Even Hess observes that the

When one looks at the painting White light, an array of colors spring off the canvas and permeate one’s senses. The primary and intense color of red is softened by the primary colors of yellow and blue. While the tertiary color of green subtly takes its place among the hues to give some balance. The perceivable tones of black and white add value and seem to give some

In 1964 artist René Magritte painted The Son of Man. In the surrealism period, Magritte oil painted it as a self portrait. Something I questioned during my research, what is surrealism? Merriam-Webster’s definition is, “Surrealism: the principles, ideals, or practice of producing fantastic or incongruous imagery or effects in art, literature, film, or theater by means of unnatural or irrational juxtapositions and combinations.” Surrealism’s goal was to release thought, human experience, and language from the cruel boundaries of rationalism (Mann). When looking at this particular painting, one will see a man in a dirty grey to black overcoat; finishing his outfit with a circular top hat. The background of the painting is a short, cement wall breaking the horizon line with a stormy looking sky and dusty sea. The first thing an inspector's eye goes to is the green apple veiling over the man’s face. The apple seems to be floating in mid air. When looking closely, one would see the top of the gentleman’s eyes peeking over the apple. Another astute detail in the painting is the man’s left arm, which seems to be bent backwards at the elbow. The man in this picture, I feel, is hiding a deep secret. Other than the backwards elbow, his figure seems to be normal on the surface, but, because of his face being covered the assessor wants to see the face. We want to see what is beyond the apple and the reasoning behind his face being covered. When seeing The Son of Man for the first time, I thought that he was an educated man trapped in his own thoughts because the government had mind control over its citizens. I thought this because when I saw an apple, I thought of a teacher. To be a teacher, one must be reputable and educated. I had no idea what time period, country, or situation this painting was composed. In countries other than America, you cannot out smart the government because they have so much control over their citizens. So maybe he knew he was intelligent and could outsmart the government (his eyes peeking over the apple), but chose to rebel by art.