This paper is going to be a close examination of Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of Matilda Stoughton de Jaudènes, an oil canvas dating from the year 1794. Initially, there is going to be provided a formal analysis of the work of art in question as far as the elements of Art are concerned. Thereafter, attention will be drawn to how the sitter is conveyed through the artist’s artistic choices on the painting. With reference to that, multiple aspects of the piece will be discussed as to the way in which they contribute to attributing an identity to the sitter. Lastly, the paper will elaborate upon how two formal artistic elements effectively convey one aspect of the sitter’s identity. In particular, the elements of color and light will be …show more content…
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. To further elaborate upon the elements of art on the painting, the lines are in their vast
One of the aspects I believe unifies this painting is, as I talked about above, the continuation of the blue of the woman’s clothing continuing up into her hair, which gives the piece a sense of wholeness and relativity. There is also balance in this piece, for while the woman’s head is offset, this is balanced out by the elongation of her shoulder and arm in the right side of the image. Variety is also achieved in this piece through the use of a variation of hues and a lot of tonal difference. Emphasis is placed upon the hair with the use of an unnatural hair colour, as well as the face where light colours are used to highlight and pull the attention. Space is not so much of an active principle in this piece, but is still present nonetheless. Beryl is placed in the middle of the painting, with her taking up roughly 50% of the space, and the rest taken up by background.
The contrast of the loose application of paint in the background to a more rigid foreground helps carry this illusion in the composition. The strategic arrangement of the figures also contributes to the breakdown of the social order. The fair-skinned woman is clearly placed in front; she occupies a larger space than her servant who’s placed behind her. This deliberate placement of figures substantiates the idea of racial hierarchy. We see a plate of inscription on the lower left corner of the painting that is elucidating the scene. There are several letters positioned near certain objects throughout the composition. The content of these objects are explained in text, which also supports the idea that the artist wishes the viewer to grasp a certain meaning from the work. These annotations aid the artist’s manifestation of the New World and an idealized social
Henri Cartier-Bresson deems it possible to identify “the sitter’s inner character” from a photographer who captures a sitter’s perfect representative portrait; yet Avedon, another photographer, later comes to argue that “the photographer has complete control,” that the sitter is, in essence, dictated by the
The portrait is displayed horizontally with a gold trimmed frame. The subject is a female that looks to be in her early 20’s sitting upright on a large brown chair. If the viewer travels up the painting the first indication of the woman’s class is her satin, blue dress. The saturated blue shines and falls in the light like water. Paired with the dress are her exceptionally detailed endings to her sleeves. The lace is even painted as though it is translucent, allowing a little of the blue dress to show through the sleeve. Flowers throughout history have symbolized innocence of a woman and her virginity. The repeating theme of flowers, in the sleeve cuffs and ribbon) in the woman’s attired suggests her purity or innocent nature. Another very details section of the painting includes the corset/torso details. The sewing suggests texture in the torso with small beading in between. Towards the top of the chest in the center, the female seems to bear an extravagant, ribbon piece with a tear drop bead in the center. The light pink
The way the whole painting is monochromatic except for the corsage really is striking, and brings emphasis to an object that is traditionally worn only by females. The other focal points in this painting are the woman’s butt and breasts. These are areas that are constantly under a microscope in many cultures. They represent a woman's sexual appeal, which is often directly tied to her worth in ads and in magazines, and especially to the majority of males. Meanwhile, you can’t see the woman’s face, only her curly blonde hair that is cut short. Much like Kahlo’s painting where the emphasis on her hair as an aspect of her womanhood, this painting also shows that
In his painting, there is a term to expressing how light varies from its original light. For instance, the background of the painting is adding with brown color, yet using tint and shade effect to the sun sets with distinctive brightness. Brightness is adjusted by horizontal movement, and Breton increases, and decreases his painting’s brightness at the background view. Upper part of the pieces, twilight shines with varying brightness, depending on the darkness of the sky surface. Brightness for the mid-gray tones in the surrounding space, with significantly affecting the highlights and shadows. Overall painting allows depress emotion. Figures is luminous such as the sky and houses, also for the woman, she is apparently describing with a energetic sense of natural, and mournful atmosphere. The light at the back part of the drawing gives viewers to pay attention to the woman rather than the background, since there is bright white T-shirt with dress, and the woman’s face. Breton uses tint and shade effect at the upper part of the painting, and clouding of the back scene maintains a tenderness. Breton uses bright light at the sun sets, and it expressed that it was the dawn and bring message with a bright future will come soon to the woman, and the
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
The shapes of the figures are sharply defined and the objects such as the table, book, and string instruments. There are diagonal rhythms throughout the painting in which it creates movement. The light source in the upper left allows the source light to have a more natural appearance throughout the painting. The shadows at the right-hand corner and the men wearing green in the middle contrast the main object with the most sources of lighting. The objects shadows and lighting create dimension and a vivid sense of more contrast. There are areas in the making with more contrast and the sharp contrast that creates movement in the painting. The shadows and the lighting throughout the painting show gradations and the highlights create more depth. Staring from the upper-left hand corner with the first figure of a gentleman wearing a hue of blue and yellow, the left side of his face and garment shows the source light in right above him. The source light above the
The relationship in the painting between the mother and daughter give it a definite asymmetrical balance and maybe a little radial balance. A radial balance because of their eyes being the central focus, then the faces, then the holding of each other, then where they are placed on the canvas, and then the bench and the landscape. The colors used by the painter, also creates balance with in the picture. The wine colored dress of the mother, red sash of the daughter’s dress, ruby lips, and the rosy cheeks give a warm feeling to the central focus of the mother and daughter. The cool color of the sky is the same as the women’s eyes as well as the trees and green on the mother’s dress. These balances give unity or a unifying feeling to the painting, especially between the mother and daughter.
The art and beauty in this painting is exemplified through the eyes of Boucher. It starts with a beautiful couple taking a rest after picking up some followers. Their clothing looks very elegant and colorful which shows that they are aristocrats. The man’s eyes are gazing at a shepherdess who gathered her own flowers. Their eyes are locked despite the man having his own woman right in front of him. The light brushstrokes of the dresses, flowers, and trees
This painting addresses two discussions by Marx in terms of feminism and postcolonialism. The Caucasian female is depicted to be nude as she sits down in a pose that was as appropriately executed as possible. She has a glow about her, as her red hair beautifully contrasts her milky white skin. During this time, it was a new concept that women were painted in the nude as the girl is in this painting. Caught in a moment of vulnerability, the woman in the Moorish Bath was considered to be the object of desire to whoever owned this painting as it was essentially compared to the idea of owning this woman, being able to admire her from afar and fantasize about her as they pleased. However, she was by no means indigenous of the Moorish people, who were Muslim and from Northern Africa. The fantasy was further enhanced when the viewer notices that she is this Moorish, exotic setting where she does not belong, giving her a goddess-like quality. As for the other woman, she is depicted as a servant. As she stands near the shadow, her dark and muscular skin masks any softness about her, making her more of a supporting character in this painting than an object of
The overall composition of the painting is naturalistic: emphasized by the light and shadow on the figures, the use of three dimensions, and the additional details in the clothes of the figures. The body on the cross demonstrates the most amount of modeling. The face and legs of the person are covered by shadow, while the light hits the left side of the body at the chest the most. Also, there is an attention to showcasing three dimensions: the objects towards the back of the painting get smaller, while the objects in the front are larger. The three dimensions frame the picture, and create a sense of directly looking into the scene from a front viewer. Lastly, the folding and drapery of the clothing accentuate the naturalism of the painting by looking similar to
The use of line in this piece is also very interesting. The artist employs a high horizontal line to create a plunging effect giving the piece more depth. Another use of lines in the image is to create focal points to attract the viewer. Lines are also used to separate the different sections of the painting. Overall this painting uses lines in dynamic ways that vastly enhance the viewers’ pleasure and admiration of the piece.
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
This painting is divided into three equal parts by the arches in the background and the characters correspond to each of these arches (TV12). The father is in the middle portion of the painting. The lines of perspective created by the tiled floor, draws our attention to the swords that the father is holding and the vanishing point lies just behind the handles of the sword. Our angle of vision is such that we are looking directly at the main figures groups, particularly the father. A single light source from the left of the picture illuminates the characters and also focuses our attention to the father holding the sword. This creates a ‘theatrical’ effect. The background is simple and stark so our attention is focussed on the figure groups in the painting. The painting has a wide tonal range that makes the composition logical and balanced. The colours used in this