Walter Ackerman
AD 255
Heather Vickers
11/28/17
The piece of art I choose for my visual analysis paper was the portrait of Harvey D. Wilmeth by Jamie Lee McMahan. This portrait is an oil painting on a cardboard canvas, it can be found in the Thomas S. and Harvey D. Wilmeth Active Learning Center, better known as WALC. Although I could not find the exact date this painting was created, I do know the portrait is based off of a 1940 graduation photo of Harvey Wilmeth. Jamie Lee McMahan is an American portrait artist who attended the University of Tennessee.
Although you would think such a basic portrait could not have that many elements of art, that is far from the truth. This portrait starts off with contoured lines. These contoured lines help clearly outline the subject of the painting. The shape of this painting as a whole is obviously a rectangle since it fits into a rectangular picture frame, but Harvey Wilmeth adds more shape. His head has a circular shape, with some irregularities with his ears sticking out and his boxed
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Using implied texture, McMahan is able to make his clothing look layered and his hair look extremely lifelike. Color is another element of art that is used in this portrait. It is mainly formed from subtractive/darker colors to create an older feel to the portrait since it is based off of a photo from 1940. Volume and mass are two other key features to this portrait, and since it is a 2D painting it is implied volume and mass. The artist uses shading and cross hatching to make the subject of the painting appear three dimensional. The same thing goes for the volume in this work of art. Does it have actual volume? Obviously not since it is 2D, but though the use of shading and perspective it creates the illusion to the viewer of
Used closed form shape to make up the appearance of his big eyes. Symmetrical patterns to make up his head
As indicated by the shape in the foreground, the lines that signify the contour of the rocks and freestanding structure merge. The lines lead the eye vertically as it meets the center. When looking at the painting as a whole, the viewer can see how the artist uses straight
This painting contains an old bald African American with a serious blunt face. The man have bags under his eyes and a large nose. Kapher went into depth making the features of his face a certain facial expression. It size also gave the painting such a vivid appearance with half of the African American face right in the middle-top of the painting. Its colors are brown for the African American male, black for the background; then he used a splatter painting technique at the bottom with navy blue, grey, and white. The splatter at the bottom gives the painting more to observe at than just a fifty year old man with a determined look. I will imagine that Kapher used painting an old man in a concerning mood with his mouth covered will best show a true realistic painting. The painting itself does not show much of realistic art, so I believe it's the meaning that gives the painting a naturalistic art stylistic
Perhaps the most technically impressive aspect of the painting is its remarkable three-dimensionality. Rembrandt is well known for his strikingly accurate portrayal of human shape and form, and this painting lives up to such reputation. With the use of oil paint, he was able to carefully and selectively layer color to create an astonishing representation of the human figure. The most alluring aspect of the piece, in terms of modeling technique, is the face. It contains so much detail; it is hard to believe this painting was done by hand. From the light, wispy texture of the facial hair to the subtle wrinkles surrounding the eyes, attention to detail is what sets this portrait far above many others. Rembrandt’s playful chiaroscuro on the nose and right hand truly give the piece a sense of depth, and the painterly quality of the piece produces a soft and elegant look. Also present within the face is the famous Rembrandt triangle. The result of a specific lighting technique frequently used by Rembrandt, a small triangle is formed underneath the eyes. It is present under the left eye in Marten’s portrait, which gives his face a more natural look. Another technique that intensifies the three-dimensionality of the visible body parts is the use of
The image I chose for this paper is titled A Rose. The image is a painting painted in oil on a canvas and was painted by Thomas P. Anshutz. The painting was produced in Pennsylvania during 1907. I researched this image on ARTstor by using the term realism and then I narrowed down my search by selecting a filter to return paintings as well as setting the geography filter to North America. The painting belongs to The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection and is on display in the American Wing in the gallery of Images of Woman from 1880 to 1910.
Simply a smooth round surface lies within the eye socket. They are in the shape of footballs with a distinct eyelid surrounding them entirely, and a rigid eye brow structure is placed directly over the top. The forehead gracefully goes upward from the brow without a single crease, and it slightly rounds outward. The nose is perpendicular to the eyes, beginning where they meet in the middle. It is overly thin on the brim, protruding greatly from the face. Two half circles flare out at the lower tip of the nose with openings at the bottom to resemble nostrils. Directly below this, two almost rectangular shaped characters emerge from the face, exactly where a pair of lips would sit. There is a deep gap between the two to give it the image of a mouth.
Obviously, lots of squares and rectangles are used in this painting. It helps the flow of the painting. When you notice one square or rectangle in the painting, you notice another one close by, which leads your eye around the room back
The majority of the shapes are square or rectangle. It is very linear with very little curved shapes. This brightly colored painting does not have a ton of dimension.
The medium used for this work of art is oil. In this technique the oil acts as a binder and causes a quick drying layer that can built upon. The formal elements of a painting include line, color, space, light, texture and pattern. The line appears to be an implied line in which the work creates directional movements from top to bottom. But also forces the viewer to see how the figures stand out and there importance in the painting. The color shows a subtle spectrum with a detailed background from the skies to the mountains to the artist table canvas. The light is somewhat even throughout the painting showing emphasis on every figure holding something in their hands; and more so the final product of the artist that are being captured on the canvas. The visual texture of the painting appears to be smooth and the pattern is decorative and somewhat vibrant. The principle of unity and variety are evident in this painting, the design itself shows a sense of community of important figures throughout African American history. I was drawn to this piece because it embodied the heritage of African American art through history. This painting by Hale Woodruff displays many of the significant contributions that African Americans made to the world of Art. Not necessarily “picture art” but all realms of life art: cooking, liberal arts, politics, labor, law and many more through his vibrant
His eyes are oblong and slanted downward. The pupil in his right eye is small, however, the pupil in his left eye is missing completely. His nose is narrow and tall. The ball of his nose is pointed and his nostrils are small. His mouth is wide. His upper lip is thin and his lips are slightly parted, exposing two sharp, white teeth. There is little definition between his chin and his neck. His ears are pointed and extend past the top of his head. Between his ears is a modest patch of hair. The individual strands are carved and appear to be straight. The patch on which the hair is carved is lighter and more yellow-toned than the rest of his skin. The surface of most of his skin is smooth and has no scarification
This depth or distance that the beholder of the eye misses as he/she analyzes the action of the 2-dimensional portrait is what’s called the painter’s space. In reality, one of the greatest abilities one’s eyes have is being able to determine depth and distance; small objects are at a far distance and bigger
To begin, the proportion of the woman’s gaze accentuates perfection. The eyes introduces a sense of nobility to the piece acquiring a softness at the gaze. Painted with a spherical shape, it allows the appearance to emerge mysteriously throughout the portrait and I quote “Through their roundness, therefore, the mind, knowing itself, is sometimes forced to reveal the secrets thoughts of their
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
In order to demonstrate these specific characteristics, Leger incorporates many different types of elements into this piece. In this painting, color plays an important role. The shapes of the blue squares contrast altogether with the other shapes and also, with the mutated beige background. Leger uses numerous colors such as the neon yellow, red, blue, black, and green in order to reveal that the colors are free and therefore, these colors exist in space. As mentioned earlier, this painting included a variety of different shapes; there are two different types of shape that can be seen in this painting. The first type is geometric or regular shapes such as the squares, circles, and rectangles. The second, on the other hand, are organic and freeform shapes such as the feet, hands, and face. Next, Leger incorporates many lines throughout this portrait. From curved lines to a single horizontal line, Leger includes each different type to develop a sense of movement, or rhythm. The curved lines makes the viewer’s eyes circle around the piece to further realize the symbolism. For space, Leger leaves many of the corner as negative space. However, the corners of this painting are not the only ones Leger leaves as space. Because the shapes and colors are kept simple, there’s also quite a series of distance between the shapes even throughout the whole entire painting. Again, because of the simplicity of the shapes, even the texture of this painting can be seen as smooth. The painting does not involve any harsh or rugged lines, and is
Claude-Joseph Vernet made a painting that brings your attention to the foreground. In the front, there is a boat being boarded. Some of the people that are not boarding the boat are standing by the sea. In the sea, some boats are sailing off in the distance. One of the boats in the distance is a large boat that gives the illusion of being three-dimensional. The form gives this illusion because of the reflection in the sea. If you look in the lower-right, you can see the light from the sun illuminating the sky. This light is hidden behind a large mountain that also has a three-dimensional form. There is also lots of texture in the painting. Some texture is seen in the mountains and ground giving a rough look, and some is seen in the sea in the form of ripples. On top of the mountain in the lower-right, there is greenery that has an illusion of being light and feathery. In that mountain, there is an arch that makes the other side visible. In the far distance, you can see a faint