Analysis Of Georgia O Keeffe's Oriental Poppies

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Humans, as a species, are often unobservant. We live in a world that is absolutely filled with creativity and beauty, and yet, somehow, we manage to be almost completely ignorant of it. Every day, we pass by objects in nature that seem too small or simple, and we deem them insignificant. Most people do not walk by a flower and stop to do a double take. They do not pause, observe the flower more closely, and contemplate how so much beauty can be packed into something so tiny. It takes a truly special person to find charm and grace in something that appears so ordinary. It takes and even more special person to be able to paint and recreate beauty in a way that is impossible to ignore. However, this is exactly what Georgia O’Keeffe sought to do. …show more content…

Just from glancing at it, one can immediately tell that it’s an O’Keeffe painting, and can recognize how much of her personality and style show through. On this canvas that is approximately 30 by 40 inches, are bold, beautiful flowers. These flowers, though in real life are rather small, were painted on a much larger scale, as O’Keeffe often wanted to make the beauty of the flowers hard to ignore. By painting it on a bigger size, she was able to further enhance the details of the flowers, beautifully painting the edges of the flowers, managing to capture the movement of the flower petals, how they flow and overlap each other. Using paints, she manages to make it appear as if light is hitting the flowers, nearly making them glow. Another thing to note is the contrast in colors. Though she uses bright reds and oranges, in their centers, she uses a deep black. Despite the fact that it’s a darker color, it still manages to be just as bold as the brighter ones. This is partially due to her use of oil paints, which was often her medium of choice. With oils, it’s much easier to create eye-catching colors, as the paints are strongly pigmented. O’Keeffe often used this to her advantage, especially in this piece. Nowhere in it do you see murky or muddy colors. The composition of her piece also helps to further develop these poppies into something that can truly evoke emotions of happiness and …show more content…

Georgia’s first meeting with Stieglitz wasn’t exactly on good terms. He had decided to put pictures that she had painted on display, despite the fact that they were meant to be private. He had even put them under a different name, saying that they were created by ‘Virginia O’Keeffe’. When O’Keeffe saw that her paintings were put on display without her permission, she was livid and demanded that they be taken down, despite the fact that he had displayed them in the largest room and took great care in the way that they were put up (source 2). Stieglitz was, at the time, a known photographer, 23 years older than O’Keeffe who was, at the time, completely unknown. Despite this fact, Alfred saw an incredible amount of potential in her, and was thrilled by the fact that she was a female artist (Source 3). Despite their originally rocky start, O’Keeffe and Stieglitz began to get closer and closer. He was her as an inspiration and often took pictures of her, loving to photograph her life. It wasn’t until years later after their little affairs began that they actually got married. When Stieglitz divorced his wife in 1922, he immediately asked Georgia to marry him. However, she rejected his request, saying that she didn't see the point in it. After a lot of persuasion on his part, he managed to convince her to marry him in 1924. At the

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