Analyzing James Henry Daughtry's Painting 'Cabaret'

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Cabaret (Café Chantant) by James Henry Daughtry, is a vibrant and lively picture of a cafe with a dancing performance. Café Chantant was known as a type of entertainment place that was popular in the early 20th century. The title “Cabaret” suggests it was a place where people would go to enjoy musical acts, dancing, and other types of performances. Cabaret (Café Chantant) was created in 1914 and it features a transparent and opaque watercolor technique combined with graphite on paper. It is a partially abstract art, it does not clearly depict objects or people you can see, tables, people, and drinks but it is not immediately and clearly seen. The artist has distorted and simplified the figures and objects, they are not all clear and detailed, …show more content…

Cabaret (Café Chantant) is on a flat surface and is shown as a two-dimensional piece of artwork. The shape of the figure in the middle seems to be strong and beautiful, being a performer and dancing in front of others. The circle shapes are tables and plates as well as the actual piece of art, the triangle shapes are drinking glasses, and the diamond shapes are used to create the floor. The shapes on the faces are not detailed, so it is hard to see an expression or emotion in the figures. There are some geometric shapes and irregular lines that contribute to the abstract and dynamic atmosphere. The focal point or emphasis could be the three faces seen, there are other figures of just an outlined body or only partially seen, but there are only three noticeable faces that are emphasized. The focal point could also be seen as the women dancing in the middle, being the main focus because as the performer that people would be coming to see, she also has bright yellow and has curved lines around her to imply movement. Cabaret (Café Chantant) has a lot of different shapes and colors which can make it hard to just focus on one area. The artist creates intrigue by creating more than one area of

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