Carriages On The Champs-Elysees

Jean Beraud’s work Carriages on the Champs-Elysees, 1849, depicts the lifestyle found on the French streets during the time. Low key tones of color, an open composition, and impressionism stylings of the human figure all give an expression of a fast paced lifestyle with almost no escape from movement. Low key colors, meaning muted and darker tones, sharply contrast that of the pastel sky. Traditionally, sky being a metaphor for the freeness and open-minded abilities of opportunity, the darkly shaded people, carriages, and horses elicit the opposite thinking strategy of the city streets and business. As the receding lines fade into a cross section, as do the dark colors, crowding the canvas with busy activity. Since dark colors cannot stand on their own against their monochromatic neighbors, this creates the allusion that the line of carriages last forever, and will continue to last. The focal point, being the stopped carriage towards the right side of the canvas, could possibly be the only sanctuary from the movement in the street, however, even then, the lines and blurred edges of the figures, compel the movement to continue.

Perhaps Beraud’s intention was for this scene to continue outward with no distinct end. Horses, trees, buildings, and people appear from the sides of the canvas with only part of their body visible to the viewer extends the idea that this scene exists outside of the confines of the frame. Easily imagining horse and carriage bolting from the medium into the open air of galleries as people walk to and from shops on the sidewalk alongside reinforce this movement phenomenon. Buildings without a firm outline reflect the pace by recreating the same effect the eye has on landmarks when passing quickly