Dallas Museum Of Art, Watch, By Gerald Murphy

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On September 20, 2014, I went to the Dallas Museum of Art, where I viewed a painting by Gerald Murphy, “Watch”. In this painting, Murphy depicts the inner and outer workings of a pocket watch, with its complicated mechanisms displayed, in order to create a statement about the men who created it. Specifically he addresses how intricate the details and mechanics behind the pocket watch are, which in turn reflect the creators. Murphy does an excellent job of expressing the intended theme of men being intelligent, with the size manipulation of the overall painting and the watch’s parts, the geometric shapes of the mechanisms, and the color and neatness of the structures.
The canvas that “Watch” was painted on was approximately two meters in …show more content…

The actual painting was inspired by two watches, a railroad watch, used by his family business, and a golden pocket watch, which the latter being precious to him. He would leave the pocket watch propped open to reveal the inner workings. The painting’s structure uses geometric forms excessively for the sophisticated feel of the workings of a watch. One cannot fail to see that there is a clear pocket watch design, as well as the mechanics displayed inside of it. This also includes the outer display of the watch being displayed. The blue and gray colors are metallic colors that represent the inner workings of the pocket watch. These colors symbolize industry, and perhaps how the watch was created. Meanwhile, the yellow/gold and brown colors show the outward appearance of the pocket watch. This painting is a symbol to Murphy’s own pocket watch that he had. The circular and rectangular shapes show precision used in the painting to make the mechanisms to appear as well-condition parts, as well as no blurring of the paint. There is no indication there is any wear on the pocket watch, which would mean a brand new watch or one well cared for. The …show more content…

This painting stood out in the fact that it gave a more industrial feeling, with its straight lines and overlapping mechanics. The layering also allowed for the two different layers of the outer and inner part of the pocket watch, with the inner watch seemingly displayed first with the outer appearance of the watch behind the inner part, which was impressive. It felt as if the gears of the background were not meant to reflect the watch, but those who made the watch, to symbolize the thought process throughout the creation. I selected this painting after debating about several others, as the first impression was strong for me. Its simple name with its complex meaning also makes this painting interesting. The design in the painting makes the watch feel far more sophisticated, and brings the air of mystery. Murphy did a good job in portraying how man was able to grasp the mysteries of watch. The overlapping layers of the inner, outer, and background show how much detail that man is able to capture inside an actual pocket watch. The size of the mechanisms inside the watch, and the details of the mechanisms were slightly overwhelming as one could be entranced by the amount of details in the details. The paint was smooth and not blurred in anyway, which made the painting seem more refined. The painting itself was slightly daunting as I only reached half of its height. The colors throughout the painting

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