Pierre Auguste Renoir was a late nineteen- century French impressionist painter whose works were often ridiculed throughout his life, because of his sensuous celebration of women and nature. He was considered to be one of the most famous artists of his generation, due to his representation sensuality and pleasure in his paintings. When his paintings were first exhibited, they were considered to be shocking and culturally taboo, however after time society became more accepting of Renoir’s style and his work overall. "The Apple Seller" painted in 1890, which is now showcased at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The painting depicts a commercial transaction between a peasant woman and an upper class woman and her children. Throughout this paper I will describe the formal properties of this painting such as composition, line and color, texture, space and volume and use of light. The painting as a triangular composition, containing all four figures, they are in turn drawn together within a harmonious ensemble. The painting itself depicts an older peasant woman selling fruit to what seems to be a middle class woman and her children. The painting is set deep in the forest, where the mother and her children are enjoying a pleasant spring afternoon. The blurred background of the piece brings the figures to the front of the painting creating a more personal situation for each viewer. Incidentally, this creates the effect of a personal link between the viewer and the figures in the painting. The peasant woman is depicted in plain clothing by using very dull colors; on the other hand the wealthier woman is painted in more vibrant colors to describe her social status. Overall, the composition seems to be a commentary of the social circumstances of the time.
The color and line are both a very bold issues within the context of this painting. The painting as...
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...ss of the peasant brings her to the front of the painting, and seemingly below the woman and her children, This makes the woman and her children seem like they are on a pedestal and not really involved with the realities of the disgruntled peasant. This in turn reinforces the meaning of the composition of social strife between the classes.
In conclusion, Renoir does an excellent interpretation of the social controversy of the time. The use of color, line, texture, space/volume and light all play their own part within the composition’s meaning. The composition is so well thought out that any viewer is led through a journey of social classism and the downfalls of different social stature. The painting shows the ignorance of the upper class from the looks on the mother and children’s faces to the backbreaking posture of the peasant. The mother and children have almost a snobbish feel to them, which emphasizes the clash of the two classes shown in the painting. Overall, the painting is a very accurate description of the social turmoil of the time.
Carol Armstrong begins her essay by pointing out the two main points that come about when discussing A Bar at the Folies-Bergere. These two points are the social context of the painting and its representation of 19th century Paris, and the internal structure of the painting itself with the use of space. She then goes on and addresses what she will be analyzing throughout her essay. She focuses on three main points, the still life of the counter and its commodities, the mirror and its “paintedness”, and the barmaid and her “infra-thin hinge” between the countertop and the mirror.
This painting consists of regular lines as well as implied lines. Some of the regular lines that have been included are flowing, curved lines, such as the Earth that the woman is sitting on top of. Additionally, the background is made of small scenes that have been outlined by a dotted line, which places emphasis on the scenes. Besides regular and visible lines, there are a few implied lines in this painting. For instance, the woman's eyes are looking forward, so there is an implied line to the audience. Additionally, another implied line would be the woman's right arm, which is pointed towards her headpiece, while her left arm is pointed towards the earth. Nonetheless, this painting is not intense; although it does have splashes of color, this painting does not have a bright saturation. Instead, this painting is slightly dull, which makes this painting appear vintage. Additionally, since this background is a dark color, it makes the rest of painting, especially the headpiece, stand out. Besides colors and lines, even though this is a painting and there is no physical texture, there is invented texture. Upon viewing this painting, underneath the earth where the woman is sitting on, there are roots as well as grass, which give texture and feeling to the painting. In the end, this painting consists of several elements of composition, which Heffernan has done a wonderful job
The painting is organized simply. The background of the painting is painted in an Impressionist style. The blurring of edges, however, starkly contrasts with the sharp and hard contours of the figure in the foreground. The female figure is very sharp and clear compared to the background. The background paint is thick compared to the thin lines used to paint the figures in the foreground. The thick paint adds to the reduction of detail for the background. The colors used to paint the foreground figures are vibrant, as opposed to the whitened colors of the Impressionist background. The painting is mostly comprised of cool colors but there is a range of dark and light colors. The light colors are predominantly in the background and the darker colors are in the foreground. The vivid color of the robe contrasts with the muted colors of the background, resulting in an emphasis of the robe color. This emphasis leads the viewer's gaze to the focal part of the painting: the figures in the foreground. The female and baby in the foreground take up most of the canvas. The background was not painted as the artist saw it, but rather the impression t...
...hese repeated vertical lines contrast firmly with a horizontal line that divides the canvas almost exactly in half. The background, upper portion of the canvas, seems unchanging and flat, whereas the foreground and middle ground of the painting have a lot of depth to them.
Besides bright or dim colors, and fine or rough brush strokes, artists use centralized composition to convey their interpretations in "The Acrobat's Family with a Monkey," "Amercian Gothic," "The Water-Seller," and "The Third of May,1808.”
When looking at the painting it gives us a glimpse of the past. It looks almost like a photograph. The fine detail from the building on the right with the statue on top. The citizens walking around.
Throughout history, women have been portrayed as the passive, subdued creatures whose opinions, thoughts, and goals were never as equal as those of her male counterparts. Although women have ascended the ladder of equality to some degree, today it is evident that total equalization has not been achieved. Simone De Beauvoir, feminist and existential theorist, recognized and discussed the role of women in society today. To Beauvoir, women react and behave through the scrutiny of male opinion, not able to differentiate between their true character and that which is imposed upon them. In this dangerous cycle women continue to live up to the hackneyed images society has created, and in doing so women feel it is necessary to reshape their ideas to meet the expectations of men. Women are still compelled to please men in order to acquire a higher place in society - however, in doing this they fall further behind in the pursuit of equality.
In the Enseigne, art is also shown to serve a function that it has always fulfilled in every society founded on class differences. As a luxury commodity it is an index of social status. It marks the distinction between those who have the leisure and wealth to know about art and posses it, and those who do not. In Gersaint’s signboard, art is presented in a context where its social function is openly and self-consciously declared. In summary, Watteau reveals art to be a product of society, nevertheless he refashions past artistic traditions. Other than other contemporary painters however, his relationship to the past is not presented as a revolt, but rather like the appreciative, attentive commentary of a conversational partner.
The composition of this painting forces the eye to the woman, and specifically to her face. Although the white wedding dress is large and takes up most of the woman’s figure, the white contrasts with her face and dark hair, forcing the viewer to look more closely into the woman’s face. She smokes a cigarette and rests her chin on her hands. She does not appear to be a very young woman and her eyes are cast down and seem sad. In general, her face appears to show a sense of disillusionment with life and specifically with her own life. Although this is apparently her wedding day, she does not seem to be happy.
This painting of the industrial revolution is very thought provoking, and causes a person to think about of what was happening during the industrial revolution. He shows the horrors of the factories and the serenity of the nature. He makes someone want to go back in time where things were peaceful, and there was just nature. Everything was in it’s own natural state and peaceful. This painting gave viewers a small glimpse into the past of the United States and the industrial revolution. Even though this picture showed a small glimpse of the past, a picture (or painting) is truly worth a thousand
This painting of the industrial revolution is very thought provoking, and causes a person to think about of what was happening during the industrial revolution. He shows the horrors of the factories and the serenity of the nature. He makes someone want to go back in time where things were peaceful, and there was just nature. Everything was in it’s own natural state and peaceful.
The benefits of this communication are varied perspectives influenced by one’s social class, gender, age and moral values. Within the painting all in attendance are from the same social class as shown by their clothes and hair styles. Both men and women are present ranging in age from the older gentleman on the right to the young girl. Most importantly, their facial expressions depict their varying reaction to an ethical issue. The young girl and her crying mother are the most illuminated in the entire painting representing their level of
The painting clearly refers to the period of slavery, presenting the unequal roles between black and white individuals. The artists paints the image in a way that both exposes and ridicules the actions of the white man. A black woman being kissed by a white man suggests that she is a slave and therefore in a relationship that was enforced and sexually violent. African American women, as slaves, were subject to the practice of sexual exploitation in the 19th century. Women were treated as property as they were continuously harassed, raped, and beaten by masters as white men with authority took advantage of their slaves. While women were appeared to be consenting to the mistreatment, no safeguards existed in order to protect women from such abuses, and were left with no choice but to engage in sexual activity with their masters. The black man in the image, on the other hand, is subject to being hit, a way of enforcing slavery. The two black figures, are in essence, a form of “luxury” for the white men as the black man is being deprived of his rights by his owner and is used as a tool through work in the fields, while the woman is used as a “luxury” that satisfies her owner through fulfilling the white man’s sexual
The iconography of the picture could represent art in the view of the fauvists. Fauvists wanted to be free from tradition and natural colors. They wanted to be free to explore their world of colors as they saw fit. Fauvists and expressionists did not like to be held to strict rules when it came to painting. It could be that Le Bonheur de Vivre was a state in which they where trying to reach, but in reality could get never get there. On the other hand, could it be a place where they could only reach in their dreams? Critics have struggled with the interpretation of Matisse’s painting since the first display. That may have been Matisse’s meaning after all.
Theo and the young Narrator similarly discover the revelatory capacity of art through a single pivotal painting and author respectively, both which become significant motifs in either text. Tartt utilizes an existent painting ‘The Goldfinch’ as a fixed point of reference, which, for both Theo and the reader provides a sense of reality and constancy ‘rais[ing him] above the surface’ of an otherwise tumultuous childhood. Whereas Proust uses a fictional author, ‘Bergotte’, to communicate the universality of art, and invite the reader, through the vivid immediacy with which the Narrator’s early reading experiences are described, to participate in his epiphanic discovery that art can translate ‘imperceptible truths which would never have [otherwise] been revealed to us’ (97). Artistic imagery becomes a motif in Proust’s descriptions of scenes of domesticity and nature. In a scene recounting Francoise ‘masterful’ preparation of a family meal the Narrator describes asparagus in the technical language of painting as ‘finely stippled’ provoking an association between his observations of asparagus and the creation of a painting. By forming this improbable link he elevates unremarkable asparagus to the ‘precious’ status of art in the eyes of the reader. Proust’s presentation of his Narrator’s ‘fascination’ and pleasure at their ‘rainbow-loveliness’, forces the reader to consider asparagus with unfamiliar and attentive appreciation, conveying the idea that art can uncover the overlooked beauty of the mundane. Though Theo reveals a far more cynical view of ordinary life as a ‘sinkhole of hospital beds, coffins and broken hearts’ Tartt conveys the similar belief in art’s capacity to create a ‘rainbow-edge’ of beauty between our perceptions and the harshness of reality. In the most