The Gross Clinic, or, The Clinic of Dr. Gross, is an 1875 painting by American artist Thomas Eakins. The medium is oil on canvas and the piece measures 8 feet by 6.5 feet. The picture captures Dr. Samuel D. Gross, a seventy-year-old professor dressed in a black frock coat, lecturing a group of Jefferson Medical College students. The atmosphere of the piece is dark and disturbing, yet in a very philosophical manner. A surgery is being performed by several practitioners all at one time. The body that lies upon the operating table is indistinguishable; it is impossible to tell both the gender of the patient and what part of the body the surgery is being performed on. But it is also this ambiguity that captures one’s attention. The body lies …show more content…
on a table which is off center, placed over in the lower right corner of the piece. It is very geometric in comparison to the organic human figures that surround it, crowding like hungry savages over a helpless victim. The surgical table is covered by a white sheet, bringing a further emphasis to the grotesque scene. This white sheet creates great contrast in comparison to the black attire of the surgeons as well as the gloomy, almost faded background scene, which appears to have been left so as to compliment the bored, disinterested looks on the faces of the figures that are lurking in the shadows. The geometry of the table is further carried throughout the painting by the desks in the background as well as the entrance. The entrance itself is of a dark red value , which echoes the blood seen on the body and contributes to the painting the necessary splash of a warm hue. This crimson red is a warm color and brings with it an oddly comforting atmosphere as if to reassure that what is happening in the piece is okay, that the surgery is going just as planned. The blood plays a significant role in the piece. It acts as a point of emphasis, bringing the viewer’s gaze right into the disturbing scene. This red liquid drips off the fingertips of the white haired professor as well as off the fingertips of some of the practitioners. The red liquid is glossy and vibrant. In this manner it serves to distinguish the important aspects of the piece from the noise of the foreground, which is dulled by darker values. However, the blood is not the only splash of red in the painting; it is balanced by the red of the doorway, by the red tint of the railing, as well as by the red-orange tint of the skin tones of the medical students sitting behind their desks in the background. In the foreground the red handle of the scissors balances out the red of the blood, and another pair of green scissors complements the reds and allows for the eye to rest, preventing the viewer from getting exhausted by the crimson tones. A very intriguing pattern can be traced throughout the painting—the way there surgeons hold their instrument. This gesture is carried throughout the piece by how the students hold their pencils as they take notes or use their hands to support their heads. This creates a rhythm of familiarity, for due to the small alterations of the gesture viewer does not grow weary of the repetitiveness, but the repetition of the variations of the gesture creates enough uniformity within the background scene as to not make it too crowded. Upon looking at the piece one’s gaze has no choice but to meet the gaze of the professor. From there his angular haircut shoots the eye in two directions: towards the white sheet and the body in the right lower corner of the piece, as well as towards the upper left towards a young gentleman (who quite frankly seems to be the only one interested in learning, for he is the only one in the room taking notes). Such choice of placement and lighting makes for a very interesting composition. Because this young gentleman is painted in brighter values with more highlights similarly to the white haired professor, he allows the viewer to transition his or her gaze towards the layered pews where the students are sitting. These medical students are painted in duller colors as not to distract the viewer from the main scene, but they also do the painting a favor and bring movement to the background. The way many of them are leaning onto their left arms and to their left side serves as a directional component, leading one’s gaze towards the crimson entrance and creating a diagonal through the piece, thus ensuring a triangular composition. This triangle consists of the scene in the foreground (the surgical table as well as all of the surgeons crowding over the body) and the entrance which leads into the picture with its walls, the railing which creates a perfect curved line that mimics the curve of the back of one of the surgeons on the right, thus transitioning from the background to the middle ground and finally to the foreground. While the foreground appears to be well organized and thought out in terms of an emphasis point, rhythm, and contrast, one thing that the artist neglected are the proportions. The woman to the left side of the piece (who one could assume to be the mother or wife of the patient) seems out of place, largely due to her scale and a relatively small size in comparison to the rest of the group; almost as if an afterthought. She appears to be of approximately the same size as the man in the background behind her ( the only student taking notes), and yet she is supposed to be closer to the viewer, which makes it seem as if she was added in after the painting’s overall completion. She appears to be the only woman in the room which further draws attention to her presence, but perhaps her distress and awkward placing adds context to the piece rather than the artistic professionalism. Upon further examination, one may notice that all other faces except for that of the main professor are poorly detailed.
Even the faces of the men in the foreground appear to be wax like and flat. One of the least successful faces in the piece is that of the practitioner who is in the lower right corner of the piece, closest to the bottom edge. His face only contains three distinct values of skin tone, which makes his face appear one dimensional and lifeless. Furthermore, his left hand seems to be awkwardly placed and disproportionate in its length in comparison to the dimensions of his face. While his left hand flows somewhat with his body and reflects the style of the rest of the piece, his right hand, which is much lighter in color as if it somehow managed to catch all the light from an unknown light source, shows no consistency with the artist’s technique. It is bulky and out of place. The way it grasps the surgical instrument seems very unnatural. In fact, the only purpose the hand serves in this piece is to connect this man to the scene itself as an extension of this triangular composition. In this sense this figure is important, for his disproportionate body catches the viewers eye at the very edge of the painting, just as his or her attention is about to waive, and shoots it back into the main composition.
The professor himself may be the most brilliant and captivating aspect of the painting. His gaze is piercing and the details of his features are very pronounced and picturesque. Upon looking at his face, one can see that his intellect is unquestionable, for his brow bends in a very discerning manner. The curls of his hair have the perfect amount of detail and his suit the perfect mount of folds. He is arguably the centerpiece of the painting with his respectable stature which conveys control and wisdom (with perhaps a hint of well-deserved
arrogance.) Overall the panting is well done. The artist had the ambition to take in a composition of a grand size and he did so brilliantly, for he managed to capture a gruesome scene as well as the disinterest of the medical students observing the surgery. The composition itself is well balance and no space is left unused or forgotten. And while every inch of the piece is occupied either by the students, by practitioners, or their instruments, the scene does not appear crowded. In fact, it is this lack of negative space that holds the viewers interest. When the observer first locks his or her eyes upon this painting they may find it very hard to escape. From the gaze of the professor, to the body of the patient upon the surgical table, to the curve of the railing that leads one’s eyes towards the students hidden in the shadows, there is no space let unmarked. With each brush stroke upon the canvas a new intriguing aspect is introduced; be it the entrance way, which is glowing with a crimson hue (as if the fire of hell is burning right beyond the walls of the room), or the indistinguishable identity of the patient and the woman.
The black background contrast with the predominate colors of blue and red gives these colors intensity. The red and green are complementary colors that give the painting visual appeal. The green juxtapose above the blue and red gives the artwork color balance as well as implies a triangular shape. The triangular shape and pattern is repeated throughout the painting by; the bend of the flute player's elbow, the head and shoulders of the guitar player, the head and shoulders of the lady whose back is to the viewer, the body of the guitars and the location of the three right-most musicians
This painting is set within what seems to be the nineteenth century. One can infer this information based on the clothing, furniture, and architectural styles prevalent in the picture. The main figure that is central in the piece, the older man, fits the role of what appears to be a teaching position, where the boys that surround him are his students. The scene displayed here is one of an examination day. Each boy must t...
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...
In the painting Albright took a literal approach, in the rendering of the shapes he used throughout the canvas. This gives the viewer a realistic perception of what the artist was studying. Because, Albright painted this in a realism fashion he must have an adequate knowledge of the antimony of the human form as well as how the muscles would react to the pose he has chosen for his model. Since this is in fact a piece done by Albright some abnormalities can be founds. The most noticeable irregularity is how the artist betrayed the light source. When you first examine the painting your eye is instantly drawn to the man’s face, than the eyes move down the canvas with the left arm acting as a guide. From there your eyes move down to the man’s legs and feet, after that your eye will move around the wheel back to the face.
The painting has an order and there are different shapes and angles. Rectangular shape is main trend around this piece, including the wooden chest, the leg rest and the canvass. Also things overlap, creating the illusion of the shape look closer to viewer than the shape behind it. The example in this piece would be the chair on which Adelaide Labille Guiard sits be close to viewer than the girls behind it. This adds depth to the space. Also due to linear perspective girls behind the chair are smaller due to being farther away.
...tal aspects to understand who the female subject is. Miller doesn’t used repetition; in fact, he doesn't use geometric or organic shapes at all. The lack of the use of shapes and repetition mimics the way a woman would put on makeup. Typically, makeup isn’t put on in perfect shapes, much less organically shaped patterns. The impressionist style reflects the message of this painting more accurately than a more classical style, like Cenni’s, could.
The first thing to notice about this painting is how incredibly involved and realistic the brushwork is. The couple’s faces are so delicately rendered. Every wrinkle is visible and every hair strand is in it’s place. The soft folds and patterns of their clothing, and the grain of the vertical boards on the house, are highly developed and reveal Wood’s incredible attention to detail. The man, especially, appears to be nearly photorealistic.
As far as the human body is on the real and the anatomical features it fails to give an Idea of the human body in depth but an idea nonetheless. The painting in general is very proportional and in a way the people are proportional as a whole to the center; Jesus Christ. The main body part that seems to alwa...
‘The representation of the human form likewise served to stress essential data about the subject. The shoulders are nearly in frontal view to show the width of the body and not obscure the far arm, while the chest was represented in profile to show its contour…....
This sculpture seems to epitomize the ideal male human form. All of the body parts seem perfectly proportioned and the muscles are beautifully defined as if the image were of an athlete. The image is youthful with a calm demeanor. The right missing forearm looks as if it used to be resting at his side, while the left elbow was probably at a 90 degree angle, with the hand holding something. The slight bend in the left leg gives the impression of movement, as if the image was frozen while walking. The counterpoised stance adds an air of nobility to the "man".
images in this painting, all of which have the power to symbolize to us, the viewer, of the painter’s
White is especially arduous in this regard because, in the case of painting, it is usually the same color as the canvas. The primary media used in this piece is white paper, which on its own, when combined to form an image would make for a figure that is difficult to see. To offset this issue, Thigpen also utilizes the color black, and in doing so, the face is given features, such as facial lines, thick eyebrows, a goatee, as well as shadowing on the right cheek. In a portrait, it is essential that the viewer’s eyes are dragged to the subject of the piece, the individual portrayed, and therefore, it is crucial that the figure is viewable as well as clearly defined within the piece. At the same time, in the case of this piece, one is immediately drawn to the texture. When observing a regular portrait made from paints, it is easy to visualize the surface of the piece as smooth and flat. In Robert Simon, one can not help but assume that the surface is rugged and somewhat layered due to the many pieces of shredded
Light is used to make the face of the subject appear as if it is coming out from the shadows. Space is used in the same manner but using darkness. The dark space allows us to focus only on the face. Nothing else will distract us from the face that emerges from the dark space. Color is used rather sparingly. The only interesting use of color is the red used in the head piece. Again this appears to draw attention to the fact that a big wrap is needed to protect and cover a big brain which houses immense intelligence. The face in the portrait is considered an organic shape as it appears natural in
This painting by Vincent Van Gogh is on display at the Art Institute of Chicago Museum, in the Impressionism exhibit. There are many things going on in this painting that catch the viewer’s eye. The first is the piece’s vibrant colors, light blues and browns, bright greens, and more. The brush strokes that are very visible and can easily be identified as very thick some might even say bold. The furniture, the objects, and the setting are easy to identify and are proportioned to each other. There is so much to see in this piece to attempt to explain in only a few simple sentences.
The painting depicts two figures, the one of a woman and of a man. The dominating central figure is the one of the woman. We see her profile as she looks to the left. Her hands are crossed in a graceful manner. She has blonde hair and her figure is lit by what seems to be natur...