When we look into a mirror we tend to see ourselves differently than what is really there. An interesting nontraditional vanitas type painting that gives a great example of this is Pablo Picasso’s Girl Before a Mirror painted in 1932. The visual elements, unique design, and iconography that Picasso used smoothly communicates the theme of mortality while also influencing contemplation of self.
There are many visual elements that help to balance the composition. The woman on the left and her mirrored image on the right gives the painting a symmetrical balance. The composition seems to be divided by the left mirror post that goes down vertically. The symmetry is what made me attentive to the fact that the reflection of the girl’s face is not the same as her face on the left side of the painting. The girl’s gesture as she reaches out to the edges of the mirror links the girl and her reflection. Picasso put emphasis on this by using the red stripes beginning at the girl’s chest extending all the way to the ends of her fingertips. I kept looking back and forth from one side of the painting to the other side because of just that one little aspect. The red stripes help to create unity and rhythm within the painting making it whole and balanced. The organic curves as well as the repeating circles also bring unity to the composition.
The colors Picasso used in Girl Before a Mirror play a huge part in stimulating emotion and providing balance. The natural focal point of this painting is the girl’s face. Picasso used a light yellow for her hair, a more intensely bright yellow for one half of her face, and a oval of green and white stripes surrounding her hair and head separating her from the boldly colored dazzling jewel like b...
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... brighter side of her face should be showing in the mirror which indicates she does not see herself the way she really looks. Instead she sees a shadow of uncertainty with her own inner self and realizes the inevitable.
Girl Before a Mirror is a wonderful piece of art to evaluate because it is a complex and non traditional form of a vanity style painting. Its composition is smooth and well balanced in portraying the theme of mortality. Through his skillful use of visual elements, unique design, and iconography Picasso was able to accomplish his goal in making one contemplate life and the inner self. Girl Before a Mirror communicates the message that the vanities in which a woman, viewing herself in a mirror, sees herself not the way she looks, but through the clothing down to the flesh which holds the certain and saddening truth of inescapable aging and death.
One of Morimura’s most iconic pieces, Daughter of Art History: Princess A is based on one of many portraits of the Infanta Margarita by Diego Velazquez, and is meant to inspire a feeling of estrangement in viewers. The process of creating this piece was incredibly elaborate, taking several months to complete. A remarkably complicated set was built to appear as similar as possible to the background of Velazquez’s original work. Morimura then proceeded to paint his face to mirror the appearance of the Infanta Margarita and inserted himself into the work by way of a small hole in the background fashioned for that purpose. The three-dimensional stage he created combined the background and the body of the princess in a way that permitted him to attain the desired self-portrait with a single, unaltered photograph. He also deliberately exposes his masculine arms in place of the Infanta Margarita’s slight, girlish limbs to indicate to the viewer that he is neither a female nor a child. By doing so, Morimura is creating “an ambiguous realm which is (a) neither adult nor child, (b) neither a contemporary image nor a historic painting, (c) neither Asian nor Western, and (d) neither woman nor man”
My initial thought about this painting is that it seems to be incorrect. The reflection in the mirror shows that the lady is looking in the direction of the man standing in front of her. If the lady is looking at the man their reflections should not be off to the side. The second observation is the lady is sad or disappointed and is looking past the man standing in front of her. My last observation is there are three sections from left to right; bottles and the audience, the lady, and the reflections of the lady and man. The most interesting concept about this artwork is how the reflections seem to be inaccurate. If the bottles and the reflections of the lady and the man standing in front of her are at an angle, then why are the vertical lines perpendicular to each other?
The focal point of being the mother and appear to be true to size. In comparison, the apple, the trees and landscape in the in the distance are all represented to be true to size based on this perspective. The women being bare foot along with the child who is naked provides unity to painting as they are part of the natural landscape. All of this, gives the viewer the impression that this is a realistic picture.
The Two Bathers was influenced by the Mediterranean whiahc can be seen in this small piece of art with its meauserements of 12” x 9.5” crated in Paris in 1921. His work was inspired by antique statuary, from the Cycldic Islands. Pablo Picasso showed his art to his idol Andre Malraux:’ Only the sculptors of the islands found a way to transform “ fertility goddesses” into signs… its goddess, if you will, imean the magic object is no longer Fertilitty. In this painting it shows a sigh of fertility in my opinion while the women standing, is half hiding her nudity behing a white cloth which is a color of pureity, and the male lies on the ground while their vertical and horizaltal postions sturture the compostions.
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.
Expanded and strengthened state private insurance companies are to be expected since more younger Texans enter the market thanks to the premium support. Texas can expect savings through more proper use of medical care, lower numbers in Medicaid, and savings from increased recipient cost sharing. Texas must refuse to comply with the new high-risk pools. There are many reasons Texas should not comply but the main reason is poor design. Currently, eighteen states have decided not to participate in these pools, Texas is undecided. Any person with a pre-existing medical disorder whom has been without insurance for six month will qualify. The law gave the Department of Health discretion in determining with conditions qualifies. Theoretically, the Department of Health could say the flu is a pre existing medical condition. If Texas does not refuse to comply with these pools it is only a matter of time before the demand will exceed the supply. A huge concern is when the funding is gone what do the state politicians do. I see two options. One, state officials will end the coverage all together and pull the plug. Two, continue to allow the program to run with the use of state tax dollars.
...retation of the painting some aspects were surprising to how dark and heavy hearted she could speak, she took an interesting perspective. However in her interpretative poem she found a perspective of the painting that connected with her. As she used every stroke of darkness painted into the canvas an opportunity to have it symbolize this darkness and evil that resides in the world. It told her story and her experience of a starry night. Similarly Van Gogh had used every stroke of light painted into the canvas to be a symbol of beauty, and a symbol of his fascination of the night sky and its illuminating lights. He uses swift movements of his brush to depict a sky that seem to be able to sweep the mind away from the frustrations of this world in to the dreamy night light. A single painting worth a million words tells many stories through every perspective.
The painting, in its simplest form, consists of a naked woman lying elegantly upon stately and rich cloths, while a young, also nude boy, is holding a mirror which contains her reflection. Upon first glance of this work, I was quickly able to make out the identity of the two subjects. ...
When first approaching this work, one feels immediately attracted to its sense of wonder and awe. The bright colors used in the sun draws a viewer in, but the astonishment, fascination, and emotion depicted in the expression on the young woman keeps them intrigued in the painting. It reaches out to those who have worked hard in their life and who look forward to a better future. Even a small event such as a song of a lark gives them hope that there will be a better tomorrow, a thought that can be seen though the countenance by this girl. Although just a collection of oils on a canvas, she is someone who reaches out to people and inspires them to appreciate the small things that, even if only for a short moment, can make the road ahead seem brighter.
Vanitas paintings are two dimensional compositions of symbolic content and iconography. The various objects used in the design of these paintings symbolize the brevity of life, the vanity of wealth and beauty, and the inescapable reality of death. This form of art was developed out of Northern Europe in the mid-16th century and through the 17th century. The word “vanitas” is Latin for “vanity.” Vanitas paintings are designed to remind its viewers of the verse in the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes that says all earthly things are “vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” Artists who painted vanitas wanted their viewers to remember that the wealth, beauty, and achievements that people desire and obtain will pass away and that death is a sure thing. Mortality is the message present in each vanitas painting and each artist expresses this meaning individually with the use of iconography, color, and various techniques.
As I turned away from The Doll Man I immediately was taken in by this self -portrait. Although, the lighting was not very well. It was placed between the tow entrances into the Gioconda and Joseph King Gallery. The painting measured approximately at 4 ft. by 10 ft. The painting is representational and depicts animals and human. The bright red colors and dark features in the background made it stand out. Stopped time, implied space, and texture were also important elements of this painting. As the girl is sitting on the chair with a gaze in her eyes, the gorilla standing behind the chair with a look of concern and uncertainty in its eyes. It doesn’t want to step up in front of the chair and show it’s self completely. There is something to hide. It represents what is actually felt, the truth. Whatever it is, it is not to be revealed. The wolf standing by the girl’s feet has a particular look and is a loner; doesn’t want anyone to get too close. The wolf is there to ensure the hidden, the gorilla, doesn’t show it’s self.
The author applies sight and personification to accentuate the mirror’s roles. The declaimer of the poem says “I am silver and exact [and] whatever I see I swallow” (1, 20). The purpose of these devices is to convey the position of the mirror in the poem. As an inanimate object, the mirror is incapable of consuming anything but the appearances of entities. Furthermore, the glass’ role accentuates an inner mirror, the human mirror which does not forget instances of misery and contentment. According to Freedman, the mimicking image emulated by the mirror elicits “… a look for oneself inside” as observed from the life of the elderly woman in the sonnet (153). Moreover, as the woman looks into the lake, she commemorates her appealing and attractive and pleasant figure as a young girl. As time passes, the inevitability of old age knocks on the door of the woman, readily waiting to change the sterling rapturous lady perceived by many. One’s appearance can change; it is up to an individual to embrace it or reject it.
Picasso’s painting of a man’s head takes many aspects of African art. Picasso had reduced the bust to a few simple shapes and large masses, with the head having an African mask-like appearance. The highly stylized lozenge-shaped eyes and mouth are dark, open voids and were inspired by wooden African masks that the natives of Africa wore in their spiritual rituals. The piece is reminiscent of the same forms that Africans used in their art, using only simple shapes with dark, wide eyes and mouths, and visual abstraction rather than naturalistic representation.
Edgar Degas presents us with a pastel piece of a nude subject aptly titled “The Bath.” We are given an intimate view of a young female in the process of bathing herself. He made thorough use of the pastel and gave impressionistic texture. It’s worth acknowledging his innovative approach of depicting the female nude in a way his predecessors did not venture, as well as original compositional ideas and elements. However, this piece remains a canonical voyeuristic portrayal of a female nude and appeals to the male gaze.
These works may be labeled objectifying also because a male painter painted them. Today, these works could be seen as empowering to women. The first painting gives off an emotional ride of one duplicated woman or two women. The second painting shows an emotional journey of prayer and relaxation of a woman sitting in the lotus position. The third painting could represent a strong and empowered women respecting herself and her body. Times have changed and so have views of women in society which have influenced a change in how people view nude women in