Analysis Of Pigeon's Egg Head Before Washington

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Pigeon’s Egg Head (The Light) Going and returning from Washington was painted by George Catlin in 1837-39. It is a 29 x 24 inch oil painting on canvas, which is a medium size picture that anyone can mount on their modest wall. The two men facing in opposite directions from each other are the most visible figures from a distance. But if one is to look carefully close to the artwork, he or she will notice small details which are positioned to help the viewer communicate with the subject of the painting and the fact that the subject is one instead of two persons. The colors are not very bright, nor are they very dark. They are just right in between. This painting portrays the extraordinary changes an Assiniboine warrior underwent by comparing …show more content…

The artist used straight vertical lines on the left side of the painting to express more stability and independence. Pigeon’s Egg Head before Washington stands straight and his feet is flat on the ground. The brush strokes on his traditional costume are vertically straight. The ornaments that are hanging on his dress and the feathers extending from his traditional hat are painted using straight lines. The straight line based figure depicts his cultural and moral stability before his trip to Washington. On the other hand, Pigeon’s Egg Head after Washington, on the right side, is painted using diagonal lines and curves. His body above his knee is tilted toward his back, which shows how much he had enjoyed his trip to Washington and how much confident he was about his changes. These scenes collectively show his cultural and moral instability and how European culture corrupted him. Catlin compared and contrasted the instability of diagonal line with the tepees that can be disassembled and carried away, and the stability of straight line with a modern rectangular building that is durable and …show more content…

The roughness of the white accessory on the Pigeon’s Egg Head before, and the different shapes of forms on his clothing and the necklace and the earrings are shown by thicker paint, which helped raise these structures from the rest of the clothing. On the thick and fluffy traditional blanket that he put on his right shoulder, there are some scripts with brown color, which may perhaps be the indigenous inscription. In the same way on the shoulder of The Light after, there are two golden designs that may indicate his level of authority in the military. In both cultures, the level of power a man has is expressed with certain materials such as clothing and ornaments. However, the is a big difference in how and what materials both cultures utilize, and this is where cultural struggles between the two groups

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