ArtExpertOnLine

  Today's painting is Edward Hopper's:  Room in Brooklyn.  It is an oil on canvas and is part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, painted 1932.    Hopper is one of my favorite American artists, and for the purpose of this writing, I want to put aside all I know, and just examine this image.    The composition is amazing.  It is built on rectangles and lines. Framed by two white vertical lines, they are repeated in size by the brown window frames. The top is cemented with the shades, notice the two on the left and right are exactly the same, with the left one slightly lighter in color.   The top half is all window, with the horizontal brown lines dividing that space.   The exact middle, and all inside the window frame is the woman's head, the top of the far buildings and the flowers.   In the lower section, the base is the same basic color as the shades, with the rectangle of light pulling our attention down.    So, what is this painting abou

    Today's subject is a landscape, Jan Vermeer's Street in Delft.    As with other paintings examined, I will write about this one as if I know nothing of Vermeer, a little of Holland or Delft.   Again, the object is simply to enjoy the painting by finding the clues left by the artist.     First the composition.  The painting has a design very similar to the Kirchner painting, Bergheuer reviewed in March.  A light yellow base cements a huge triangle coming from the right balanced by the triangle of the sky and smaller shapes to the left.  The angle of the line in the cobblestone street breaks up that rectangle, sending our eye right into the little alley.  Also notice the left edge of the major building (on the right) is dead center.   So huge an object to weight down the whole right side, but it does not - why?  I think because the facade of all the building fronts are punctuate with windows and doors.  How intriguing!  How we wish we could pop in to see interior spaces.  

   Many years ago when I was teaching photography,  classes were asked to arrange portrait compositions by adding objects and even selecting poses indicative of the subjects interests, personality.  The object of course is for the viewer to immediately gain understanding without knowing the individual, or seeing the title.    So our subject for today is Cagnaccio di San Pietro's portrait of Signora Vighi for 1930 - 36. Let us examine the image by what the artist allows us to see.     First:   what is in the painting?   A woman is sitting in a chair with a book on her lap.  Behind her and next to her on the floor are a couple of brocade pillows. On her side table is what looks to be a little toy chicken and dog!   Now why have they been included?  Knowing nothing of Ms. Vighi we have to assume she could be involved with animals somehow, and maybe children.  Maybe these toys represent her two kids?   We don't know, but including the toys in the image provides a lighter tone t