formal analysis of "My Dress Hangs There" by Frida Kahlo

         The focal point of this painting is most certainly the dress, the main reason being its central location within in the painting. A second of the elements that makes this object the focal point is the complimentary colors within the dress--red and green. Another factor that makes the dress the focal point is the lines within this piece. A majority of the lines in this painting are running vertical, from the top to the bottom of the image. Two of the roofs of the larger buildings are on either side of the dress, pointing directly at the dress and drawing the viewer's attention to it. Also, the clothesline on which the dress is hanging lays horizontally, which draws attention to the dress in yet another way.
         The composition of this image is very balanced. It's not necessarily symmetrical, but where there is a figure on one side of the painting, there is a corresponding figure on the other side. For example, the toilet on top of the white column directly corresponds with the trophy on top of the beige column. Not only are the figures balanced, but the colors are as well. For example, the lady in the red dress wearing the black feather hat on the left side of painting is balanced with the red bridge and red building on the right side of the painting. Another example is the grays and blues within the buildings at the bottom of the painting are balanced with the grays and blues within the ocean at the top of the painting.

Response to 9/24 Class

I thought the last class was extremely interesting. Rococo portraits happen to be my favorite paintings, especially French rococo. I'm obsessed with Marie Antoinette, so I found my assignment of researching Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun to be very exciting! What I found the most intriguing part of the whole lesson though was that there simply is more to portraits than meets the eye. Of the few portraits I've actually seen in museums, I never really stopped and thought about the person being painted, much less the artist's relationship with that person. I merely looked at the technique, color, etc. But after this class, my eyes are completely opened to what I never saw before. There is so much more to portraiture than the aesthetics.

The Belmont Mansion

I really enjoyed the tour of the Belmont Mansion. It was my first time inside of it, and it was not what I expected at all... The art inside the mansion was incredible. I never expected there to be so many famous works (not necessarily famous to US, but famous in the 17th century). For example. in the ladies' parlor (the first room we went in) there was the painting portraying the woman whose father had raped her, and she was awaiting execution for killing him. When the tour guide told us that that painting was as famous in the 17th century as the Mona Lisa is now, I was stunned. I felt so special just being able to see the piece in real life.. Another part of the mansion I thoroughly enjoyed was the painting of Napoleon in the library. This too, was an original piece and it felt so honored the be able to see it in person. What really stuck out to me about this painting though wasn't it's originality, but the reason why it was there. Joseph Acklen apparently idolized Napoleon, and that's just not something you hear nowadays. He's looked at now as a villian, but in the 17th century he was considered an idol. I found that very shocking.