How To Look At A Woman

A colleague (yes, the one who called me sexist) and I have been discussing sexuality, sexism, the degradation of women, and beauty. The colleague claims I am inconsistent. She is right.

Sherri Tracinski's short essay in today's TIA Daily on correctly examining a painting states my ideal much better than I ever could. She understands that I often get entrapped in a single feature and miss the greatness or mediocrity of the woman in front of me. I try to fully observe before forming an opinion, but sometimes a single feature clouds my judgment. I want people to thoroughly examine me, and I think women deserve the same.

A plug:
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(Bold and Italics Are Mine, WB)
Painting: Princesse de Broglie, 1851-53, by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

http://tinyurl.com/9mbog
Or:
http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOnezoom.asp?dep=15&zoomFlag=1&viewmode=0&item=1975%2E1%2E186

Thanks to TIA Daily reader Phillip Schearer, who recommended this painting, saying "if this ain't a thing of beauty, nothing is." I heartily agree. I've linked to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's page on this painting for two reasons--this image has the best color representation I've found of this painting, and the museum's site allows you to zoom in to see close-up details of the painting.

There are many different elements that must be present in a work of art for me to consider it good, and an artist has to excel at nearly all of those elements for me to consider a work of art great. As an architect, I am quite used to talking to people about their sense-of-life reactions to a very wide range of things--from the kitchen sink to their most treasured reactions to artworks. And the one constant I've noticed in people's reactions to paintings is that for the most part, they tend to focus on their favorite element while ignoring the other elements of an artwork.

I see people gushing over so-so work because one element of the work hits them on an emotional level--while the rest of the work is merely mediocre. And I see other people react harshly to something truly great because of one tiny element that rubs them the wrong way. In both cases, these reactions are the understandable automatic emotional reactions of their sense of life. But without ever looking carefully at your reactions, you could be gushing over mediocrity while entirely missing greatness.

So when you first look at this painting, note your most positive and most negative reaction about the painting, making your own judgment of this painting's greatness. And then at the end, ask yourself if you considered all of the elements of the painting. If your reaction was anything like Phillip Schearer's, what caused you to declare that this painting beautiful? Is it the princess's physical beauty, the lovingly painted details of the scene, the gentle color harmony, or the calm peacefulness of the scene? And if you look at this painting and declare it terrible, what brings you to that conclusion? Does the subject matter bother you? Do you find a portrait of a woman just standing there lacking in greatness? Do you wish there were more fire in her eye to indicate some conviction or strength of character? Or do the excesses of royalty make you cringe at the exorbitant taxes taken from the rest of society?

Let's take a look at the various elements of this work of art and discover what is good about this painting.
Let's begin by looking at the subject matter--a richly and beautifully cloaked princess. Zoom in to her face and take a look at her expression. While her features are delicate, feminine, and pretty, I can understand someone's reaction to wanting to see something more in her face--some more intense focus, some deeper emotion, some fire of conviction that would provide that emotional fuel we all look for in art. And what about what the princess is doing? She isn't creating anything, she isn't fighting for any value, she is merely leaning against a gold silk chair. My guess is that for those of you who don't see greatness in this work, your response against its might be because you find its subject matter lacking--and that is the weakest aspect of this painting.
It is a natural tendency for people to react to artwork by subject matter alone--subject matter is often the first, and sometimes the only, element of a work of art that generates an emotional response for people. But there are also many other elements to consider.

Take a look at the composition of this painting--it has a calmness and a serenity to it. The princess, all dressed in finery, rests against a chair of equal finery. The background is left quite simple by comparison and is painted in shadow so that our attention is drawn to the princess and the chair. Though our focus is allowed to linger of the richness of the fabrics, the delicacy of the lace, the preciousness of her jewelry, we are eventually drawn to her face. And we wonder, is she waiting to go out for the evening or has she just returned? She rests with her arms on her white wrap with a gold brocade edge, her fan, gloves, and a fine hat rest on the seat of the chair. Notice how the simple composition of all the details of the painting let our eyes travel slowly around the painting, quietly resting on her face. The painter has created a journey for our eyes through the painting that is as languid and calm as the princess.

Then notice the color harmony of this painting. Though the colors (the bright blue of her gown and the rich gold of the chair) are vivid and quite contrasting, we get the sense that all of the colors in this painting blend together to create the world of this painting. Learning to notice when color harmony is present and absent in a painting takes some careful observation. But greater still is the observation skills required of the artist who is able to create color harmony.

Color harmony is a natural aspect of our world and a very important element of good representational art where the laws of physics apply--including the laws of optics. When color harmony is absent in a painting, the painting looks as if it were a coloring book image--each spot of color is filled in with its own color, without thought to the colors next to it.

Then notice the exquisite detail of each material in this painting. Her skin is luminous and like porcelain. Her hair has the beautiful sheen that comes from exquisite care. The gold of her jewelry and the pearls on her wrist have a magnificent luster to them. The lace on her sleeves shine like the gossamer wings of a dragonfly. And the heavy richness of the silks of her dress and the damask of the chair beautifully gleam like only fine silks can.

So the next time you find yourself drawn to a work of art, pause to notice if it measures up in just one element, making it merely so-so, or perhaps good. The great works of art excel in every element--and noticing every element of a work of art can greatly increase your joy in viewing it.

-- Sherri Tracinski
From today's TIA Daily