Team gallery review
Team Gallery Review
Lillybeth Garza ARTS 1301-76503 J. Pilon 7/26/15
Girls on the Pier Edvard Munch, 1904
As the title of the work suggests, “Girls on the Pier” shows three girls on a pier in what seems to be the summertime. The girl on the left is facing the viewer, looking down and further ahead, and the two other girls face away from the viewer seemingly at the moon or landscape behind them. In the background we see the reflection of what are probably summer homes in the dark water. The moon hangs mid-sky and bright, and the landscape seems manicured.
https://www.kimbellart.org/collection-object/girls-pier
31 11/16 x 27 5/16 in
Visited on July 18, 2015 3:15pm
Kimbell Art Museum, Ft. Worth, TX
Analysis
At first glance this seems like a summer day coming to an end. There is still light from the setting sun but the moon is already in full view. There are no harsh glares of either sun or moon reflecting off the water or buildings. This further indicates it is the time of day where the moon and sun switch off.
After reading the description and audio provided by the Kimbell Art Museum’s website, I learned that Munch painted “Girls on the Pier” after visiting a resort in Norway that provided a picturesque image that lingered in his mind; there are several renditions because of this. It is also stated that nighttime remains bright in that part of the world during the summer. This explains the brightness of the sky while the moon is present. The darkened colors of the water and the dimming of landscape and hotel in the background add to the feel of a Norwegian summer night.
Of the three girls, only one faces the viewer. The two girls to the right of her are facing away from the viewer and seem to be watching the moon. They appear to be reflective. This is the extent of information Munch gives us about these figures. He adds to this sense of mystery by leaving the only figure facing us with a blank face.
According to edvard-munch.com, his life was riddled with death and illness. He moved several times throughout Europe during his life, though he did settle in Norway (where “Girls on the Pier” was inspired) for nine years. Munch is known as “one of the most significant influences on the development of German and Central European Expressionism”. It is clear that Munch did not lack depth, his paintings go beyond aesthetics and reveal the nature of humanity.
"We want more than a mere photograph of nature. We do not want to paint pretty pictures to be hung on drawing-room walls. We want to create, or at least lay the foundations of, an art that gives something to humanity. An art that arrests and engages. An art created of one's innermost heart." -Edvard Munch
Analysis
http://www.edvard-munch.com/backg/photos/index.htm
http://www.edvard-munch.com/gallery/self/self_1881.htm
Self Portrait
Edvard Munch 1881-2
Oil on canvas
25.5 x 18.5 cm
There are several shapes Munch has put in his painting. The circle of the moon almost reflects the shape of the central girl’s hat. Rectangles and trapezoids make up the buildings in the background. The large green tree that is in the background just behind the shore gives visual weight in the painting.
Visual Elements
Line
What may first pop to the viewer is the perspective the diagonals of the pier give to this painting. The thick rails of the pier draw you deeper into it. The horizontal lines that make the shoreline and fence in the back- ground allow for a contrast to the stark perspective the pier gives
Shape/Mass
Visual Elements
Light
We can tell light source comes from the moon by the reflection in the water. We don’t see the girls or the pier as the reflection but rather the hotel and greenery of the back- ground.
Color
The warm pinks, reds, and yellows of the pier contrast the cool blues and greens that make up the background. Together these colors make up that time of year in Norway where the sky is still bright in the summer time.
Visual Elements
Texture/Pattern
There is physical texture from the brushstrokes of this painting. The strokes are short, almost shaky. It adds to the nervous and anxious feel of the painting.
Space
Munch uses linear perspective when he paints the prominent angle of the pier. Like I said earlier, this draws you into the painting. It is clear there is a foreground with the girls, a background with the sky and hotel, and even further beyond where we see mountains on the right.
Visual Elements
Time/Motion
The way Munch painted the brushstrokes seems to offer a frozen image of an animation, the short and erratic nature of the brushstrokes make it look like the painting would normally be moving. A combination of elements offer the viewer the specific time of the painting; the summer night with a bright sky. This adds to the wonder of the painting.
Principles of Design
Unity/Variety
The colors ranging from warm to cool hues in this painting offer variety that keeps the viewer's interest. Also, the lines that make up the pier and the walled fence of the shoreline offer a slight variety in which one is a stark diagonal and the other is a thick horizontal. It allows you to delve further into the image.
Balance
The bare sky reflects the mostly empty pier, the visual mass of the tree in the background is an echo of the girls we see on the pier, and the trapezoidal shape of the water is similar in shape to what makes the hotel and mountains on the right background of the painting. These details, including the moon that is in line with the circular shape of the girl’s hat, reiterates the feeling of balance in the painting.
Principles of Design
Emphasis/Subordination
The use of such a harsh perspective of the pier emphasizes the main subjects, the girls. The pier takes up nearly half the painting, so the viewer has no choice but to analyze these girls. Although the background is subordinate it still makes up the setting and the mood of the image. The darker colors of the background give a hint of mystique and ominous feel to the painting.
Rhythm/Repetition
The short, repetitive brushstrokes give off the feeling of nervousness or anxiety within the painting. It almost seems like you can see the vibrations of movement in the air.
Interpretation
When I first saw "Girls on the Pier" at the Kimbell it struck me from across the room with how similar it was to "The Scream" by Edvard Munch. It was the same pier and erratic brushstrokes I came to love about "The Scream". I immediately grew fond of "Girls on the Pier" because it evoked a softer ambiguity. At first I thought there were only two girls and they were side hugging! I thought the girl in the red dress was facing the viewer but with her head down to the floor so that we could only see her hat. I didn't realize the third figure was there until after I heard the Kimbell's audio description on their website.
The Scream
Edvard Munch, 1893
Tempera and pastel on board
91 x 73.5 cm
Interpretation
This painting is described as anxious, nervous, and mysterious. I really love how Munch presents mystery in this painting. We know nothing of these girls and the blank less face really is haunting. In the audio description, the Kimbell states that the moon represents the natural cycle of the ages and the girls looking up at the moon represents girlhood. That along with the mysterious, anxious, and nervous elements of the painting, which I have already described, encompass female youth. For me, this painting is delicate and fragile. Girls keep secrets to themselves and with each other. Munch painted this memory of summer as if he were in their minds. I ended up coming home with a print from the gallery!
Comparison: Cameron Sprague
Skeletons Warming Themselves came off as morbid when I first saw it. The tone of the image is immediately clear where as in Girls on the Pier, a little investigating must be done in order to know the full scope of meaning behind the painting.
The perspective shown here is also less harsh than that of Munch’s. The proportion of the subjects are fairly normal relative to each other.
While Girls on the Pier evokes mystery and girlhood, Skeletons Warming themselves is a vanitas painting. Ensor shows the ultimately empty achievement of being painter by the lack of fire.
Skeletons Warming Themselves
James Ensor, Belgium 1889
Oil on canvas
Comparison: Ryan Raffoul
The story depicted here is one of human nature; deceit. The youthful man on the right believes he has the winning hand while the servant plays diversion and we see hidden coins and cards with the man on the left. The idea of illustrating human nature is present in Girls on the Pier as well. I believe artists not only illustrate, but also provoke questions as to why we act the way we do.
The style in which this is painted is realistic, it contrasts with the abstract feel of Girls on the Pier. Neutrals are primarily used and the background provided is plain which allows the viewer to focus on the ensuing trickery.
The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs
Georges de La Tour, France c. 1630-34
Oil on canvas
Comparison: Munira Abdi
This painting is classically representational. Ruisdael provides astonishing details of nature. Light plays a major role in this painting as it creeps into the forest and reflects off the water. In this painting, what you see is what you get, a beautiful landscape as seen from the artist. Girls on the Pier takes the shape of a picturesque moment, but Munch allows creativity into his painting by abstracting the minute details. The symbols used allow interpretation of his paintings.
Ruisdael does not distract from the beauty of his painting with the texture of his brushstrokes. In contrast, Munch purposefully makes each brushstroke visible, they add to the emotion in his painting.
Edge of a Forest with a Grainfield
Jacob van Ruisdael, Dutch c. 1656
Oil on canvas