Humanities - Form Assignment: Henri Matisse

Hello,

Attached is the rubric, instructions and the terms for the above listed assignment. If you have any questions about the assignment, leave a message and I'll reply within the hour.

Sample:

For this assignment I chose William Maw Egley’s Talking Oak. I was drawn to this painting on account of the scenery and the subject. I love realistic renderings that feature interesting color combinations that are intense despite realism being heavily reliant on muted colors. There is also more attention on the left side of the piece, exhibiting the irregularity of nature.

           This piece exhibits an asymmetric balance because the main subjects: the woman and the tree are both on the left side. There isn’t anything of significance in the foreground on the right side to balance it out. So, there’s a lot of weight on one side, making it asymmetric.

           One of the elements that strikes me in this piece is intensity of the colors. It exists in the way that the woman is wearing very intensely colored clothing. Her overcoat is bright green and her wrap is an eye-catching blue. To contrast, the rest of the background is a little more muted and demonstrates a more similar color pallet of shades of yellow and green. This reinforces the subject matter as the woman stands out from her environment with the intense colors. It makes her look much more lively and like she is interacting with her environment instead of just being part of it.

           Another characteristic, the implied texture is used to create different parts of the environment. This includes the harsh jagged parts of the tree bark, the foliage at the women’s feet and the softness of her dress and hair. I think the textures of the woman are also a point of contrast with her environment. Her dress and its folds are shaded very softly compared to the rough skin of the tree bark. By putting these two opposite textures together they highlight each other. This makes her stand out from her environment.

           The last element to mention is the high-key value of the piece. This piece has many more lights than darks. The environment and the figure are bathed in a very soft yellow light. This approach has created a very light and relaxed atmosphere. Had the values been more contrasting or low-key, then there would not be that tranquil mood. That type of tranquil atmosphere in the presence of nature is very relatable and the artist wanted to illustrate that quality by using specific values.

           Egley achieved a sense of unity through the use of the color yellow. The environment relies heavily on the colors green and yellow. However, yellow is the dominant color in terms of the highlights. Repeatedly using yellow as the light source color, the piece is basked in a yellow, just before sunset glow that brings everything together. This is present on all aspects of the environment and on the lighted side of the woman. Everything feels like it belongs. There are contrasts present, however the lighting choices have unified the piece.

           Also present, is an overlapping perspective. The overlapping perspective creates this idea that the environment is vast and lush. The Tree and the figure are overlapped by foliage in front of them and they overlap foliage behind them. There are also a few layers of hills behind that. Nature is overlapping and organic. This type of perspective seeks to demonstrate that and give a sense of how lush this area is. Many of the present attributes reinforce a theme of vast and tranquil nature.

           As stated in the opening the presented balance is very asymmetric. This and many other aspects support a theme of nature and tranquility. The figure is contrasting enough because of the intensity of the colors in her clothing that she stands out but still feels like part of the overall scene. The entire piece is done in a more realistic style in terms of proportion while still employing the interesting color choices discussed. Overall this is a very interesting and cohesive work.

Thanks