Art history analysis

Analysis 1

Edward Hopper - Woman in the sun - 1961 - Analysis

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  • The grey tones of the room really helps to attract the eye to the woman and the sunlight, and maybe the window. Being able to see most of the brush strokes helps give it a sense of realism, being able to see the walls looking a bit fuzzy makes it seem like it’s old, as does the faded colours on the wall. The room itself looks old, but the woman and bed look new. The woman doesn’t look happy, maybe she wanted a better lifestyle, or maybe she was lonely? She could be using smoking to distract herself from these thoughts. The room itself isn’t very full, she could be lacking funds to get things like draws or mirrors, or even freshen up the place and make it look ‘new’.

  • The woman seems deep in thought, she could be thinking anything, like ending it all, or maybe what she’ll have to do at work. She also could of had a good time before and only just got up and thinking about that.

  • I noticed the woman hasn’t lit her cigarette, perhaps she forgot to do this while lost in thought, she may have wandered the room without noticing before deciding to stop and look out the window, she may never notice it isn’t lit, but that is all up to the viewer to decide whether she finally comes back to reality and lights it or not.

  • Edward used the light of the sun to guide you to the woman, like a path with an end.
    The way he painted the apartment helps give four factors, the room, the woman, the empty alcove by the window, and the hills, clouds and sky outside. The colours all blend in well together, giving the room the nice old feel, the outside a nice new growing feel and the sun a beautiful glow to enlighten the ground and woman, the shadows allowing you to see her muscle tones and part of her ribs, which make her look a bit malnutritioned.

  • The size of the painting is Overall: 40 1/8 × 60 3/16 in. (101.9 × 152.9 cm) which isn’t one of his biggest pieces of art, but it still looks like a window into someone's life, it doesn’t feel like you are in the room itself, but it does feel like you are looking through a window and watching her, but she can not see you. All though many of his other paintings give this a better feel, it is still a odd feeling to be watching the woman.

Analysis 2

Edvard Munch - Separation

• The way the dim colours are put together helps give it the feeling of sorrow or mourning. Maybe the golden lady is someone the man recently divorced, or maybe they died and the man doesn’t know how to deal with it, the less dim hand of the man is like he is holding the last thing he has that he cares for, maybe that’s why it is placed on his chest around where the heart it, maybe it is his heart being broken and he is trying to keep it together.

• His clothing choice looks sort of like pyjamas, perhaps this happened a while ago and he is finding a way to deal with it, or trying to remember everything before it’s too late.

• The tree behind him could signify death, it isn’t growing any leaves. It could also be what the man is going to use it to get back with his lover or family member.

• The dark clouds, or maybe they are leaves, could signify a stormy day, which is known in cartoons as gloomy or angry, but his facial features show that he is gloomy, or sad.

• The way the golden woman is walking, or floating, makes it look as if she has created a path or following one to her destination, this destination could be heaven or hell, or her/his final resting place, they are also not paying any attention to the man, maybe this is just the way he sees her and she is breaking up with him and moving on, while he can’t.

• The way the woman and hand are coloured helps draw the viewers eyes to them first, allowing people to try and decipher what is going through their minds.

• The women having no face is possibly done on purpose, to make it seem as if she doesn't need to worry for those emotions anymore, she can just continue her life brightening the sky with her golden strands, of presumably hair. As you can see yourself the hair is kind of like sun shining through, this could signify hope, giving maybe the man another chance..

• Unlike the ‘Woman in the sun’ painting by Edward Hopper, you can not see the muscles very well. They style is very simplistic but it still has a lot of depth in it.