Artist tried to express not only what they feel, but also what they see every day. For this visual analysis, I have chosen the fifth image. This image is, in my opinion, the calmest among the others. Besides, it has a rather interesting composition. The painting is a rectangle. There are two central figures in the image and a background. The palette is pastel. In the essay, I will conduct more thorough analysis of the piece of art. Moreover, I will try to understand when the painting was created and the reasons for its creation. It is one of the most significant parts of visual analysis. The point is that the more a person knows about the age of a painting creation, the more thorough analysis can be provided.
I have already mentioned that the composition of the painting is rather interesting. The point is that central figures – a girl and a sheep – are not in the center of the composition. The artist pays the attention to the right side. Among other pictures, this one is unique. I should admit, however, that the composition is unbalanced. There are two central figures in the right side and only the background in the left side. However, I should admit that this unbalance creates a good movement of the picture from the down right corner to the upper left. Hence, the composition is strong diagonal. Obviously, the eye is drawn to the girl firstly. Among two central figures, the girl is the major one.
I have already mentioned that the palette of the painting is pastel. There are no bright colors. At a first glance, the attention is drawn mostly by the yellow skirts of the girl’s dress and green branches of trees. However, when looking for a longer time at the painting, one notices sheep, girl’s hat lying by her side, a basket with flowers. The artist has used natural colors, which is rather wise concerning that this is the painting of a landscape. However, I should admit that, although it is a landscape, there are elements of a portrait. Hence, I would suggest that the painting is rather a piece of genre art. Genre art is aimed at presenting episodes of lives of ordinary people. The main difference between a typical genre art painting and this one is the color usage. The colors are natural, as I have already mentioned. Such colors create a calm mood. When looking at the painting, one has a feeling of calmness; it is easy to forget all worries. On the contrary, typical colors for genre art painting are dark and dull. The artist of genre art tried to show all the difficulties of village people lives. In this picture, we see that life can be easy and fun if you are a girl with sheep.
The painting describes one episode from a village life. Perhaps, it is a noon time and a girl takes a break to have lunch or to take a nap. The artist used shadows to show the daytime. We do not see the sun. However, we know that the day is sunny, because the shadows allow us to admit that. On the other hand, there is no single area that is emphasized by light. In my opinion, it is very significant to use light and shadow in works like this one. The artist should show all the deepness of the painting using light and shadows. Besides, it helps us better understand the painting and its mood.
The lines are present in the painting. However, they are mild due to the usage of colors. The contours of figures are soft. This helps the artist to create the calm atmosphere of the painting. The texture is smooth and soft. I may suggest that the painting was drawn on canvas. I think so because of mild colors and smooth texture. The point is that only canvas can reflect all the smoothness of the painting. Obviously, the piece of art is smaller than life-size.
Although, we do not know the date when the painting was drawn, I may suggest that it is from the Baroque age. There are several reasons for such a conclusion. First, the color usage. In the Baroque era, artist did not use bright colors (not like artists that painted in pin up style). Colors are calm and smooth, as well as the texture of the painting. Moreover, the artist expressed the episode from life. Most of the representatives of the Baroque era used to paint episodes from ordinary life. Going further, I would state that the painting was made in genre art style. I am not sure about the year of the painting creating. However, I suggest that the artist painted it in the late Baroque era.
As most of the genre art works, this one was created to show the routine of ordinary life; of life of an ordinary person from a village. However, unlike some of the genre art paintings, the artist did not intend to show how hard it was to live in a village. The girl seems calm and happy. However, I should admit that colors play a significant role in creating such a feeling. The artist used smooth, pastel palette. This helped him to create a feeling of calmness.
Resources:
Visual analysis. N.d. Writing studio. Duke University
