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I Want To Be An Art HistorianAug 30 '02 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line My first art critique.
Prelude to a Concert Marguerite Gérard Imagine a bright shimmer in the dark. A sparkling star in the night. Then, transfer that star into the form of a woman. A woman with golden curls, sitting immaculately with all her elegance and grace. She is the center of attention. She is the spotlight. So Marguerite Gérard portrays in her painting Prelude to a Concert. The work was finished in 1810 and sizes up to 22 1/4 x 18 3/4 inches. The painter uses oil on canvas and makes the brush strokes indistinguishable to give it a refined look. You can see the piece at The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC. Marguerite Gérard lived from 1761 to 1837 where she resided in Grasse, France. However, when her mother died, she moved to Louvre, Paris to live with her elder sister Mary-Anne and her sister’s artistic husband, Jean-Honoréé Fragonard. In 1785 she was already reputed as a talented genre painter and also as one of the French Romantic’s. While most french artists of Gérard’s time were painting scenes of victory and political triumphs for Napoleon, others were hired by art collectors who wanted paintings that depicted scenes of general elements of everyday life and also portraits of loved ones. Gérard’s paintings nearly always focus upon female figures who occupy themselves with everyday endeavors like reading, playing, singing, and romancing. Just like the title states, the scene of the painting is a prelude to a concert. In the center, a woman of affluent stature, poses on a plush beige sofa, semi-wrapped in a silky orange cover. The woman is wearing a long white gown and jewelry galore. In her right hand she holds music notes and seems to be singing with her head held high. Her right hand comfortably resides on a table laid over with a rich red cloth. On the table sits a book of more music scores. Also, a cat. The cat is staring intensely at a little dog which is standing near the woman’s feet. Instead of staring back at the cat, however, it gazes up at the woman. The dog isn’t the only one gazing at her, though... Barely noticeable, a man holding a guitar stands behind the sofa and is also ogling the beautiful female. In the background, if you look hard enough, you can also make out an outline of a door in the left corner and a picture frame in the right corner. It’s clear that all the objects in the painting, except for the woman, are made subordinate. She comes first. Everything else is inferior. I’m tellin’ ya, it’s all about the chick. You look at the picture and immediately become aware of the focal point. It’s obvious that the emphasis of the piece is a woman singing her heart away. She is the dominant figure while everything else is merely secondary. The style of the work is based on realism since it’s a scene that is probably very ordinary for an upperclass singer like the one shown. The technique of design is meant to be very contrasting with a bight white shimmer against a shadowy dark background. There is, however, a slim variety of color. Besides white and dark, there is the soft brown color of the floor, sofa, and guitar. Plus, there is the orange cover the woman is resting upon and the wine red color of the table cloth, seamed in gold lining, which she is touching with her hand. The usage of value and texture in this painting really makes the image come alive. This is especially true when I look at the woman’s dress. I can almost feel it’s satin smoothness. The darker values of the dress are gorgeously thought out to make the dress look crinkled in some areas, creating the form of a woman sitting down. Also, if you look at the pillow she is leaning on, you’ll see the side of it possesses a darker value which produces a rounded cushiony shape. Another example, is the corner of the red tablecloth which is shaded just enough to make the appearance of a flowing stillness. When viewing the pets in the picture, cat and dog, you are able to fathom the way the lines and form of the animals seem to give way to a bout of movement. The cat’s tail is shaped into a very curved form which gives you the sense that it is swaying back and forth. On both pets you can see several lines, most of them are curved or diagonal. These lines create a furry texture for the pets that conveys a stint of activity. Another pattern of curvy lines can be seen on the woman’s head of curls. The manner in which the lines are rounded produces a particular bouncy wave for the hair. It’s not quite so difficult to interpret this work of art. The title gives most of it away. Here we have a woman, she is distinctly wealthy, clothed in her expensive satin dress and lying on her luxurious sofa and cloths. Since she is holding music scores, we can tell that she is singing. Probably preparing for the performance of a lifetime. Behind her is a man with a guitar. He is completely pervaded with the expression of admiration as he looks towards the lady. The woman looks up at the ceiling, probably lost in her singing. Even the dog is staring at her. She seems to brighten everything she touches. Everything is about her. It’s her moment and it will be her moment on stage. It’s a prelude to a concert. The painting is not at all unusual of Gérard’s depictions of real life’s domestic dramas. Being an adamant Imitationalist, I’m really fond of this painting. It does, indeed, seem real. The smoothness of the objects give the piece a tone that is very soft and endearing. The work is definitely a success, in my eyes. The colors are brilliantly shown to make the woman the focal point of the work. I’m really struck with a sweet feeling when I look at the man gazing so admiringly at the lady. Elegance and grace seem to leap all around her. She’s so pretty and the whole work in general is so pretty. I feel as if I can reach out and touch the sofa’s soft pillowy cushions, or pet the dog’s furry little head. This piece is also great for the Emotionalist. I’m sure any girl who aspires to be a singer that ravishes everyone who looks at her, will fall in love with this picture. Surely, it strikes an emotional chord. Not only that, but the lines and forms brings the image a variety of movement and sound. Prelude to a Concert is simply gorgeous. It was hard to find a link of the painting. But I finally found a small one here: http://www.artprintoncanvas.com/templates/frmTemplateD.asp?CatalogID=1927&SearchYN=N&subFolderID=78 Thanks Telynor.  |
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