Post on 24-Apr-2015
description
Student Name: Christina Sookdeo
ID Number: 52927
Course Code: EDFN102B
Course Title: Visual Arts in Education
Course Instructor: Cyril Harripaul
Year 2- Semester 1
Assignment: ART CRITICISM
Art Criticism on Marc Chagall’s ‘Paris through the Window’
Marc Chagall, a dedicated Russian-French artist, never completely aligned himself to one
specific art movement. He was known for his dream-like paintings and among these was the
famous painting of ‘Paris through the window’ done in 1913.
Description: What do I see?
In "Paris Through a Window," many things can be seen such as a human-headed yellow
cat perched on a window sill, a chair with a collection of flowers at the back, the Eiffel Tower
looming over many other buildings, a parachute-jumper descending on the right tower; an
upside-down train, two figures of a man and a woman floating, and a man in a red suit with two
faces also called a Janus-faced figure, holding a small yellow heart in his blue palm. The primary
colors of red, yellow and blue are used in this painting as well as white, shades of brown, violet
and green.
Analysis: How are elements and principles of art used?
Elements of Art/Design
Through my observation of this painting I have been able to analyze the elements and
principles of this art piece. Chagall used color in unusual and creative ways in this painting, such
as the blue-faced man, the bright yellow cat, and the multicolored sky. This adds interest and
makes the painting unique. The lines portrayed are straight, curvy. The straight lines can be seen
in the window pane, several buildings surrounding the Eiffel Tower and also in the sky’s
background. The curvy lines are seen in the cat’s figure, the Janus- faced man in the corner, the
chair at the left of the painting and also the lower section of the Eiffel Tower.
The shapes that Chagall painted are very creative and create the ‘dream-like’ atmosphere
in this piece. The shapes that are used are geometric shapes such as rectangles and squares for
the buildings, the upside down train and a triangle for the parachute. Naturalistic shapes such as
the flowers behind the chair, the figures of the floating man and woman and the cat are present
also. Chagall’s form in his art piece is flattened and the buildings and window pane is two
dimensional. He creates the illusion of three dimensional forms in his painting by the flowers and
the chair and also the Janus-faced man.
The space is evenly distributed as the bottom half of the painting is crowded space with
buildings, the upside down train, the cat, Janus-faced man and chair. However the top half of the
painting is balanced and flattened with less objects, less clarity and more mixture of color for the
sky background. The texture of the painting varies in different areas. The sky’s background
seems smooth with a cotton-like feel but, the Eiffel Tower seems jagged on the edges whilst the
face of the man seems smooth and shiny. The patterns can be seen in the red strip of wall behind
the Janus-faced man with tiny dots and also in the sky’s background an abstract pattern is
blended together through various colors and lines.
Principles of Art/Design
Chagall uses the primary colors of red, yellow and blue throughout the painting, in different
proportions continuously to create a sense of unity. The geometric shapes also create unity
within the city scope of Paris and also the cat and Janus-faced man have human like faces that
are similar. The buildings and window form the bottom half and left corner of the painting whilst
the remaining right corner is spacious with just the Eiffel Tower and the man in the parachute.
This creates an informal balance in his work of art. There is a slight contrast of green to red on
the window pane and the window itself. There is also a contrast in the bleak brown shades of the
landscape compared to the bright shades used for the skies. The emphasis in this painting is on
the cat with the human face. However, the Janus-headed man also catches my attention whilst
observing the painting. Chagall creates a sense of movement starting at the top left hand of the
painting in the skies, moving from different colors and shades to another, then moving along to
the mid-section with the buildings blending into each other and finally reaching to bottom where
the focus is on the cat and the Janus-faced man. Throughout the painting, the primary colors of
red, blue and yellow are repeated to create a rhythm as well as the upside down figures of the
train and the floating man and woman which forms a pattern. The Eiffel Tower is the tallest
object in this painting compared to smaller buildings looming beneath it. The man in the
parachute is also small compared to the Janus-faced man which brings out a sense of proportion
in this piece of art.
Interpretation: What is the artist trying to communicate?
From my understanding and observation of this artwork, it has reached out to me by
changing how things really look to give me a creative feeling and help me see art in a new way.
This strange cityscape seems to come from a dream. It symbolizes culture, freedom, and the
modern city of Paris. While looking at this painting it held a magnetic attraction for me because
of the colors and abstract objects used. It also induces your imagination and gives you the feeling
that Paris is a city that none other can compare to because of its many differences. I think that the
artist is mainly trying to communicate his own view of what Paris looks like; not what people see
every day through the man freely flying on a parachute, the cat with a human face, the upside
down train and the two faced man. The predominant colors used are mainly yellow and blue.
Blue symbolizes calmness, peace, modesty and also depression which contrast with yellow
which can mean imagination, hope, happiness and optimism. In the painting, Chagall tries to
show that there is more than meets the eye when you look at Paris; there are two sides to
everything and for every bad there is a still hope and good.
Judgment: Is this a successful work of art?
In my opinion, this work of art is successful because it communicated to me pure
creativity and introduced me to the idea of substituting original objects into what you perceive or
want it to be. I also think it is successful because of the variation of colors that are used which
creates a unique feel to the painting and gives Chagall full ownership of his own style as an
artist. According to Picasso, "Chagall will be the only painter left who understands what color
really is" and I agree with this quote because this painting has widened my view of art and taught
me to appreciate its uniqueness.