Faith or Materials
I chose to analyze the first image because it related to my thoughts and beliefs as a Christian. I found this image to be quite interesting; being so it is not like any other ordinary image, it is an image with a hidden message. In any picture, things lie intently in front of and behind one another. It's a basic, pretty well unavoidable pictorial device. It may be a matter of shape over shape, texture against texture. The near thing may appear to be interacting with the far thing -touching it, hitting it, being bisected or overwhelmed by it. There may be something more puzzling going on. In this case, the first image, which caught my eye, was the woman holding the balance. Balance, pearls, and the judgment all in one photo, there must be a purpose to this image.
There is a delicate transition between areas of light and shade created by the color relations from the scene. The woman’s blue jacket is so loud on the table compared to all the other materials with such mellow yellow and orange toned colors. The young woman’s concentrated expression and the geometry of the composition, alternates in such a way, the horizontal and vertical lines created by the light entering from the window are all elements which contribute to the creativity of this painting.
The young woman is portrayed standing quietly in front of a mirror. On the wall behind her hangs a picture of the Last Judgment, which signifies the spiritual side and the judgment of Christ. The table scattered with pearls, small materials, and a gold chain characterizes the woman’s materials. The empty scale held so delicately between her fingers, shows us her rather spiritual side rather than materialistic.
This image is a representation of the symmetry and stability in which the woman’s life entails. In the painting the woman is holding a balance in her hand. She seems to be contemplating important decisions about her life, decisions which that may impact her future significantly. What we can imply about her life already is that she values materialistic goods. She has many pieces of jewelry that seem to be of a lot of value. But her balance implies that her purpose of life proves more than just her outer shell, which is all about the materials. The woman seeks a balance between the tangible pleasures in life and her moral obligations. The evidence that leads me to this conclusion is the fact that she is pregnant and now she faces a crossroad. She no longer holds the sole responsibility of herself, but is now forced to care for another and make life decisions that will affect her child as well. An emphasis is placed on her through the use of shape and color. The artist uses light to direct the viewer’s eyes towards the woman and her pregnant belly. Everything else in the image is shaded darker. The image has a low contrast pattern because most of the colors are dark. The woman is placed under the shining light because she is the main focus, as so does the woman’s right hand, which places a connection to the viewers onto her pregnant belly behind her left hand.
The balance is a symbol of the choices she can make; the equilibrium signifies the sacrifices she makes to benefit the new responsibilities she holds in her life. The moral obligation she with holds for her child is now a priority in her life. This painting also represents the act of judgment. The painting within the painting, located behind the figure of the woman, the Last Judgment, where Jesus is highlighted with a golden hue. He is the ultimate judge of character and morality, and in order to be accepted by Jesus she must lead a holy life. This includes making appropriate, godly decisions that will ensure the act of acceptance by God.
The balance signifies her desire to lead this life that will prove to her judiciary to be one of holy nature and righteousness. This painting truly captures a significant still “moment in time.” Once the balance is met there is a serine sense of stillness that captivates this entire painting. One way that the artist captures this is by his use of lighting. A light comes in through a window in the top left hand corner of the painting that illuminates the wall and the figure of the woman. She seems calm and at peace with the lifestyle that she will proceed to live.
In this photo the daylight, filters down from the top corner, emphasizing on the woman’s pale skin, her white bonnet and fur trim, the strings of pearls on the table, the golden ridges of the frame on the wall. The delicate metal balance, which she's holding up in her right hand, is hardly visible, apart from the thin highlights that gleam from the rims of its pans. The scales are empty.
We see her right hand poised; the left lay steadily on the table. We see her thinking, in an act of steady contemplation, as the woman watches the scales find their level. The levelness of this nearly invisible balance is both the focus and index of her stillness. This artist truly inherits the stillness of a picture and very attentive to relations between in front of and behind. The woman stands in front of an oil painting on the back wall. Its frame contains her head and shoulders, as if it were the frame of her portrait. Visually, her head is inside the picture' the picture surrounds it. This juxtaposition could suggest that the picture is on her mind.
“What’s that image in the background?” was the first question that came to mind after I saw the balance in the woman’s hand. It is actually quite dim; you can see that this is the Last Judgment. It shows the naked dead rising from their graves, and Christ at the top in a ring of light. The saved are on the left; the bad are being cast down on the right. The woman’s head lies in the middle of the photo, which makes me believe the artist is trying to symbolize the Last Judgment photo. Her head lies in the middle, which resembles the good on one side and the bad on the other.
The juxtaposition is especially pointed because of what she's doing. A woman holding a balance is set against the Last Judgment, the weighing of souls: is the main connection. The woman seems to be in her own little world with her valuable items. She seems alone, unaware of being viewed at all. Her head is directly beneath Christ whom is judging her every moment. The woman is yet so calm and silent. She seems to be very confident moving forward with her life.