The painting Marguerite (c.1909) by Guy Rose is currently on exhibition at the Bowers Museum. The painting displays the attractively detailed figure of Marguerite reading a book on what appears to be a living room. According to the Bowers Museum, “Marguerite was a model he [Guy Rose] frequently employed in France.”1 Marguerite's face stands out in contrast to the colors used for the kimono that she is wearing. Perhaps, the kimono is meant to give the sensation of calmness, relaxation or even to make notion of Marguerite’s wealth2. Additionally, her smooth face reflects tranquility as her delicate features displays beauty and elegancy. Marguerite contemplates down towards the book that rest on her legs, as her right arm supports her head. The …show more content…
The loose brushwork employed by Rose to illustrate contrast between light and dark colors, helps to create imaginary lines within the kimono that look like folds. Although, the painting gives the impression of having lines, lines are implied by the chiaroscuro technique. The balance of darker tones is accomplished by using complementary colors, for instance different tone scales of brown to make shadows within Marguerite’s hair. Also, Rose’s use of lighter tones makes the scene look as if sunlight shined through a window from left to right into Marguerite’s body.
Guy Rose (1867-1925), an American impressionist artist, became one of the many prominent figures of the American Impressionist art movement that arose in California during the 19th and 20th centuries3 expand across the west4. Rose’s main focuses were to capture the beauty of California landscapes [Fig.1] and to paint portraits of female models [Fig.2]. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art website, Rose became a mentee under Monet, whose painting Impression Sunrise [Fig.3] became the symbol and name for the Impressionist art movement during the Modern art