SAMA Expose!

The first composition I will discuss is Admiration by William Bouguereau (1825-1905). It is oil on canvas and fairly large. It was done in 1897 and is a classic nineteenth century academic painting. The subject matter of the composition is five women, surrounding cupid in what looks like a meadow, or the beginning of a forest. It has trees, grass, a few concrete buildings and a blurred vision of what looks like carriage pulled by a horse. There is sunlight streaming down from the brush and trees. From left to right the viewer first sees the center focal point of cup encircled by five women in this small area of nature. In the far upper left corner of the composition, there are a couple of concrete structures and they look like coliseum buildings of an older time. In the background, the viewer sees green trees, bushes, grasses and some trees. As the eye moves right there is something bright in the forest and, looking closely, the viewer sees a blurry carriage with a horse. After looking at the entire composition, the eye moves back to the center focal point. This piece has a glow around all the forms. There is radial balance in this piece. The reason I picked this piece is because it gives me a sense of peace and tranquility. This piece really looked as if it was articulated and precise when being made. It is so detailed, but still glowing or blurry. The difference between seeing a piece in real life as oppose to on the Internet is vast. In person, you see the work’s textures and different views from a different standpoint.

The next piece I would like to discuss is The Fried Egg by Antonio Rodriguez Luna (1910-1985). It is also oil on canvas. It is a very dark composition that is framed with a golden line around the work. The subject matter is a black table, a flat iron skillet, an egg, a whole garlic clove, two garlic pieces and a wall in the background. From left to right the viewer sees a black table with one whole grayish white garlic clove. Next to the whole clove is the flat iron skillet. The skillet is circular, black, and has two handles. On the skillet is one sunny side up fried egg with a yellow yolk in the middle and white surrounding it, and two white garlic pieces. The egg is a little to the left and one of the garlic pieces is directly right of the egg and the other is a little lower to the right. In the background is a brownish gray wall and in the left corner looks to be a hallway. This piece is much smaller than the first and had less subject matter. In terms of style, I think this piece is a simple black and white painting. There are some other colors but there is definitely contrast. The texture is rough and it looks like the paint was applied thickly. The egg is sitting on the canvas. It gives me a comfortable sense because it reminds me of my culture. In the Hispanic culture there is definitely a connection with eggs. There is not a lot of subject matter in this piece but it is still an excellent piece. As I said before, if I would have just virtually seen this piece I could have never experienced the magnificent texture.