Analysis Of The Cradle

The Cradle was done by an artist called John Thomas Biggers (13th April 1924 to 25th January 2001). Cradle won John first prize in 1950 at an annual exhibition dabbed Houston Arts exhibition which was held at Fine Arts Museum. It was the first piece of art done by Biggers to be seen by Houston audience. It was also the first painting by an African-American to be placed at the Museum of Fine Arts. I had the pleasure to visit the Fine Arts Museum of Houston (Audrey Beck Building) to view this work of art.

The piece of fine art was done using Conté crayon on a paper board in 1950. The size of the art work is 56.9cm by 54.6 cm. The portrait shows a mother sheltering her three young children from impending darkness. John described his painting as, “[The mother is] a mountain of refuge, ravaged by time yet remaining strong and tender -protecting life- poised to absorb hostility without flinching.”

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Biggers uses heavy cross-hatching where various densities of parallel lines that intersect one another to create an area of darkness. This method is used by the painter to heighten the emotional energy of the painting through an expressive background. John uses diagonal lines. The curled body of the mother is echoed by the curved lines on the figures of the children. The form of the figures is of priority in this work as opposed to the detail of the figures. This draws more attention to the figures and the message they pass across.
The feeling is expressive. It expresses sympathy for destitute and oppressed people in society. The focal point is the right hand of the mother where there are two white dots. The optical effect of color leads the audience’s attention to the hand when they first lay their eyes on the painting. The vanishing point is towards the left hand of the mother. The illusion of space is shallow. The fusion of light areas and shadow, with black streams from behind the figures, creates a mood of solitude and