Instructor Anne Low
Art Analysis Paper
Art 111
24 October 2013
Philip the Fair The painting in the Mint Museum of Art Collection that I have chosen for my paper is titled Philip the Fair, by Kehinde Wiley. He painted this piece in 2006. He portrays a naturalistic style of an anonymous young African-American male model. It’s a larger than life painting standing one hundred and twelve inches by eighty-six inches tall. One must look up at the painting if not standing far enough away to view it entirely. This piece is an oil and enamel on canvas resulting in intense colors with a lustrous surface. Wiley’s piece communicates stability with straight horizontal and vertical lines. For example, in the young African-American man his broad shoulders, attire and unfamiliar posture challenges the viewers. Overall, it communicates a sense of power and authority. Wiley also challenges the traditional law of space. The space is shallow. The overlapping of flowers on the male figure stands out with a light blue background. It gives the male figure an illusion of height and width. Wiley shows ranges of blue tones in his jeans and brown tones in his skin. The painting has both primary and secondary colors; such as, the yellow and orange in his shirt and the red hat he’s holding in his left hand. Also, in the background he uses yellows, blues, greens and reds in the flowers. His painting has many highlights; for example, the highlights in the male figures right hand and arm, chin and neck, right pants leg, the hat and the top of his shoes. In addition, there are also many cast shadows; such as, in the males figures left pants leg, top of the hat, inside his right arm and the whole right side of his face. Wiley manipulates the paint to create visual texture of baggy, more ridged and tapered look in male figures pants. The floral motif exemplifies a feeling of movement all over and a natural pattern that are not exactly alike. When you look at this painting,