Art Analysis: The Young Woman

The Young Woman
In many paintings, you can tell the purpose or deeper meaning based on the artist and the year it was painted. Yet not all paintings are that simple. More often than not we come across an image not knowing anything about its origin. We are forced to think for ourselves and decipher what we believe the deeper meaning is. This is something that happened to me while researching a famous art piece. While I do not know who, the artist is, or when it was painted I still must decipher my own meaning.
Within the piece of art that I chose, displays a painting of a young woman, sitting over in the left corner, away from all other objects. She is the preeminent entity within the painting. Her face filled with sorrow looks down onto
the ground, deep in thought. Her arms and legs, both filled with short, thin red brush strokes are crossed over each other loosely. Her toes are tightly curled together. The silky blue dress she is wearing seeps down into the surrounding background which is seemingly trapping her from the glowing yellow and orange light shining down from the right corner above. This light is displayed with thick brush strokes going in a circular motion. Her dark skin reflecting this light as well, most noticeably in her face, and her hair. Also on her skin are narrow blue paint strokes. A tear just barley coming out of her eye, begins its journey down the rest of her face. Reddish orange colors stain her short free flowing hair. The thin messy blue brush strokes behind the young woman flowing in a circular motion almost as water, gives a sense of life to the still painting. Through my eyes the aura of the painting reflects a very melancholy atmosphere. I believe the painter was trying to tell us that the young woman, who was probably poor is especially sad and broken. She is rejecting all things of light to dwell in the darkness of the thoughts that consume her. I also get the impression that the artist was trying to tell us that we can always look to the brighter and happier side of life, if we first allow ourselves to see past the dark messy side life also gives us. While in my first impression of the image, I was immediately drawn to her face.
The way her eyes looked down made me feel as if she is ashamed of herself, not wanting to face the world around her. To me the slightest bit of orange above her left eye, the eye that is shedding a tear, makes me think that she was struck by an object or a closed fist. Her bare rough feet symbolize the roughness of life, and the struggles that she might have faced. Yet with all of the distress, I still get a sense of gracefulness. The way she keeps a straight back, only bringing her shoulders slight forward makes me think that through it all she still has a bit of hope remaining in her. While examining the woman more, I began to think about how she was place within the painting. I think the artist put the woman in the corner for a clear purpose. That purpose being that it is her comfort zone. Because corners are not a place where many people initially go, it can be a comfort zone for some, a place to be
alone.
As for the colors within the image I postulate the red and blue thin brush strokes, on her arm and legs exhibits the action of abuse or self-harm. The painful memory of the harmful actions may be the cause of the tear being shed on her face. The way her arms and legs are crossed over each other tell me that she is feeling vulnerable. It also makes me thinks that she is putting a boundary between herself and any opposing object, most likely to feel safe and have comfort. The blue water like brush stokes surrounding the girl and sun, captivate an overwhelming feeling of melancholy. It is as if the paint strokes were an ocean wave drowning her, just as her thoughts are drowning her mentally. The gleaming light of yellow and orange in the picture represents happiness and a hopeful outcome.
The other side of life. A side she has chosen to turn away from. Each of the bright colors in the sun reach out, almost in touches reach of her face, yet the young woman notably turns her head away. I think she does this because she believes, she cannot be happy. She is so consumed in the darkness and negativity of her life that she has forgotten how easy the brighter side of life can be.
The painting as a whole is very messy. The only aspect of the image that is blatantly clear is the outline of the woman. Everything else in the image is painted abstractly. I believe the artist chose to paint with this method to represent how the young woman is most likely thinking. Paining abstractly shows how messy our thoughts and emotions can get; how messy life can get. Especially with all the hardships in life. As for the blending of the colors in the background, it shows that in life there is not always a fine line between the light, and darkness. The way the background is painting says a lot to me. More often than not our thoughts not put together, they are all over the place. It is not only until we connect the deeper meaning of them and how they relate to what is going on around us that we can see the whole picture. That meaning, you must first come to a realization of the backgrounds meaning before getting to the pictures whole
meaning.
For every image across the world, millions of people will see it every day. It is up to us to analyze these images and interpret their meaning. However, no two people will look at the same image in the same way. There are many things you can analyze an image with such as brush strokes, color, shape and texture. So, after analyzing the above image my interpretation may not be the same as others, yet the array of interpretations is what makes the arts so impressionable. So, while I see young woman, who is broken and depressed; rejecting the light. Others may see something totally different.