Baltimore Museum Of Mysteria By John D. Graham

Portrayed in the Baltimore Museum of Art is Mysteria #1, 1926 by John D. Graham, who was born in Ukraine in 1881 and died in Maryland in 1961. This particular painting of Graham’s presents three white horses surrounded by shades of darker colors. Graham chooses to portray the horses dancing, because he is presenting the theme of a circus act. He then chooses a dull background with loose strokes, presented as shadows, in order to draw attention to the act being presented by the animals. Also, the red contrast used for the ceiling and the three windows in the back represent anger. The red symbolizes anger, because the dark-skinned man cannot tame the three prancing horses, causing the man to become frustrated. I am arguing that Graham’s painting is meant to provide laughter for the viewer, the horses are a symbol of mockery.
The painting is interpreted as a circus due to the oddly dressed dark-skinned man in the bottom left corner of the painting. The dark-skinned man seems to be dancing along with the horses as they parade in circles. Although he is meant to be angry, his acrobatic actions are analyzed as movements relaying to the actions of the horses. Similarly, the way the brush strokes are presented on the canvas allow
Despite their purity, the three red windows presented behind them represents their blood. The red represents their blood, because the dark-skinned man is trying his hardest to control the actions of the horses without physical abuse, so that the crowd believes he has control over the act. Graham incorporates the red coloring as a result of how the horses will react during the circus act. If the horses are to disobey, each one symbolizes their defeat; however, when the horses obey their tamer and appeal to the crowd they are pure of soul. For this reason, the horses are presented mainly as white due to the fact that they are performing their duties and creating laughter for the circus