James Gleeson Spain Analysis

The artwork by James Gleeson is stunning. A piece of his that stood out the most to me was “Spain”. Painted in 1951 with oil on a w470 x h670 canvas. The painting has ten figures in the scene, with colors ranging from different spectrums of reds, oranges, blues, and blacks. I chose this painting, because as soon as I saw it, I felt eerie, and some type of heaviness.
The very first thing I saw was a woman floating above the blood red ground, and she looks to be made of stones. I look further into the painting and I notice a group of seven men, all seven wearing a black and white robe, with sharp hoods over their head. There is another male figure in the scene, he is naked, peering down at the woman made of stone. The woman has her left hand on her
Her right hand seems to be reaching up at the naked man, possibly for help. One of the men dressed in robe, has his right hand out, looks to persuading the naked man into joining them. In the back, there is another man, and he blends into the mountains. He’s resting, with his hands coving his head. It also looks like smoke is rising above him, could also be storm clouds. The group of seven men seem to be having a conversation, except for two, they are staring at the naked man, possible listening to what he might say. It seems to me that there could be a possibility that they hurt the woman. Grass and flowers are patched around the naked man and woman, and the robed man trying to persuade him is standing a great distance away. As the naked man considers the woman’s body, he seems to have some type of compassion for her, but his left leg is slightly lifted, showing that he could possibly start walking toward the