Paper 1 Feedback

1. It's 100% better to put your observations in your own words—even if not perfectly written—than to try to write slick sentences with no meaning.

2. On the other hand, you do not necessarily have to refer to yourself in order to make an observation.

This is a oil painting on canvas, called Lady in a Green Jacket, by August Macke from 1913. In the painting, there is a lady in a conspicuous green jacket at the center and two nicely-dressed couples steps away from her. Grass are brown, red and yellow on the ground and leaves of trees turn yellow. In the distant view, a village lies in the background with a wide blue river lead to the mountains afar. The bold color, distinct shapes and dramatic lighting Macke presented captured my attention at once.

Macke utilizes a wide range of colors in Lady in a Green Jacket, creating contrast and emphasis throughout the composition. Bright, warm colors are incorporated into several background elements of the piece, including reds, oranges, and browns in the foreground, yellow in the middle-ground ledge, and a combination of these colors in the distant buildings. The cool blue of the sky and water, located in the upper third of the composition, complements these warm elements and draws attention to this area. The heads and hats of the figures, generally warm in color, are strategically placed against the blue to receive emphasis. Green ultimately unites the composition. As suggested by the name, the main character is wearing a deep green jacket in contrast to her bright surroundings. A similar green is repeated in the foliage that outlines the upper portion of the piece, balancing the entire composition.

COLOR

Shape is also an important element in this painting. We can see Macke reduces all objects and figures into very abstract organic or geometric shapes. In the distance, the walls and the roofs of the houses are reduced to rectangles and quadrangles, thus the village on both sides of the river became an arrangement of different geometric shapes. The figures in the front, on the other hand, are reduced to simple organic shapes to indicate human bodies and people’s outfits. Most interestingly, all of the ladies’ dresses become a sort of round rectangles. Other parts of their bodies are reduced to different kinds of organic shapes that wouldn’t struck one as being a part of human body if they are to be seen by themselves. Other objects of the painting, the trees and river etc., take different simplified organic shapes clear enough to let people know what they intend to represent. The overall arrangement of the painting is also interesting in that it is almost perfectly balanced. With the lady in green in the middle, the two couples and the two trees are evenly distributed on the left and right. The lady also seems to divide the river in to two parts with houses by both sides of the river, achieving balance in the background.

SHAPE

The second major component in this painting is the shape. The symmetry of this painting is very odd, yet it does possess a satisfying sense of symmetry. The first thing you see when looking at the picture in terms of shape is the symmetry on either side of the central women: a man and a women on either side of her, a tree along each lateral edge with branches come over the couples on the upper edge of the painting like a tent. The mysterious woman seem like the center divider for the picture. The landscape in the background of this piece seems like it could be symmetrical: there is a lake with mountains in the distance and houses on either bank of the closest corner of the lake, though the water does trail off to the right as it comes closer to the perspective of the painting. Possibly, the symmetry makes the viewer feel like the central figure feels a sort of loneliness because everything else in the photo seems to have a partner: two people in a couple, two trees have each other, one bank is identical to the other, and even the body of water has the sky. Although this symmetry is completely open to interpretation, I feel it is definitely an important part of this piece.

SHAPE

Additionally, pattern is one of the other key elements in this work as the viewer can notice mostly everything in this image comes in pairs. There are a pair of trees, a pair of couples (themselves each being a pair) and pairs of houses in the background. However the pattern does not pertain to the woman in green, she is alone, and Macke could’ve done this on purpose. In order to really emphasize that the woman in green is in a state of reflection as well as setting the tone of the image. Having the patterns in the image that shows off all these pairs really lets the viewer sink their thoughts into what the woman may be contemplating about, and how alone she may be feeling. Overall, pattern assist Macke in creating an emotion out of the image, where the view can notice the couples chatting and looking at the river, it contrasts sharply with the loneliness of the woman in the green, truly evoking an emotion from the audience.

PATTERN

Secondly, texture, although not very apparent upon first glance, is a crucial element that tells a lot about the content in the painting to viewers. Macke used different orientations and patterns of strokes, and did so in a subtle and interesting way, to create textures for objects in the painting. An example of detailed texture in this artwork is the leaves of the trees. Even though Macke did not paint out the veins of each leaf, I am just able to tell that there are big volumes of leaves in the trees through the subtle lines of different colors created by strokes going in different directions. Macke seems to have depicted textures of most objects in this painting in the same way, as the textures of the soil, the tree trunks, and the clothes are also created using patterns of strokes. Despite that textures of these objects in the real world might look and feel different from in the painting, the way that Macke created texture produces unity in the painting and allows viewers to see things in detail.

TEXTURE

Lastly, I believe lighting plays a significant role in Mackes painting. After looking at the painting for a while, I noticed that towards the front of the picture, where the human figures are standing, the lighting is dark. The grass is dark yellow and brown, which looks like shade from the trees. As the painting expands beyond the humans and past the trees, the grass turns bright yellow and the houses are brightly illuminated along with the bright blue water. By using this form of lighting, Macke gives the painting perspective, allowing the viewer to understand that there is sun beyond the trees. I also think it is interesting that the humans are pictured in the darker shade and the light is beyond them. I think this could symbolize hope for happier life for the lady wearing the green jacket. My reasoning behind this is that she might be sad now, as depicted through the lining and coloring mentioned above, but that does not mean there is not a chance to connect with nature and new people. The light in the distance, which highlights the town and nature, stands as a glimmer of hope for the lone woman. Lighting is subtle, but definitely an insightful quality used by Macke.

LIGHTING

The color and orientation of the painting helps us realize how the lady is the focal point of painting, but the size showcases the paintings entire story. This oil painting measures 17x17 inches; while it is not small, it is not large by any means. This is impressive because it shows Macke’s ability to bring dramatic content in a visually engaging manner. This painting has the ability to draw you into the depicted scene. The canopies of trees surrounding the painting are cropped. Viewers can interpret that they would continue on to be lush and majestic as they tower over the small village. In addition, while the size is small, Macke is able to create an appearance of great height among the five characters, including the woman in the green jacket.

SIZE

Rosa BONHEUR, Plowing in the Nivernais, 1849