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INTRODUCE THE
DRAWING IN GENERAL TERMS
What is the title of the drawing?
Wicked
Woman (in Spanish: Mala mujer)
What
is the name of the artist?
Francisco
de Goya (in full name: Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes)
What is the year the drawing was done?
1801-1803
What is the medium? (ie the materials used to produce the picture, for example charcoal on paper, pen and ink etc)
Brush
and ink wash.
What is the subject matter or general theme of the work? (eg is it a figure drawing, a map, a portrait, an autobiographical work, a picture about nature, a drawing of the city etc?)
It
is a figure drawing that an old woman, who sitting on the ground, is
holding a naked baby up-side-down.
Does the drawing have a particular purpose? eg Is it a diagram that explains how something works? Does it record accurately record the appearance of something? Does it express the artist's emotion or memory?
I
think it express some views or feelings of the artist. The drawing makes
viewer feel horrified and anxious as the drawing shows a woman hurting a
baby. The bad woman with her teeth broken has no hair, wrinkled, thin and
weak, is holding a naked baby upside-down as if she is about to bite the baby’s
leg. To hold a baby upside-down is not a correct or usual way to take
care a baby. In the drawing, the woman only hold the baby’s hand and his
hip rather than his whole body, this may hurt the baby as baby is still so
fragile in this stage, he is not well developed yet. This action is horrifying, maybe Goya
wants to show his view or to criticize that human beings, in some sense, can be
disgusting or can be so evil.
DESCRIBE THE DRAWING
IN DETAIL
How is line used? What does it do/express?
For the whole drawing, the line quality is smooth and continuous while the line types are curved
and zigzag. Some lines are light
and sketchy while others are heavier and more deliberate seeming. The
lines of the dishes, the baby and the dress are really soft and light, maybe it
wants to express the environment there is so bright. And these light line
of the baby can show his smooth skin. The lines of woman’s neck and the
part of the dress which close to her leg, are heavier and more deliberate,
these shows the shadows under the light and contribute to three dimension in
this drawing as well as showing the texture of the dress which is folded.
The line of woman’s neck and her right hand are detailed and varied, it
shows the textures of her skin, which is full of wrinkles. Also, as we can see
the old woman is wearing a black coat and there are dark black and light black
on the coat that show the shadows. The lines of the coat are sketchy and
thick.
How is tone used? What does it do/express?
The
drawing is monochromatic. The black of the ink makes a big contrast to
the white of the paper. The bad woman is in dark whereas the baby
and the background are in white. The strong contrast of the woman and the baby gives a feeling of drama as if they
are different to each other. And the light
and more delicate lines used for the baby show its fragility. And the black tone of the woman shows her darkness.
What can you say about shape and/or form in this picture? What is the effect?
The
shape and form of this drawing is three-dimensional as we can see the woman
appears closer than the dishes and glasses. And the darkness and
lightness show the wrinkle (of the clothes and skin of the woman) and the
smoothness (of the skin of the baby). There are even some shadows of the
glasses and the woman. All of these features make the drawing more
realistic.
Is texture a feature of the drawing?
Yes,
in terms of the skin of both the baby and woman. The texture of the baby’s skin
is very smooth and glossy and the woman’s skin seems wrinkled and rough.
Also, we can see the fold of woman’s clothing (especially the part near her
left feet).
What
can you say about the composition of the drawing? What is the effect of this
type of composition on the overall drawing?
The
composition is unbalanced as there are no repeated elements, no significant
rhythm or pattern in the picture and because it is bottom heavy. The
subject is not in the centre in the drawing. The old woman
sits on the bottom with her head is in the centre of the picture. The
upper part of the paper is a negative space, as it is all empty.
Is rhythm important in this picture? If so, say more about it...
The rhythm is not important in this picture as there are not much repeated elements in it.
Is
the picture balanced? Explain...
It
is visually unbalanced. As the composition of the drawing appears bottom
heavy that the characters are in the lower part of the paper and the upper part
of the paper is totally empty. And the post or gesture of the old woman
is also unbalanced as she trends to tilt to left, this contributes an unstable
mood to this woman.
Is
perspective used in the picture? If so, describe the way that the illusion of
three-dimensional space has been created.
Yes,
it creates the appearance of depth via shadowing. We can see the light is
from the top left hand side as we can see the shadow of the dish and cups and
the line of them are lighter. Also, there are shadows under the glasses
and the outline of the clothes is darker. Also, the illusion of
three-dimensional space has been created. The dish and cups are little
bit behind the woman and the baby, so we can the woman, rather than the glasses
is foreshortening. The dish and cups look smaller as they are farer from
us, and the characters are closer to us as we can see they are bigger in the
picture. This contributes a sense of three-dimensional.
Is
the picture harmonious? If so, in what way?
It
is not harmonious, as there are no unity and similarities in this artwork.
Are
there any strong contrasts in the picture? Say more...
Yes,
the biggest contrast here is the tone of the woman and the baby. The
woman is wearing a black scarf but the baby that she is holding is so
bright. This shows the contrast between the woman and the baby – evil and
innocent.
INTERPRETATION AND
EVALUATION
What
is the mood of the drawing? Justify your answer using information from your
responses above.
The
overall mood of this picture is contradictor and sad. As the colour used
here are soft but the feeling it brings out is strong. In the sense of
colour using, the biggest contrast is white (baby) and black (woman). The line
here is curved but not straight, this creates a sense of weakness (of the
woman) rather than strength. However, the subject in the picture brings a
strong feeling out. The bad woman is hurting a baby. Although she,
herself is physically weak, she is spiritually strong whereas the baby is
spiritually fragile. The baby is getting hurt, but there is no one coming
out to help him, this make us feel sorry and sad to him.
What
does the drawing express? Justify your answer using information from your
responses above.
I
think Goya wants to express his disappointment to some evil behaviours of human
beings. He is well known that he always criticizes people’s immoral
behaviours, say, wars via his artwork. In this picture, the wicked woman
is harming the baby. The baby has no force to fight back, and there is no
one helps him. It may suggest that how cruel human beings can be .
In
your opinion, why is this work interesting/moving/ clever/
imaginative/thought-provoking/......? Choose the adjective(s) that best
fit(s) the work, and then justify your conclusions by referring to specific
features and qualities of the drawing (including those you have discussed
above).
In
my opinion, the drawing is thought-provoking as well as imaginative. I
can imagine many symbols in it. For example, the baby symbolizes pureness
and justice and the wicked woman symbolizes devil. As the drawing does
not show what the old woman will do in the next moment, it allows viewers to
imagine much kind of possibilities. For me, I imagine as if the bad woman is
going to bite the baby in the next moment. However, we do not know what
she actually wants to do with the baby. I think Goya may want to provoke
our thought by showing something evil of human beings. It makes me think
of some dark side of human nature and make me feel like human beings, in some
sense, can be repulsive.
Hi, I am Lily.
ReplyDeleteThis picture shows a sad and horrible mood to me because the facial expression of the woman is like skull and it is the first point I see in this picture.
I agree that the big contrast of the woman and the baby conveys the meaning of this picture.
LING:
ReplyDeleteHI,Many! I felt happy to read your analysis because it is clear and interesting. Your analysis is very detail. You even describe the features on the woman dress. It is good and detail! But I am interested in what you think about the picture. You can share more your own opinion! Good!
Carol: with respect to this question "Does the drawing have a particular purpose?"
ReplyDeleteYou can go into a little more detail here, Many, for instance. You say the old woman is hurting the baby, but how do we know that? What is wrong with the way she is holding the baby? The fact that the woman is old or that she is ugly isn’t enough to explain that she seems to be seems cruel and mean. Try to be more explicit in your explanation (old ‘ugly’ people can be kind and loving…how do her looks contribute to the artist’s message?)
How is line used? What does it do/express?
ReplyDeleteWhen you talk about line, consider whether the following kinds of words are appropriate: sketchy, detailed, deliberate, broken/continuous, varied (eg isn't it the case that some lines are light and sketchy while others are heavier and more deliberate seeming?) Now consider saying a bit more about what these ways of drawing lines do in different parts of the picture or to show different textures eg skin, shadows, wrinkles.
How is tone used? What does it do/express?
The start of your comments about the 'monochromatic' nature of the drawing and the contrast is good. I think it IS overinterpretation to simply say that to the 'bad woman is in dark whereas the baby and the background are in white' etc, but you could talk about how the strong contrast gives a feeling of drama or how the light and more delicate lines used for the baby show its fragility.
Good points on tone and texture and composition , balance, rhythm, perspective. See if you can say more about the contrasts. When you discuss the mood of the picture you can draw more on this work about contrast, composition, line etc. Use this work as your EVIDENCE. Nice work on the ideas the work wants to express.
Just a bit more work Many--it is almost there!
Jos:
ReplyDeleteMany,you did a good job.Although this picture seems simple and dull,you explain your ideas clear and detailed.You lead me to appreciate every part of the picture.I agree that the unbalanced composition makes the audience feel odd and horrible.
Jacqueline Venzon: I can see that strong light and dark contrast play an important role in highlighting the figures' form, as well as to define the dramatic expression of a an elderly woman that gives the appearance of hopelessnes as she seems to struggle trying to grab a hold of the baby portrayed by the awkward manner in which she tries to get a hold of him (her). Moreover, I think the use of curve lines and the angle in which the baby is held creates a deep sense of motion and at the same time creates uneasiness as one feels that the woman my loose a hold of the baby.
ReplyDeleteHello I'm Charles:
ReplyDeleteI was impressed by the part of line and the mood of the painting. You have mentioned that the color is soft, and the mood is very "heavy" and sad. I agreed, the painter use little black and almost whole white in color, But the feel is very sad and hopeless. The line is not soft but thick. It won't show the weakness of the woman, but strengthen the sadness of the whole picture.
I find this painting very dark thematically. The grim face of the woman and the helpless body of the child reminds me of Goya's Saturn devouring his son paintings. Apart from that I think the use of shades is very skillful in the painting. The whole painting uses mainly ink. Despite the simple brushes, the light and shadows create a very lively image. Moreover I think the white space on the top of the subject further adds to the sense of despair conveyed by the painting.
ReplyDeleteNicol
Hoi Ling:
ReplyDeleteI like your analyze as you can describe the painting in a detail way. I agree that the drawing give a quite horrible and sad feeling. The unbalance composition produces a inharmonious picture. It is great to see your description of the feeling and tone of the drawing.
Carol: Very good analysis, Many. Also, good comments on others' work. Very well done.
ReplyDelete