1.4.1: Delight
- Page ID
- 257174
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Rainmundo de Madrazo y Garreta, Spring Beauty, oil on canvas, 36-9/16 x 22-15/16 in, date unknown (late 19th to early 20th century), Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
In Madrazo y Garreta's painting, a young, charming woman, clothed in prettiness, holding a basket of flowers in a lovely natural setting are strong clues that this work is about Delight. But that is just "looking." Let's go a bit deeper. What stands out the most in terms of the Elements and Principles, and what do they seem to suggest? Creamy warm yellows, and soft reddish-oranges glow against the muted green of the trees in the distance. There are clear and strong areas of dark and light, revealing good contrast, but most of the image is cheerfully toned, showing mostly a mid to high tonal range. The darker tones of the basket, for instance, causes the flower colors to pop out with joy. The edges of shapes tend to be organic, natural, and flowing in general with the exception of a few areas, such as the straight edges of the steps. Notice the directional forces of her body position, the angles of arms and hands and toes, etc., creating a pleasing flow of movement throughout the composition, somewhat dynamic to keep our attention, but not overly dramatic. One could go on pointing out details, but there is a strong case here for Delight or Beauty as the main function. But to be honest, there is much we don't know. Perhaps this is a specific figure known well to a given time and place. Perhaps she was a model of good, someone to honor, and so the work could be Commemorative. Or there could be other underlying reasons for some other category. However, beauty seems to be a major feature of this artwork and the title, "Spring Beauty," does much to support this. Titles can give helpful context to a work, but titles can also be misleading, applied after the artist has passed, or purposefully obscure to keep us focused more on the artwork itself.
Content on this page written by Jon McCallum, 2024.