Photo analysis - Research Paper Example

Task: Photo analysis is one of the major components of studies in the faculty of visual arts and films. It involves a detailed description of a photo using various analytical tools such as the lines, photo backgrounds, history, and several others. Analyzing a photo has numerous advantages, both to a society and to students studying the subject. It reveals the history of a given work of art. With this, an individual can easily tell some of the weaknesses of the early or renaissance art. This, in turn, enables students make improvements as well as avoids some of the common errors visible in the photos. Every aspect of study or academic always improves in quality with time. Most ideas in various fields of education are comparable and some are derivative of the other. However, art as a field or subject of study in colleges and universities does not obey the law as explained in the Arnold Hauser’s Sociological Method in Art History. Analyzed well, early photography had certain styles and compositions that depicted a higher level of professionalism. Most renaissance photos are discrete and can be differentiated from modern photos using different criteria. To begin with, renaissance photos like the one to below had certain artistic inputs that make them stand out when compared to the modern photos. Coloration in photography during the renaissance period was meant to portray certain themes to the viewers. Black color, for instance, symbolized a gloomy or despondent mood in a society. Red was always associated with romance. White, on the other hand, had a close association with religion especially Christianity. It was also associated with peace and understanding among people in the society. Drawings in the renaissance photos had a lot concerning the history of different societies. Drawings with weapons such as swords symbolized war, victory or a safe society. Political-based, early artists had various ways of displaying their political interests or ideologies using photos. For instance, an artist may decide to draw cartoons representing two different politicians, one cartoon may be bigger than the other. In such cases, the artist is secretly and artistically displaying his or her ideologies in politics. The big photo is always the artist’s most preferred politician. The paper will analyze the following photo with regard to the stated problem. According to this photo, a woman wearing a red dress is sitting on a dinner table next to circular window. She is not eating; there is food on the table, however. The woman has a long hair and looks somehow stressed. Outside the window, there is a lot of light and this is contrast to the dark room where the woman is sitting (Matheson 287). The image is covered a slant rectangular frame. In addition, the window shows another shape of heart. The woman looks uneasy and impatient with her hands over her head. John William Waterhouse did this photo in 1849. According to him, the photo on the background is a lady of Shalott saying that she is half-sick of shadows. Various questionnaires were distributed to identify people’s views on the photo. One of the questions in the questionnaire were:What do you think of when you come across a woman with a red dress like the one in the photo? Does the picture reveal anything related to romance to you?If yes, where and when do you think this photo was taken? Out of the 100 questionnaires distributed, 71% associated the photo with romance and renaissance period. Most of them associated it with Europe, particularly Italy, France, and Germany. 22% associated the woman with early prostitutes in Europe. 7% of the questionnaires were not properly filled. According to the findings, it is quite succinct that William’s main thematic concern at the time of taking this photo was romance. First, the photo has its window in the shape of a heart. Heart, as understood, is a global symbol of romantic love. The window curtains have been removed allowing some light into the dark room. The woman is also in a red dress. Red color has a symbol of romance (Lasanksy 93). The lady is sitting on a dining table, but she is not having the meal arranged on the table. She looks stressed as she stretch her arms over her head. Also to notice is the quote by William that the woman is a half-sick (Matheson 287). This confirms her uneasiness. The window allowing light into the room has a meaning that the he person is the one who will woman is not happy at the table. She seems to be waiting for someone from outside the room bring light to her life and that is why the light enters through a heart shaped window into the room. The person the woman is waiting for is probably her lover. The shape of the window confirms this. He is the source of light to the woman and his light comes into the woman’s view and life through the love he has for her. The dining table with food also has a lot to display on romance. The woman is not eating; she is probably waiting for her lover. The background of the photo also has In conclusion; the photo’s main theme is to display to viewers the issue of love and relationship during the renaissance period in Europe (William 52). The reason behind this photo is to challenge the current artists so that they improve their artistic knowledge and skills. Analyzed, the photo has expressive line. Expressive lines, in photography, are meant to give an artist’s emotion and thoughts to the viewers. The lines are always continuous showing the shapes of the individual displayed on the photo. For instance, William in this case shows he emotion of the woman on the photo. The woman looks desperate and disturbed depending on the position and shapes that William has used in this picture. The background color of the photo is dull brown with a finger at the bottom of the frame. This is a clear representation and color symbol of the renaissance period. The skin color, the looks, and the shape of the woman tells more about her origin; she is a European woman (Berenson 35). More information on this is revealed from the artist of the photo. He applies dark color on the inside part of the photo which is very unusual with most of the artists in the today’s arts and films. The photo also has a finger at the bottom. The finger nail looks as if it has superficial blood flow, probably the person is agitated emotionally causing such types of blood flow. In this context, it is arguable that the person whose finger is at the bottom of the photo has been aroused emotionally and erotically. The social aspect of this photo is portrayed on the thematic content of the photo. It shows the level at which the issue of love and relationship, that is, romance had reached during the renaissance era. It gives a historical overview of romance. It shows how and when romance began. It acts as an example of how people regarded romantic life during the period (Corso 87). During the renaissance period, most of the early artists had a lot of influence on the politics of the then early societies. Pictures normally have emotional influence and messages on the viewers’ side. For instance, this picture reveals an aspect of politics. The issue of romance and prostitution were under control in some societies. However, in this society it is arguable that it was not forbidden. The photo has renaissance romance as the major thematic aspect to the viewers. Work Cited Berenson, Bernard. Italian pictures of the Renaissance: a list of the principal artists and their works, with an index of places, Volume 1.New York, NY: Phaidon Press, 1963. Print. Corso, Paola & Mendel, Thomas. Death by renaissance: poems and photos. New York, NY: Bottom Dog Press, 2004. Print. Lasanksy, Medina. The Renaissance perfected: architecture, spectacle, and tourism in Fascist Italy. Pennsylvania: Penn State Press, 2004. Print. Matheson, James. Twentieth century theories of art. Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1999. Print. Williams, Ella. Harlem Renaissance. New York, NY: Author House, 2008. Print. Read More