How to Read a Painting
I don’t remember exactly how or when I learned how to read…what I do remember is sitting on the floor in the first grade and Mrs. Lichtenfeld made us repeat all the vowel sounds until it became a broken record playing in our brains. A E I O U and sometimes Y. They were also prominently displayed above the chalkboard so we could easily see them every day. I also remember all of us sitting in a circle on a rug in the classroom while she would read to us. Sometimes, she would stop her reading and turn the book to us. She would then read us a sentence out of some See Jane Go book and point to the letter R and we would have to repeat the sound she made for R…then she would point to the letter D and we would have to repeat the sound D made, then she would put it together with the vowels sounds we already knew and Voila! We could read the word RED! I imagine this went on until we memorized the sounds of all the consonants in the alphabet. I also remember what she did NOT do during that year of first grade. She did not put a book in front of us and expect us to read it or let alone understand it.
And yet, that is exactly what most galleries and museums do. When a lay person walks into a gallery or museum with no previous knowledge of the vowels or the consonants and the skill to put them together (Let’s forget about the punctuation right now…that’s coming) it is like putting War and Peace in the hands of a first grader and expecting them to read and understand it.
If you truly want to understand art, you are going to have to do a little bit of homework. Most art historians will tell you the basic elements of art are color, form, line, shape and texture. But, I am going to throw those out and ask you to think about the elements below. Most importantly, you are going to have to take time to look. Seriously LOOK…every square inch is just as important as every other square inch. Stand in front of that painting until you have really looked at it…let your eyes scan over it, and then let your eyes take the whole piece into your entire field of vision. Walk back to look at it from a distance, and then come close and look at the detail. Here are just some of the vowels and consonants you need to learn if you really want to “read a painting.”
Color Theory
Color theory is a concept used in visual arts that explains how colors interact with each other and how they can be combined to create certain feelings, moods, and reactions. To understand this, you need to have a basic understanding of the color wheel. Interestingly, it was Sir Isaac Newton who formalized color theory and provided the foundation for the color wheel. For example, complimentary colors are opposite of each other on the color wheel and when put together have a vibrant reaction. Abstract expressionists played with the concept of “push/pull” working with some colors appearing to recede back into space, while other colors appear to come forward. There is no room here to explain color theory in its entirety, but this website gives a pretty good summary. https://www.colormatters.com/color-and-design/basic-color-theory
Composition
There are a lot of rules about how to create the perfect composition…have a focal point, think horizontal/vertical, the rule of thirds, have an odd number of elements…but there is nothing as important as the golden ratio – also called divine proportion – it is a true magic formula that has been seducing the eyes for centuries. For painters, architects, sculptors or poets, the golden ratio in art exerts a power of fascination. Its rules are multiple and appear in several formulas, like the Fibonacci sequence, the spiral and the golden rectangle. Again, way too much to cover here, but as you practice looking at art, let your eye be the judge. After a lot of looking, you’ll just know what feels comfortable or what feels “off.”
Art History
I am pretty sure almost everyone has heard the story about a mother and child walking through a museum and seeing a Jackson Pollock splatter painting and hearing the mother say “Hey, my 5 year old could do that!” and I am sure he could. What that mother is not taking into account is the history of the art that led up to Jackson Pollock doing that. Understanding the incredible importance that went into the fact that now an artist was applying paint to a canvas without using a brush! He was creating a painting that clearly evoked an emotional expression…hence the birth of abstract expressionism. Or what about the messy landscapes of Monet who violated the rules of academic painters by using his brushstrokes to evoke an “impression” of the subject or landscape…starting a movement called Impressionism,.. Again, way too much for me to cover here but an important element in understanding and “reading” a painting.
Mastery of Technique
Blissfully, there are a gazillion ways for an artist to express themselves and it never ceases to amaze me the ways in which art can be created…paintings, sculptures, prints, photography, the list goes on and on. But, whatever the medium that the artist uses, I want to see that their work is done with integrity and competence. That the artist has studied their technique and presents the highest quality possible. Even shabby, messy or imperfect can be presented perfectly when done right. Again, for you to be able to study mastery of technique you need to look at lots and lots of art that has been properly vetted by curators, gallerists and critics, so you can “read” the professionalism in any particular medium.
Communication
What does that painting say to you? Yes, it should speak to you...when I am looking for something to love, it needs to apply to all of these senses: my heart, my head, my eyes. It needs to be visually appealing (eyes), it needs to arouse some sort of feeling (heart), and it needs to stir a respect in the artists’ mastery of his/her technique (head). These are all complicated subjects because what appeals to you is different than what appeals to others. The theory is based on your entire collection of previous visual experiences remaining in your brain for your entire lifetime.. Every single image you have ever looked at is stored in your memory and the more times you see something, the likelihood of you liking it and understanding it increases…this is why it is so important for children, even infants, to frequent galleries and museums…they don’t have to understand anything about art because just SEEING it will leave a visual imprint in their brain. The same happens with music.
The Back Story
Those of us that are brilliantly lucky enough to meet the artist (or an educated gallerist) can get “the back story.” An explanation directly from the artist about what they were thinking and how this painting came to life…but those experiences are few and far between.We are lucky to be living in a time when collecting art from living artists is possible.
.There is a lot more, obviously. And, there will be some that disagree with me. But, if someone asked me how to learn to read a painting this is the outline I would give them to start…good luck!
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