Activity #10 - Write About It!

The City from Greenwich Village is oil on canvas by John Sloan, 1922. The paint in this portrait was applied quite liberally with very noticeable brush strokes. When viewing The City, one will be able to see the thickness of the oil and the method used to acquire the look of different elements in the work. In this painting the artist used the glazing method. Glazing is when thin, translucent veils of color are applied over a thicker layer of underpainting (Getlein 175). When looking at the sky, you will notice how the artist starts with purple as the base color. He then adds clouds using varying white paints and “light” (from the distant skyscrapers) in varying oranges, over the purple. When looking at the focal point of the painting, the train and the surrounding lit buildings, one can see the glazing technique in creating the light alone. Sloan appears to have started with a darker hue of yellow and continually added lighter hues on top of one another. Take notice to the skyscraper to the right of the train, glazing is also apparent. Sloan started with a darker, unlit building and used the glazing technique to imply the reflection of light off of the surface.

The Old Violin is oil on canvas by William Michael Harnett, 1886. This type of painting is called trompe l’oeil, which if French for “fool the eye”. In this technique, the artist created the objects in the portrait in a manner where everything appears to be real. The paint is thin and was applied to the canvas devoid of brush strokes because the objects are not meant to look as if they were in a painting to begin with (the door on which the violin is hanging may be the only exception because in real life you probably would see brush strokes on a painted door). The artist wants you to notice the objects in the painting but does not want you to see the painting in the portrait. Harnett also employed the method of glazing in this piece. Quite noticeably, the violin and the door hinges have a base color applied to them and additional color was applied on top to give the look of wear or age.

Source Getlein, Mark, Living with Art, 2006 8th Ed.