Half-way point

(Update 10/1/2017) 

After some pretty in-depth review and refinement of my process, I am ready to begin the second half of my analysis project. Work will still be day-to-day, as before, but with the change that my essays (seven) will be posted collectively on each Sunday evening. I work on three to six design projects each day, with the exception of one or two days off monthly, and posting them this way will make transitioning from one project to the next less disruptive to my daily workflow. So, my first batch of seven will be posted on the Eighth. 

(Original post)

After this effort, I feel like I can study a work and after a few moments make at least two noteworthy comments about what I’m looking at. The basis for my analysis model has a solid foundation, and I’ve already applied some of this background to my personal projects. I’m going to pause my analysis for two weeks (returning 10/1) so I can do a few things related to this project. I’m ready to develop my analysis template further, including a reference review to enrich it and see how much I’ve left out. I have a memorization tool to craft, and prepping the essays I have for a typographic layout project will take a long time. 

The second half essays will be shorter, take more analytic risks and open up to all visual arts. This means not just two-dimensional works will be analyzed, but sculpture, architecture and figurative as well. The main reason is because in total they will attempt cover each major era of western history. This is a ton of ground, so it’s possible I’ll have to make some adjustments as the project advances. One example of why I’m doing this is because I have a hard time explaining what the difference between Impressionism and Expressionism is. 

I want to thank anyone who has taken time to look at what I've made. For those interested, my current portfolio is available at: https://gracchus07.wixsite.com/mwdesign

Tchelitchew, Pavel (1940-42). Hide-and-Seek (cache-cache) [oil on canvas]. © SuperStock, inc.

A psychologically complex, surrealistic work that embeds figures into negative space and then switches this space into positive, causing the same to happen to the original positive space. This is accomplished largely through field and ground area equivalency. Flesh, organs, blood and birth are all strongly implied in how forms are built. | 

Two depictions interact simultaneously on the canvas. Figurative shapes are embedded in the negative space of the “main depiction”, which is a young woman struggling to climb a massive, gnarled tree. The attention of the “secondary depiction” figures is toward the central individual. Their subtle, almost subconscious, rendering suggests they may be connected with an other-worldly existence, such as the spiritual.
 
Complementary color (red versus green), shape and negative space forming further shapes are the primary elements used. They are unified to a standard that is difficult to describe and to a degree beyond that of most master works. Although the youthful figures in the “secondary depiction” seem to be implied, they are incredibly detailed (especially with regard to tone) and quite clear to see. Tchelitchew has managed to cause branches and roots to resemble veins and arteries, tree knots to resemble digits and internal organs. An overall texture implying living flesh is present.


One scenes negative space is anothers positive; their roughly equal areas create confusion as to which scene is grounded in reality (and therefore primary). This tension applies in equal measure to any sense of space; it is confused. However, the “main” scene uses value to flesh out shapes and foreshortening to create depth. Value creates depth in the “secondary” scene to a lesser degree, as does diminution. A sense of depth of one depiction is fragmented from the other.


The canvas is thoroughly stabilized by the massive tree. This is underpinned by the directional gazes of the “secondary” figures. These qualities place the center of attention on the undersized, foreshortened figure in the center of the canvas. This work employs both elemental balance and dominance. It is built on organic shapes that seem to be living and breathing. There is strong conflict between light and dark tones, with mid-tones barely extant. This contrast is the skeleton of this piece. 

One possibility of what is being rendered in this work is that the young girl is heroically confronting a tree animated by a dubious, malevolent spirit. The overall rendering of the tree is dark and could be foreboding, and the expressive qualities of the young figures trapped within its strangling roots suggest they look on the hero with hope of rescue.

Picasso (1945). Bull (states I to XI) [engraving]. Réunion des Musées Nationaux/Art Resource, NY © 2008 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society, New York.

In this series, Picasso has rendered the form of a bull in a sort of abstraction gradient. The earlier prints are based on naturalism, and as the series progresses, they become steadily abstracted until they are reduced to a handful of strokes. | 

The purpose of this series is to experiment with abstraction. A bull, a beast with varied and specific symbolic significance across cultures and time periods, is steadily distilled to textured shapes, then planar shapes, and finally unadorned lines. 

A reasonably full range of value is initially used to develop detail, define edges and create textures. As abstraction progresses, steadily drained detail and mass is applied in very specific locations to maintain the creature’s characteristic traits (bulk and strength). Upon reaching the final prints, abstraction becomes severe to the point of oversimplification. The theme is maintained in the last print, but that is all. 

Spatial order, like the viewer’s perspective and picture frame treatment, is a minimal consideration in this series. Toward the beginning, where realism dominates over abstraction, textures and overlap are used only to the degree needed to support that sense of naturalism. Even towards the end of this “single-themed” abstraction scale, pictorial balance is stable and unmoving. 

When the series is taken in total, balance is based on “calm” contrasts (rather than jarring). Well-crafted textures created through value range harden into solid, flat shapes before disappearing in favor of thin, curved strokes. What arguably is a single figurative shape becomes fragmented into a handful of edge-incised mechanical objects before being treated in the same manner as texture. The only obvious domination to be found is the subjects over-sized singularity on each canvas. 

Eye movement is dependent on the individual print. Generally, it is diffuse toward the beginning but more deliberate as lines become the dominant element in the more abstracted prints. 

This series is a case study in the development of abstraction and consistency. The scale the works in total create is an excellent model that anyone can use to understand the degree of abstraction of other works. The single subject, or theme, and the even degree of dilution of realism in favor of simplification establish this series’ characteristic consistency. 

Mondrian, Piet (1905). Landzicht Farm: Compositional Study [charcoal on paper]. Edward E. Ayer Endowment, in memory of Charles L. Hutchinson, 1962.105, the Art Institute of Chicago © 2008 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust.

A colorless, value-based rendering. Focus is based on level of detail. The central subject’s reflection in the lake is texturally consistent with the impression of a water surface. | 

A large tree, it’s living surroundings and a placid lake are the subject of this work. Some of the individual elements are built with specific detail to distinguish them from their surroundings, but overall the entire composition has a blended, unified character. 

Value is the foremost expressive measure used. Subtle and stark variations in its contrast create the middling range of detail present. Shape is treated with originality. While not crisply-defined, it is a basic and effectively used unit. It is also the first element I can identify that establishes spatial relationships, mainly through overlap, and very minor detail adjustment. The unified, blended character Mondrian has established creates a texture consistent with the medium used. 

Basically, this work is a still life, and creating tension or excitement by deliberately upsetting a sense of balance is not a strategy attempted here. This work is pictorially stable. There is a specific lack of value contrast that creates the before-mentioned single-mass character of this work. Blended, non-defined edges fold into that characterization. There is a vague sense of directional contrast created through bubbling versus somewhat rigid masses. 

Center of interest is simple in this piece. A large, stark mass pushes into a field of negative non-developed space. The most focused portion of the canvas lies just below, vying for attention. The observer is placed on the opposite lake edge, looking out over the scene. 

Careful study of this work hints at the value in identifying overlapping and embedded shapes to create larger shapes using a general-to-specific approach. The calm, pleasing nature of this composition is an excellent example of this strategy, even if it wasn’t specifically what Mondrian used to create it. 

Lautrec, Henri de Toulouse (1893). Jane Avril [lithograph with black ink]. The Museum of Modern Art.

The impossible positions of the figure’s body parts in relation to other body parts imply the blending of two moments, where her pose from one moment is merged with that of another. | 

The motion and energy of a dancer is captured with a single element, line. This movement is communicated with the curved, sweeping character, organic speed and pictorial arrangement of the strokes, in particular. Line both binds (type, character) and jars (direction, measure, speed). That is, they are all a dense black with a figurative feel, but applied with gestural freedom on the canvas. 

Minimal attention is paid to developing the background. This, recognizability of the subject and variation in the width of strokes that imply less movement create the spatial depth this work contains. The expressive quality of the dress from-back-to-front carries most of the generous energy in this work. There is a center of detail upward and to the left that develops the figure’s head. 

The observer seems to be an audience member in the crowd. The greatest strength of this work is the expressive freedom Lautrec creates. The energy of the dancer’s motion is rendered to excellent effect. 

Marden, Brice (2000-2006). The Propitious Garden of Plane Image, Third Version [oil on linen]. © Brice Marden/Artists Rights Society, New York.

The primary element and background are both rendered in six colors of the rainbow across six canvases. The meandering strokes are placed and split from each other in a way that creates balance in each individual framework and when the six are arranged in any order. The simplicity of this series is very elegant. | 

A field of multi-colored strokes placed against a solid ground of relatively pure color is the subject of this series. While there is consistent movement and highly structured variety, balance characterizes this work (content).

Line does the heavy lifting. Six strokes of equal measure, one for each color of the rainbow (arguably sans indigo), meander and intertwine consistently across each canvas. The backgrounds are adjusted slightly in value to differentiate the strokes of the same color from those backgrounds.

The manner of the complicated network the strokes create result in the illusion of depth. This is primarily accomplished through elemental overlap and a sort of reverse-diminution that causes the tangles to appear close to each other.

The pace and manner of stroke direction changes are so even that approximate symmetry is nearly implied. The energy and constricted variety of the network would better be described as static asymmetry, in my opinion.

Calm and harmony are created through line measure, direction and character. The dimensions of color provide variety because of the wide range used. The specific color stops are consistent, however, underpinning the orderly tone of this work.

Elemental distribution is homogenous; eye movement is not tightly controlled. There are moments in the canvas series where shapes reveal themselves because of relatively extreme contrasts in background and line value; for example in the yellow and purple canvases.

Each canvas is “focused in” to the subject matter in a consistent manner, and one of the results is carefully considered cropping of certain elements. This is in opposition to the formal choice to “trap” or contain all movement within the picture plane.

I can only imagine how much effort it took to create six canvases with the same energy and elemental disbursement while simultaneously giving each scene a unique self-contained character (six years, apparently). Marden’s execution and the resulting creations are truly pleasing and masterful. 

Woods, Lebbeus (1999). Terrain 10 [sanded paper collage will electrostatic print, ink, pencil, pastel and colored pencil]. Henry Urbach Architecture, NY.

An attention-grabbing work due to the sharp tonal contrasts and heavy use of jagged lines. An intuitive yet non-literal single image is created with four or five individual scenes. A strong yet believable sense of tension is created with the downward thrust of the upper horizontal scene balanced by the smaller, denser block in the central lower horizontal half. The primary vehicle of communication here is line. | 

Several planes overlap and seem to combine, depicting a fantasy version of central New York City, intersecting planes and lines, and technical schematics and writings. The subject is presented through rigid, rectilinear lines with the exception of the schematics, which are the most static and flat portions of the work. In the upper-half, detail is missing towards the top but the scene becomes much more intricate moving downward. This work is built strictly on values; there is stark contrasts in tone throughout, with hardly any midtones. Careful calibration of the angles of the scene plane edges reinforce the overall sense of tension Woods has installed.

Diminution is built from right to left on the upper and central scenes. The upper uses diminishing detail as well from the center outward. Balance is achieved with a sense of downward tension moving toward the central scene. The upper half of the work is elementally uniform from left to right; the lower half of the work is opposite to this, yet still achieves the same sense of balance.

There is a heavy use of rigid, stark, mechanical edges far overpowering the meek, occasional gestural and script-like writings. Darks and lights are effectively played off each other. This work uses dominance in favor of equivalency: Harsh values, strong edges, rectilinear shapes and flat planes. However, the picture plane is balanced in spite of the downward tension.

The primary focal point is the cityscape, mostly due to the development of detail. The downward-thrusting pile of planes and lines in the scene above it cause the eye to flow in the direction of the scene; there is a sense that the upper scene could crash though to the lower half at any moment. Movement to the lower center is reinforced by the lateral organization of the grid-like writings.

There can be multiple perspective points, but that of the center of interest is suspended in the sky looking at an oblique angle to the metropolis. This is a strong work that is selective in the elements it uses. The three primary scenes are similar in tone, using the same elements to create a sense of unity. The tension created through direction, off-perpendicular angles and detail calibration is expert. There is a strong balance of detail and areas lacking embellishment. The center of gravity is effective on its own and effectively supported by the treatment of its surrounding planes. 

Matisse, Henri (1947). The Burial of Pierrot [stencil painting]. © 2008 Succession H. Matisse/Artists Rights Society, New York.

This painting reminds me of a postcard; it’s playful and not as simple as it looks. The background is reduced to a motif of tree-symbols; this sense of repetition is continued with small tear-shaped figures arranged in a pattern around the outer boundary. The carriage repeats the rearing motion of the horses drawing it. | 

Natural, well-defined shapes create this composition: A profile-view of a horse-drawn carriage. These shapes are underpinned by stark colors and patterns created by careful object arrangement. Like most works of abstraction, this one is infused with motion and energy, as will be described.

A passing glance implies a decorative sense of balance, which is valid. Upon further study, it becomes clear that the three rectangular shapes are spatially placed to organize the picture plane into three fields: frame (white), foreground (black) and background (magenta). The close-edge and merged shape treatment of the horses is particularly strong in how it implies more than one horse is present. It also provides a link between the background and foreground together with the forging of the tree-shape to the rear-most horse.

While there is an unmistakable vitality to this painting, the incised definition of the flattened shapes and static rectangles result in a solidly stable composition. Biomorphic shapes dominate; even the rectangular shapes that order space take on a living character. Repetition through similar shapes create a sense of rhythm and motion, with interest installed by changing the color of one of the shapes in the tree line. The surrounding pattern is infused with variety through differences in color and object orientation.

The careful clockwise rotation of the two subject elements give them life. Their trotting sense of movement is implied by the perimeter decorations. They are a sliver oversized for the framework they are placed in, which actually creates more excitement in their shapes. The picture plane begins (or repeats) the inscribed angular shape pattern, a strong compositional choice.

I believe one of the underappreciated strengths of this work is its distillation of artistic elements essentially to shape. Shape is used on its own terms, not used to flesh out textures and their edges are not blended with the dimensions of color. Patterns and rhythm are created to strong, intuitive effect, but based on solid shape treatment alone. 

Botticelli, Sandro (c.1490). Annunciation [tempera and gold on panel]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975.

The archangel Michael and the Virgin meet for the first time, assuming reflecting poses of reverence from each other. Interior negative space is thoroughly developed. |

Two figures assuming prostrating poses in a closed stance are the subject. This work is an example of full linear perspective within the time period it was developed. The horizon line is near the lateral balancing axis of the canvas, placing the vanishing point just to the right of the figure on the left. Light, airy colors and value development characteristic of the renaissance (“pre-tenebristic”) define shapes. The arrangement of flat surfaces, shadows, windows and figures create a loose, pleasing texture pattern.

A double-line of receding pilasters almost literally support the canvas. This work might not be symmectrically organized, but it is rigidly stable. Straight, edge-defined architectural shapes are contrasted by living figurative ones. Full, balanced values are used. 

The figure to the left is basically highlighted; that is, it is surrounded by denser tones, and the lighter treatment of this figure creates the most contrast to be found, attracting attention there first. The vanishing point supports this eye movement. The expressive quality and near-reflection of the poses place the second center of attention on the figure of the Virgin. The illusion of the position of the observer is a solid strength of this painting. The edges of the canvas run parallel (and support) the straight edges rendered in the painting. 

Botticelli’s use of linear perspective create a solid framework for developing the areas and details on the canvas. The result is a spatially believable, if somewhat stiff, work of art. 

Cézanne, Paul (c. 1888-90). Still Life with Basket of Fruit (The Kitchen Table). Musée d’Orsay, paris, France.

This still life is typical of Cézanne’s work in that it has his unique degree of realism and values are based on color ratios instead of levels of gray. Many of the edges are defined with slow, blended lines; the canvas has a flattened quality. Both of these characteristics do not come off as “amateurish”, however. The color scheme is analogous, pivoting on a full use of yellows. | 

Small, organic, circular shapes (fruit) are surrounded by angled, perpendicular and parallel edges (background). The underlying value or meaning to this painting (to me) seems to be the exercise of creating a pleasing, balanced and interesting work through elemental arrangement and repetition. Beyond my intuition, a major portion of this work’s importance is marking Cézanne’s influence on increasing western art’s experimentation with abstraction and reducing its overall concern for projecting optical realism.

Carefully defined shapes, a warm color palette, color purity and sensitivity to spatial volume intuitively blend together to create this composition. The arrangement of shapes is quite sensitive, employing considered overlap, touch and close-proximity to support the intuitive sense of object weight and surface texture this painting communicates. This treatment also creates the characteristic sense of spatial order infused in the canvas. Diminishing textural detail and the value contrast strategy support this work’s sense of depth. 

Elemental mass and this work’s rich development of negative space create a truly stable sense of pictorial balance. Shape-to-shape value contrasts move from the light-to-mid-range in the foreground and dense-to-mid-range in the background. There is pleasing balance between rigid and curved edges, positive and negative space and the full use of the value scale. This work is somewhat dominated by small shapes, warm colors and diluted purity.  The brightly-colored circular shapes create a repeating and subtle pattern, causing the eye to move from shape to shape.

Careful examination of subjects shows that they are presented from more than one vantage point. One example is the front table edge, which seems to be viewed from a higher angle on the left than on the right. Cézanne as a legendary artistic figure already carved out his position through his intuitive adjustment of light and dense tones through color manipulation in favor of value. He clearly installs multiple vantage points in this work without the fragmented identity of cubism, a movement which works like this one portends. 

Marin, John (1920). Sun Spots [watercolor and charcoal]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949 (49.70.121).

This work is a case study in color contrasts: Bright, high key, warm yellows and oranges are overwhelmed by more static, cool, dull blues and purples. Yet, the warm colors leap off the canvas, imitating the after-images of the Sun one would experience after looking directly into it for a moment. |

Interplay between the bright, overpowering disc of the Sun and the vast, never-ending motion of the ocean is the subject of this work. The realism of the scene is deconstructed and abstracted to the edge of being unrecognizable, yet is still as believable as if Courbet had painted it in Marin's superior impressionism.

This work is an example of something I would consider a mess and dismiss before my training, but now I appreciate its beauty. Color and value, inseparable as always, communicate first and foremost. The color scheme is (double) complementary: yellows and oranges against purples and blues. Color defines shapes, which seem freely applied, are actually carefully arranged in proximity to each other.

Reliance on shape and their deliberate arrangement create a decorative global sense of depth. The primary center of interest, which is the bright, warm area just above the elevated horizon, compounds the flatness of the work when the massive area of cool sky and water are considered. The small relative size of the warm hues and our own innate understanding of the scene contradict this sense of space, creating depth that is in conflict.

I want to say there is a sense of symmetric balance in this work, and the character and arrangement of the elements nearly create that in vertical orientation. But this is not the case; the two sides simply do not reflect each other enough. Static asymmetry results.

Pictorially, warm colors overwhelm cool. In terms of area, cool colors overwhelm warm. In total, these two remarkable and inverted scales balance each other to near perfection. Value disbursement uses a similar strategy.

Color interaction with depth is the most effective and beautiful component of this work. Along with a couple of other artists, Marin’s manipulation of color was ground-breaking because it broke from traditional methods of creating depth, which were basically to assume all objects receded directly from the picture plane-backward. The combination of shape isolation and blending, and their spatial arrangement are nearly equally as effective as his use of color in this painting. 

Homer, Winslow (1883). Returning Fishing Boats [watercolor and white gouache over graphite on white paper]. The Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University Art Museums.

Homer uses dense values to define the subject, surrounding it with higher-than-midtone values to give it a sense of unbalanced, bobbing motion. The entire canvas is infused with steady and irresistible energy. The global application of color (reds in particular) is easy to overlook but is one of the major strengths in this work in how it simultaneously adds tension and harmonizes. | 

A small fishing boat occupies the canvas, treated with a sense of isolation, mass and shifting motion. The entire composition feels uneasy. Elementally, this piece is exceptional; there are several expertly blended elements and strategies at work. If I had to select one as the lead, it would be tone. Value defines the subject, does more than any other single element to saturate it in energy, and the full range is richly used. Curved edges support the particular kind of movement inherent in the subject. While dirty, color is also used effectively: Warm reds and yellows reside peacefully next to cool blues and greens. A textural pattern is beautifully embedded in the sea water. 

Spatial depth is plastic and would sink into infinity if not for the wall of haze and smoke Homer renders. There, atmospheric perspective and a restriction of values to the middle-range create the background. There is not much color purity to be found, but all of it is located in the foreground. The value contrast between subject and its surroundings does the most to define foreground depth. The slight elevation of the horizon line and tension in the subject element block “push” the balance point to the left and up, resulting in a sense of asymmetric balance.

Two shape types battle for attention: edge-defined and amorphous. Intuitive value contrast defines the former; the character of air, smoke and water the later. Hue, and less so color purity, do much for this composition, but are subordinate and harmonizing elements. The viewer is positioned on the surface of the water, looking outward into the scene. The picture frame too is subordinate, divided laterally nearly in half. This brings attention more to the middle of the canvas and away from its edges.

The most pleasing aspect to this work is arguably its amazing organization and arrangement of spatial order, which is surprisingly simple. Value deserves special mention for it’s full use and seamless support of the entire composition. Returning Fishing Boats is a truly masterful work. 

Masaccio (1427). Trinity with the Virgin, Saint John and Donors [fresco]. Located at Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy.

I try to imagine the colors brighter and the entire canvas less worn. Order characterizes this work. The total subject matter is nearly rigidly balanced with “stepped-off” depth at predictable intervals. Elements are arranged so precisely it is nearly vertically symmetric and presents a frame within a frame a handful of times. This must be one of the first extant fully mature examples of linear perspective. | 

A powerful, stark image of the Crucifixion is front and center in this work. In terms of message, the event is absolutely centered within a combination of classic architectural elements. This could be a commentary by the artist on the culture responsible for Christ’s murder. Depth and space are not typically the first elements used or noticed to carry a work, but this is the case here. The linear perspective is interwoven with lines of force created by sightlines to organize this composition nearly to the degree of an Egyptian mural. The properties of color and texture are subordinate.

While the illusion of space is effective, it also brings more attention to the central figure. All perspective lines converge below his feet. The coffered barrel vault in particular accomplishes this assumption of converging parallels. I believe this work is approximately symmetrically balanced. While the vertical halves do not absolutely reflect each other, the areas of difference carry the same tone.

Somewhat geometric, architectural forms are balanced against solid figurative masses. The four bottom figures take on the statue-like solid character of the construct around them. The mid-range dominance of value could be due to the age of the work and medium used. A subtle textural treatment helps to harmonize the entire canvas. The position of the viewer is at least one step below the bottom-most rendered step. The picture frames elongated vertical dimension fully supports the character of this work.

Perspective, lines of force, arrangement of figures and architecture all blend together to create a pictorial order that is nearly static, without movement. If there is a weakness in this master work, it is a lack of energy. There are a multitude of strengths, and one important result is the position this work as taken in western history for organizing pictorial space to mathematical precision. 

Caravaggio (1599-1600). David Victorious over Goliath [oil on canvas]. The Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain/The Bridgeman Art Library.

Caravaggio offers hardly more than a hint of the violence that has occurred. The head of Goliath is positioned in an impossible position in relation to his prone body, and the color of his skin is beginning to turn sickly. There is evidence of the damage David inflicted on him in the center of his forehead. | 

A moment in time is captured, which of course is described in the title. This master work is more than an allegory rendered beyond photo-realism, as will be described. Contrast through value does the heavy lifting in this work. The artist’s remarkable adjustment of value captures interest, defines shapes, and saturates the canvas in drama. Color purity and subtle texture provide context for Caravaggio’s use of value to excel the way it does in this work.

Focused light from directly overhead hints at an impact on content as well as fleshing out highlights and shadows. A distant-second space-defining measure is color temperature. Overall the mood is dark, for layering reasons. Action has cooled, and the adrenaline rush is abating. Elements are stable, resulting in a work of static asymmetry. The narrative, expression based on tone, figurative shapes and muddied colors dominate. The roughly equal areas of value extremes are in pleasing conflict.

The position of David’s body, the lines of force created by his limbs and the direction of his gaze lead to the decapitated head of Goliath. The subtle shapes that are created in the hero’s flesh and clothing support this sense of motion. The observer is close at hand; the picture frame is somewhat compressed but not nearly to the degree so as to distract from the carefully blended elements and strategies that define this work. 

The beauty and strength of this painting are not something I can quantify. Several attributes of it struggle within the mind: pure admiration for its imitation of optical reality, the masterful execution of tenebrism (extreme value contrast) and the sensitive yet direct expression of allegory. I believe Caravaggio's master works reflect a sort of "hyper-reality", one that is more rich and detailed that would what actually exist, similar to the Renaissance Dutch but with a more intense, much less playful mood.

Heinze, Gus (2003). Espresso Café [acrylic on gessoed panel]. Bernarducci.Meisel.Gallery, NY.

At first glance, the façade of a street-side café is painted with absolute photorealism. On a deeper level, Heinze has arranged declining and interlocking planes on the canvas in a manner that supports the optical quality of the painting. Single-point perspective is used, with the vanishing point placed dramatically to the extreme left of the composition. Heinze’s ability to render reflections is amazing. | 

A somewhat close-cropped shadow-blanketed side of a building fills this composition. The clean façade, sharp detail and well-defined edges create a cosmopolitan, upper-class impression. Two artistic elements rise above all others in importance: tone and shape. The overall feel of this composition is heavy due to the overwhelming use of dense values. Shapes touch, float near to each other and barely overlap. This unified combination of dark tones and planar shape proximity create individual areas of interest while simultaneously binding the entire composition together. Secondary elements include line, color, rhythm and time. 

Planes are inclined away from the picture plane in a consistent system of implied parallel lines converging on a single vanishing point placed to the extreme left of the composition. I believe static asymmetry is the most accurate description of pictorial balance. Distribution of weight is not meant to draw attention to itself, and doesn’t. An argument could be made that a vague sense of approximate symmetry is used in vertical orientation.  

Dominance: dense tones, rectilinear shapes, defined edges. Contrast: high-key values in the lower-right quadrant (placed to perfection), curves provided by letterforms and areas of vagueness created by backlighting. 

The lower-right quadrant carries the most contrast and therefore the most visual weight. Heinze’s use of incised edges lead the eye deeper into the composition to areas of less contrast, or upward to the static reflection of the sky. Interpenetration is present: Cross-directional lines of force and shapes, created by the sign, create more tension and interest. Perspective is at an approximate eye-level of an average adult, looking upward at a slight oblique angle. The picture plane is the only planar form oriented truly perpendicular to the observer.

At its simplest level of description, Heinze has created what could be easily mistaken for a photograph of an espresso café. More than a cursory glance reminds the viewer of the hyper-realist works of the Dutch during the Renaissance. His deeply respectful treatment of shape, tone, contrast, rhythm, volume and space create an illusionistic work with meaning beyond the rendered subject.