Prendergast’s La Quatorze Juillet Painting Analysis Essay

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The painting ‘La Quatorze Juillet’ was painted in the year 1892. It was painted by an impressionist artist named Maurice Brazil Prendergast. The monotypic oil technique employed in the painting captures the eye in a meticulous way. Apart from the aesthetic emotion provoked in the painting, there are other captivating features that are amazing (Carroll 108). In the foreground, there are women and children. They are painted faintly in a dark green hue which caught my eye avidly.

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From a worm’s point of view, the main startling element is the texture of the foreground. The procession of the women and children on the path is clearly visible. The gray path which is somehow rough and hard sends an emotion to my nerves. The artist managed to bring out the roughness on the right part.

Shapes in the top left corners are painted in a vibrant yellow hue. The spiral way in which the circular forms are repeated on the top left corner leaves behind a path of dark smog that changes whenever your eyes move across the painting. These circular forms give out an artificial light that is cast on the women and children visible in the foreground. Above the women, we see a crowd of people painted in dark green and the floor has faint light. I think the artist rarely used black color to bring any shadows or areas of darkness. Notably, the semi-circles on the left part of the painting diminish towards the middle in a sloping angle and while decreasing in size. These lightly colored semicircles give a three-dimensional aspect of the venue of the event. Thus it brings harmony and balance of forms in the painting.

The use of color shows the emphasis on the event and the guests present. The colors employed in the painting divide the painting into three parts. The foreground is painted with a shallow brown-gray and white texture, the middle is dark-green with touches of yellow and the top left background is bright yellow, with a blue sky that is v-shaped. Amazingly, you can see the movement of the artist’s brush, mainly in the foreground and background. The yellow color shade light on the images and shadows are formed which are short hence depicting the time of the event (Carroll 111).

Complex shapes across the middle parts are brought clearly by lines that are lightly colored and tinted in dark green. The woman on the left part is distinctly shown carrying a baby by dark lines on the arms and dress. The vanishing spiral lines suggest a movement of the figures in the top left area.

The forms in the foreground are well spaced and concentrated on the two-thirds part of the painting in the left part. The dull space left in the bottom right corner is balanced with circular forms in the top right corner which is bright hence proportionality is achieved.

The nature of the event captured in this painting comes clearly to mind. It depicts the state and culture of that time. The use of visible women and children depicts the position women were given or denied during such celebrations. Clearly, it brings questions like; where are the men, are they behind the women, and near the light, is it all about male chauvinism? Why did the artist use silhouettes in the middle part, bright yellow circular and spiral moving forms? Was it meant to show how jubilant an event was during that time? Are the sky, women, and the circular forms in spiral form suggesting anything spiritual? These are the mysterious questions that provoked aesthetic emotions hence made me stare in wonder at such a masterpiece.

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Works Cited

Carroll, Noel. Philosophy of Art: A Contemporary Introduction. New York, NY: Routledge, 1999. Print.

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IvyPanda. 2022. "Prendergast’s La Quatorze Juillet Painting Analysis." January 1, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/prendergasts-la-quatorze-juillet-painting-analysis/.

1. IvyPanda. "Prendergast’s La Quatorze Juillet Painting Analysis." January 1, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/prendergasts-la-quatorze-juillet-painting-analysis/.


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IvyPanda. "Prendergast’s La Quatorze Juillet Painting Analysis." January 1, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/prendergasts-la-quatorze-juillet-painting-analysis/.

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