Norman Rockwell's The Love Song
From my range of experiences at the Indianapolis Museum of Art there has been one painting that has always brought me back to cast my shadow on the museum floor in front of it. Norman Rockwell’s The Love Song has captured my attention time and time again with its expressive and intriguing narrative. Sylvan Barnet tells us that in the critique of a work we must ask ourselves, “What is my first response to the work?” Barnet goes on to say that we may eventually change our understanding of the work or revoke our initial response completely. Regardless of our conclusions, our first impressions weigh heavily on our perception of a piece. My first response to The Love Song was one of curiosity. The look of disparity on the young woman’s face compounds
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The Love Song is painted in a way in which the media itself is not particularly expressive. The artist’s intention was most likely to leave the subject matter of the painting the focus of his viewers rather than the painterly qualities of the work. Rockwell’s careful rendering, though not completely disregarding the importance of brushstrokes, keeps our focus on the subjects. Rockwell did a tremendous job at capturing light with this work. Light is cast through the window onto the floor. It bounces off of the fabrics of each figure’s clothing and grounds the painting altogether. The wrinkles in the faces of the man are deepened with shadow, while the girls face is softly lit with light. The fabric of the girls dress and the curtains behind her are soft and wistful while the fabric of the men’s clothing is harder and perhaps exaggerated, After assessing the media and treatment of the panting, Barnet next directs our attention to the formal elements of the work. Light, space, composition, depth, shape, size, and scale are all among features that Barnet tells readers to be attuned to. The space within this work, as well as the scale of the work give viewers a much more intimate viewing experience. The space here is crucial to the successfulness of the
The Love Song is painted in a way in which the media itself is not particularly expressive. The artist’s intention was most likely to leave the subject matter of the painting the focus of his viewers rather than the painterly qualities of the work. Rockwell’s careful rendering, though not completely disregarding the importance of brushstrokes, keeps our focus on the subjects. Rockwell did a tremendous job at capturing light with this work. Light is cast through the window onto the floor. It bounces off of the fabrics of each figure’s clothing and grounds the painting altogether. The wrinkles in the faces of the man are deepened with shadow, while the girls face is softly lit with light. The fabric of the girls dress and the curtains behind her are soft and wistful while the fabric of the men’s clothing is harder and perhaps exaggerated, After assessing the media and treatment of the panting, Barnet next directs our attention to the formal elements of the work. Light, space, composition, depth, shape, size, and scale are all among features that Barnet tells readers to be attuned to. The space within this work, as well as the scale of the work give viewers a much more intimate viewing experience. The space here is crucial to the successfulness of the