Surname 1
Student’s Name
Instructor’s Name
Course/Number
Date
Thomas Eakins
Eakins commenced this portrait soon after his marriage in January 1884 to his erstwhile student, Susan MacDowell Hannah (1851–1938), a talented photographer and a painter. The setting of this piece is his studio at 1330 Chestnut Avenue in Philadelphia, where the duo and their dog, Harry, lived from January 1884 to November 1886. A photogravure of the portrayal from 1886 discloses a tougher woman, submitting that Eakins transmuted the portrait, intensified the effect of the skylight’s radiance (Barrett & Terry, 1986). The variations may have reflected Eakins’s distress over his contentious dismissal from the school of the Pennsylvania Academy in the department of Fine Arts, partially for removing the loincloth from a male model pupil in a co-ed class. The in-depth analysis of this photograph takes its account its features and characteristics.
The standard features of this portrait have great antiquity and present various historical revelations about Eakins imaginations and history. Foremost, the portrait of a woman seated in a cozy couch with a book on her hand discloses a robust woman with courage and understanding. Her silver dress is an indicator of a queen’s merit. Generally, the portrait presents a woman with some apparent exclusive qualities: familiarity and mystery, grandeur and humility and majesty and modesty. By this portrait, Eakins accord outstanding personality. Susan’s appearance in the portrait reassures consistency, she stands enigmatic, appearing silent and never revealing publicly what she thinks about the numerous life episodes (Barrett & Terry, 1986). In a nutshell, Eakins presents more of personality in photography rather than the usual physical look.
The curtains and furniture in this house are indeed an overview of the ancient first class family. In those times, the woolen carpets and high breed dogs were assets of the first class family. The dog appears humble and kind, revealing peace and comfort. It is through this calmness that Eakins introduces the background settings of this portrait. As commonly preempted by most artists, domestic animals’ status discloses economic constituents in a family setup.
Similarly, this portrait and particularly the calmness of the dog communicate the economic aspect of the occupants of this home. Moreover, the walls cabinets and drawers isolate this photograph from other photographic arts of those times. Through his hard work and handwork, Eakins raises his family with sufficient shelter, and indeed food and clothing that manifest with the extent of calmness and comfort through which the being occupants of this picture are entrusted (Mary, 1985).
Lastly, this photograph discloses history and tradition. Susan’s dress in the portrait imparts tradition and cultural aspects. The Americans and the British characterized this kind of dress code in ancient times. Most of Eakins photographic work conferred his continent and the embedded traditional aspects. Finally, a sight of this artwork will mechanically carry the viewer back to those old times. Unlike the contemporary society, ancient photography purely relied on the efficacy of paper and charcoal. This artwork is indeed an indisputable reflection of ancient photography (Simpson, 1987).
In conclusion, a formal examination into a photograph dispenses a common communication in the visual arts. However, illustrating a photograph based purely on formal analysis might be incomplete. Photographic description requires apprehending both compositions as well as the content (Mary, 1985). In this regard, this analysis considers the artist’s intention and the possible background insinuation that mechanically sprout the aspects of culture, tradition, relationship and economic constituent.
Work cited
Simpson, Marc. “Thomas Eakins and His Arcadian Works.” Smithsonian Studies in American Art 1.2 (1987): 71-95.
Barrett, Terry. “A theoretical construct for interpreting photographs.” Studies in Art Education 27.2 (1986): 52-60.
Stokrocki, Mary. “Photographic analysis, elicitation, and interpretation as ways of understanding art teaching in a multi-cultural setting.” Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education3.1 (1985): 56.