1. Visual Analysis of Rigaud’s, Portrait of Louis XIV
Please write four pages of pure visual analysis. This essay will be the product of your own
looking and analysis, thus will require no research and no citation of sources. When writing
please consider the following Medium; techniques, size. How do these affect the style? Scale
of figures relative to the total object. Does this suggest something about the relative
importance of figures? Treatment of the human body (or animal body; or drapery;
etc.).Naturalistic? Schematized or abstracted? Idealized? Note proportions. Is it a portrait?
What is the attitude towards the person/animal? Composition. How is it organized? Is there
a focal point? Is the composition unified? Fragmented? Does color affect the composition?
Hierarchy? Symmetry? Many or few forms included? Geometrically ordered or free and
seemingly accidental? Crowdedness or spaciousness? Variety or repetition? Does the
composition help to direct viewers’ attention: in what way and how? Space. How is it
handled—essentially two-dimensionally or three-dimensionally? Shallow or deep? Open or
screened off?What kind of perspective used? Atmospheric; one-point; worm’s eye, bird’s
eye? Is space suggested by planes in depth or by recession? What is relation of “shape” of
space to picture plane? How does the handling of space affect the relationship of the image
to viewers? Brushstroke. Painterly or linear? Tight or free? Emphasis on the boundaries
(edges) of objects? Or do they appear to merge with adjacent forms? Are lines used at all?
What effect does this have on the image? Color. Bright or subdued? Many or few? Any
one(s) dominant? Warm or cool? Recede or push forward? Complementary colors
juxtaposed? To what effect? Light. Is there a consistent source? Inside or outside the
picture? Strong or muted contrasts (“spot-lightlighting”)? Shadows used? What is the
function of shadow (e.g., to clarify form or space, or to emphasize a mood)? Function. If you
know the work’s function you can consider the relationship between its purpose and
appearance. How have the style and subject of the image been shaped or influenced by its
original function? Remember always that you must be able to justify your conclusions by
observations that can be checked by others. Avoid “reading into the picture” qualities which
really come from your own attitudes, convictions or sympathies. Distinguish between the
given “data” and your own associations. Consider alternate choices that the artist might
have made and how these might have affected the character of the work. #Visual #Analysis
#Rigauds #Portrait #Louis #XIV
