Jurate Macnoriute

Slip of Glance of Spectator Inspecting Picture. Ways of Artwork Inspection. Pragmatic Level of Art Analysis

Article on art, visual text, art analysis, artwork inspection ..

Analysis of Slip of Spectator Glance is continuation of previous my article Time and Space in Painting. Transformation of States. But if above mentioned article can be ascribed to semantic level of semiotic analysis, current one to pragmatic level. I have to remind that in pragmatic level of analysis of artwork relation between image and spectator is analyzed, that is, the ways of reading of concrete "text" are researched.

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Algirdas Julius Greimas showed great attention to spectator's glance. To his thinking, to shoot a film of motions of eye inspecting a picture is enough for disclosing all syntax or at least semantics (Greimas A.J., Figurative and Plastic Semiotics, p. 14, 11). Let us try to open at least a few aspects of slip of spectator glance that can be useful for art critic to estimate art creation as instrument and for artist who would like more consciously to manage spectator's perception of picture.

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Glancing at a picture eye willy-nilly examines indicating objects by order that consciously or unconsciously are created by artist. Eye slips along lines of picture of classicist trend of thought with prevailing lines or it jumps from one color dab to another in paintings with predominant dabs. Order of "reading" of picture and together the flow of time and transformation of states depend on the spectator's eyes motion. Most often artwork is not mono semantic -- it is possible not only one way of "reading" and not only one direction of transformation. I have established that transformation can be:

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1. Along motion of the eye, if a place striking the eye first of all is near picture's edge. In triptych of Giovanni di Paolo Saint Joan in the Desert (Fig. 1),

 

Fig. 1

 

through the largest bright dab and big vertical forms of building contrasting with slanting and bending lines of earth and rocks, figure of Saint Joan leaving the house in  the left lower corner of the middle part of triptych strikes the eye first of all. Further the eye runs along the way to the second figure of Saint Joan, penetrates through turned up rocs and bends to the left, jumps to the white rose's blossom in the first part of triptych, farther to the red rose's blossom that is symmetric to white one. From the red rose along the black line of foot of the remote mountain the eye returns back to the white rose. White color of the rose must signify spiritual clearness. Thus transformation of states is coincident with the way of spectator glance and shows where was, is and where shall be Saint Joan.

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2. Transformation does not coincident with motion of spectator glance, because often the place striking the eyes first of all is some area where culmination of action is happen. It is the most distinct, intensive and noticeable dab, the center of picture composition, but not the beginning of time of picture. In that way reading can go in one direction, narration in other one.

 

For stylistic analysis of slip of glance I formed table two. Here I tried to find answers into two questions: what place of picture striking the eyes first of all and what is character of motion of glance, that is in in what way artist compels spectator's eye to move looking at picture.

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After research of 38 works of painting I came to conclusion that two main cases of the beginning of slip of glance are:

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1.  Geometric center and indeterminate area around it strikes the eye first of all. Though sometimes there any considerable object does not exist. For instance, in Mont Sainte-Victoire of P.Cézanne gaze of spectator is as if sucked up to geometric center. The reason of this phenomenon is splendid balance with respect to center, sometimes evident mirror symmetry. The first sight to geometric center is characteristic for painting of Greece, the Renaissance, mannerism, impressionism, cubism, abstractionism. If we would like to look at some more distinct dab, and in another side of center there is a balancing dab, the eye does not know whether dab to choose and it stops in the middle. Besides that there we have the principle of coordination of parts, but not the principle of hierarchy, because all parts have approximately the same meaning.

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2.  The first sight to some detail is characteristic for art of Ancient Rome, Romanesque, Gothic, the Fast East, baroque, classicism, Art Nouveau, surrealism and for some examples of contemporary painting. Compositional centers attract attention at first in art works of Giotto and J.-L.David. Dominating compositional center is clear characteristic for classicism. In that case principle of hierarchical arrangement of composition reveals itself.

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Classification formed above is not strict, and some artists can not go into frames of their epochs. Thus in pictures of Veronese at first we notice some detail near edge though in generally in the Renaissance geometrical center predominates.

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Rembrandt, like majority of artists of the 17th century, leads into picture using light. From the left upper corner spectator easily like angel goes down among heroes, that is contrary to seeing of objects of nature by natural way upwards from bellow. This is one reason of wonder that is not  inconceivable for our consciousness. Rembrandt looks such realistic and true even more real than nature itself, is not it?

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After research of 38 samples of different epochs, also individual styles considering possible ways of inspection of picture I classified such ways:

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1. Jumping all over surface of picture For instance, looking at Parmigianino Madonna with the Saint we do not clear understand where is entrance to the picture and in what way the eye must conduct itself. In every place of surface of picture something or somebody not to the purpose moves and bubbles. Such looking at the picture is unpleasant and it wearys spectator's eyes.

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2. Lifting the look up It is natural inspection of Gothic architecture. Reading of i-ching hexagrams has this same way -- upwards from bellow.  In works of P. della Francesca's art  the look is lifted by abundant verticals and thin horizontals.

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3. Going up and to depth is characteristic for romanticism and expressionism. In E.Munch's Near Craggier the glance at breakneck speed rushes upward from the left lower corner to horizon at the right side, however, it does not slip out  the frame, but falls along naked bushes and begins its traveling anew for return to that same point at the distance at the right only by other way.

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4. Going to depth In C.D.Friedrich's landscapes the eye runs like a deer from front to sparkling evening's sky. In E.Wyeth's Young America the look tears off large bicycling figure to infinite space, scuds deeper and deeper, but it does not find there anything and returns by direction perpendicular to plane of the picture to front and begins to inspect the cyclist by separate parts like in art works of Art Nouveau.

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5. Adding one detail to another Glance slips along lines, if line is accentuated, but in the styles where masses are dominating line is insignificant and it is difficult or completely impossible to slip along lines. Thus in B.Paul's illustration on cover of the journal "Jugend" every detail is inspected separately. Overturned woman's head is seen separately, running around by its stream-lined contour. The head and the yellow blouse form configuration with closed contour again. This configuration demands of separate inspection again. This same with other details and even with the letters of inscription. In short, inspection begins from a little important detail, after subjoined contiguous detail, they form closed configuration, after subjoined the third detail and so on. Thus in E.Munch's The Girl Taking the Bath we can inspect separately figures and separately background. In J.E.Millais's pictures figures are not related and every figure is examined separately. Returning into distant past we can state that Psychostasy of ancient Egypt must be attached to this same group.

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6. By broken lines In F.Goya's picture 3 May 1808. Shooting of the rebels spectator's glance by zigzags first of all gets onto a rebel in the white shirt, goes uphill at the left, slips downhill, along guns again to the rebels, from them again downwards to the left and  to the lantern, by the edge of shade to edge of the picture, by thick edge of shade again lifts itself to the right and so forth forming closed complicated chain. In a similar manner Pompei frescos, artworks of Hokusai can be inspected too. By triangle E.Munch's The Scream can be examined. From head of the crying glance bends upwards and to the right edge, by horizontal to the left edge, down by the railing of the bridge, turns round and, because a lot of parallel lines forming the railing of the bridge come running into one point, glaze returns along them, falls by the left edge of the picture, again to figure of the crying and so forth. In a similar manner Lithuanian Peasants, of P.Smuglevicius can be seen.

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7. Purposively jumping from one detail to another In painting of Leonardo da Vinci spectator's glance does not go to depth, but it stands on objects and for long time remains. There is not passage from one object to another. It needs to jump. These means help for concentration. In expressionism also jumping from one color dab to another is characteristic -- for instance, painting of K.Dereškevičius.

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8. Along closed bent lines In vase painting of ancient Greece spectator's eye is compelled to run from one significant compositional center to another by different circles and by forms of number 8 or turned round to return back. In P.Veronese's Visitation entrance is from the left lower corner and the white dab of smoke, after by figure of Maria and by floor glance returns along ellipsis back; or first of all most intensive red color in clothes of Maria and large dark dab in the corner attract our attention, after glance slips along smoke to the left side, after by direction shown by angel as though rocking it returns back or by floor closes the circle. Many similar cases are in painting of baroque, E.Mane, V.van Gogh, S.Dali, J.Miro. But we must to consider large majority of J.Ribera's paintings opposite to this group, because spectator's glance inspects his art work like lightning, because lines do not form closed configurations.

 

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