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Basics - Analyzing the subject of a painting
Figure and Ground
You remember the optical illusion
of the black and white shapes that can be either a vase or two profiles facing
each other, right? This is a simple example of figure and ground. The
figure is the subject (not necessarily a person, but the emotional focus), and
the ground is the area which that figure occupies. Just think of the figure as
the main thing in the painting, and the ground as the background.
Going back to our faces and vases,
if you see faces then they are the figures and the vase shape is the ground. If
you see a vase, then the vase is the figure and the faces are the ground. But
making the figure and ground dance together is one of the main challenges of
art. There are exceptions, but this concept will help you fake your way through
most of what you'll see in the average (or great) museum.
Different artists (and different
art movements) solve the figure/ground problem in different ways. So when you
look at a work of art, look closely at where the figure meets the ground. Is it
a crisp edge, or does it blur so that it's hard to tell where one begins and the
other ends? Is the ground lighter or darker than the figure? Is it darker in
some places and lighter in others? Announce what you observe loudly and
importantly, and gesture toward the work with fluid flicks of the wrist.
Talking about the figure/ground
will impress your companions and cause other museum-goers to follow you, hoping
to catch a few crumbs of your obviously exhaustive knowledge of art.
