Submitted by Kevin Wallace
The Broken Pitcher by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1891), oil on canvas, on display at the Legion of
Honor.
In
this artwork the painter uses contrasting dark and light colors, strong
vertical and horizontal lines, balanced symmetry, and a focal point to draw the
eye to the main character.
By contrasting dark and light colors the girl stands out as the main subject. The warm blue of the dress and the soft variegated browns of the shawl bring the image of the girl forward against the lighter colored fountain structure. The background with pale green and misty blue grey recedes so much as to be unimportant while still creating depth.
Her
eyes are a strong focal point. The curved lines of her arms,
especially her left, draws the eye to her face and eyes. Her eyes are shaded
with black hues, above and below them, as she stares at the viewer. Her
pupils and irises are one dark color making them intense. The viewer can
decide whatever he/she feels from her gaze.
Strong
vertical and horizontal lines, in detail on the fountain
structure, and the implied line in her upright positioning add to her
prominence. Her left and right balanced
symmetry uses the vertical lines of her skirt to again draw the eye
to her face. These neoclassical
features were popular at the time.
The angled
and perpendicular lines in the fountain apparatus provide phallic symbols appropriate
for the symbolism of the broken pitcher.
Again, the vertical lines on the skirt help to draw the eye down,
in to the pitcher. With a singular use of a saturated green color the
pitcher gets our attention. With its
womb shape and broken lower (hymen) area, the painter is sending us a
message. The pitcher indicates “the loss of
innocence, a religious and yet erotic symbolism used by past masters and
inherited by Bouguereau. “(1)
Color, symmetry and focus combine to put the
girl at the forefront of the painting. With the symbolism she is the “Broken
Pitcher” herself. The modern viewer may not understand this immediately but at
least he/she sees her as the star of the show.
https://www.1st-art-gallery.com/William-Adolphe-Bouguereau/La-Cruche-Cassee-The-Broken-Pitcher.html © 1st-Art-Gallery.com 2003 - 2021
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