Ways of seeing a still painting

 

 

Ways of seeing a still painting

 

     Berger states, "Oil painting often depict things. Things which in reality are buyable. To have a thing painted and put on a canvas is not unlike buying it and putting it in your house. If you buy a painting you buy also the look of the thing it represents" (83). It was not uncommon for the wealthy to flaunt what they owned or desired through paintings. "Oil painting conveyed a vision of total exteriority" (87). Paintings from 1500 until today largely convey this theme of what you see is what you get. Meaning that the picture is what it is. There is no hidden meaning or agenda. It is simply showing the world this is mine, my idea, or my goal to attain.

     This picture titled Ruins with Train Tracks by Billmyer shows depth and a story of the past to be seen by those who are willing to look into what is there. I see an old building that was probably once bustling with people waiting to depart to the next town or even several states away. This could also depict power and control of the railroad or contents of the railcars in that era. It seems as it's depicting a period somewhere in the 1800's and that there was some valuable resource in that area. It could have been near and old mine which produced minerals for several years and then it may have gone away for one reason or another. Another name I think of for this painting is Wealth in the past. One of oil painting's biggest attributes is "its potential of illusionism" (89). This put you in a specific place and time. You can smell the air and what it might be like to be a food stand or to smell fresh flowers. Paintings like this can capture life and senses in the here and now. These paintings are also created to give the sense of something real and tangible, something you can relate to or touch as the painting on p. 89-90 depict. Sticking with the theme of this is mine this painting The Ambassadors by Holbein shows a tremendous amount of wealth and power in their clothing and the background. Paintings like this one also depict a great amount of skill. This is typical of paintings from the first oil paintings and still today. Although, artists have made it a point to make paintings of more traditional and everyday household items.

     Even though this period of paintings depicts wealth and power, I think it's important to see how our world has evolved and to see the progress made in art from the powerful to the everyday person art has taken hold just about everywhere we look. It makes me think how artists from the past would see and view our world as it is now and how would their style change if at all living in our world today. I have been in wealthy households over the years and I can attest that you still see these works of art that display their personal worth in their own eyes.

 

 

 



 

John Edward Billmyer Ruins with Train Tracks (Undated) Oil on canvas

Berger, John. Ways of  Seeing. London: Penguin Books, 1972. Print.