Art response and critical analysis

Art

The Portrait of Joseph Roulin by Vincent Van Gogh is Van Gogh's representation of his friend and idol, Joseph Roulin. The portrait is a drawing, rendered in brown ink and black chalk. While impressionistic, the portrait is also realistic- conveying an actual resemblance to a person. This portrait was significant because it was painted during Van Gogh's period in Arles, France. While productive in Arles, Van Gogh was also relatively isolated, and considered Roulin one of his dearest friends. This is interesting because Roulin is not depicted in a friendly manner, but appears severe and somewhat imposing. This may be because Van Gogh believed Roulin was an impressive and was man, as well as a dear friend. Therefore, his choice of medium may have been made in order to convey wisdom, rather than friendliness.

Girl before a Mirror by Pablo Picasso is an oil on canvas. Like Picasso's other works, Girl before a Mirror is done in the cubist style. Interestingly enough, although Picasso does not render a realistic image of a woman, the painting manages to capture many of the elements of womanhood. In it Picasso uses colors to demonstrate one of the more fascinating aspects of womanhood: negative self-image. The woman in the portrait is in the light and is an almost radiant color. In contrast, her mirror-image is darkened in the shadows. In addition, the woman's stomach is prominently displayed, emphasizing that it is the womb, not the hips or breasts that separate women from men. This emphasis on the essence of femininity is interesting, in light of reports of Picasso's misogyny. The painting appears to be making the point that the artist is not misogynistic, but is merely, like the mirror in the painting, reflecting the self-hatred he sees in women.

"Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair" by Frida Kahlo is interesting. It is an oil on canvas, of indeterminate style. In fact, classification of Kahlo's works is generally difficult: she is claimed by the Surrealists, but considered herself a Mexican artist and used elements of traditional Mexican art in her works. In the portrait, Kahlo is represented as a woman, with recently shorn hair, dressed in man's clothing. The portrait was painted immediately after Kahlo's divorce from her philandering husband, and can be seen as a renouncement of the traditional gender role and a rejection of the role her husband previously held in her life. In fact, Kahlo makes this clear, by incorporating a lyric about love and hair in a portrait of her with cropped hair. However, given Kahlo's rejection of traditional gender roles, as depicted by her shorn hair and men's clothing, it is difficult to determine her group identity from this work.