Blue Bowl by John White Alexander

John White Alexander's "Blue Bowl" American painter John White Alexander produced several full-body portraits of elegantly dressed women in the early Twentieth century, including "The Blue Bowl." Painted with oil, an inherently viscid material, on an imposing canvas four feet long and three feet wide, the "The Blue Bowl" initially seems imposing and heavy. Like the heroine's elaborate gown and her fabric belt, the painting's limited palate imparts some sense of restriction and tightness.

However, the woman's active, dancer-like pose, and the painter's use of line, color, and composition collectively impart a rhythmic intensity that makes an otherwise heavy painting dynamic and engaging to the eye. The Blue Bowl" contains several contrasting formal elements that contribute to its energetic nature. For example, a thick, black background competes with the woman's milky skin. The contrast enables her figure to jump out of the background, giving her lightness and freedom from an otherwise nebulous environment.

Moreover, only part of her skin is exposed, from the nape of her neck and her upper back. The skin here is also far brighter than the skin on her hands and face, which remains in shadow. Most of the woman's skin remains concealed beneath the dress; like the contents of the bowl and the atmosphere of the room she graces, the bulk of her body is unseen by the viewer. The floral print dress jumps out of the canvas largely because of its color scheme.

Just as her skin contrasts sharply with the dark background, so too does the ivory-colored dress, the piece of furniture she leans on with her left hand, and the background of the titular blue bowl. Furthermore, pale blue flowers visually link the dress with the bowl, which is also decorated with a blue design. In fact, both are china-white with blue floral decorations. A darker blue headband and waist cinch complement the blue flowers on her dress and the bowl, stimulating the eye and uniting the formal composition.

The artist's use of line also unites dress with bowl. Both are curvilinear; the bowl's flat top edge gives way to its rounded bottom. Likewise, the woman is posed so that the top portion of her body from her left elbow to her shoulder, neck and head form an almost straight line that parallels both the top of the furniture and the top of the bowl. Furthermore, her billowing dress and its curvilinear ruffles suggest a bowl-like bottom to the woman's form.

Two layers of ruffles on her right sleeve are bowl-like in shape. Furthermore, the back neckline of her dress is also curved, creating a bowl shape with the porcelain skin of her upper back. The entire bottom portion of the dress, from the belt down, is like a bowl too. Thus, her entire figure and that of the bowl are similar in composition, color, and line. The piece of furniture she rests her left hand on contains a straight line leading from the left side of the canvas.

The line parallels the flat top edge of the bowl, creating continuity, symmetry, and balance. The entire composition of "The Blue Bowl" is balanced and symmetrical due to the artist's use of line. For example, the wrinkles, or pleats, of the bottom of her dress form diagonal lines like the spokes of a wheel. Along with the ruffles on the top part of the dress, these lines converge at her waist, drawing the eye toward the bright blue belt.

However, the woman leans to her right, gazing into the blue bowl she holds in her right hand. A diagonal line is formed from the woman's head in the upper-right portion of the canvas, through the belt and down to the lower left of the canvas. The blue headband links with the blue belt to complement the line, and her straightened left arm forms a parallel line.

However, the painting is not skewed nor unbalanced because another diagonal line is formed from the bottom right of the canvas to the upper left. A small splash of burgundy carpet is visible in the lower right corner of the canvas, where the bottom of her dress touches the floor. From where the dress meets the floor to her outstretched left hand and pinky finger, a diagonal line balances the other, creating symmetry in the painting's composition. In fact, the pinky finger points upward slightly to accentuate the angle.

The Blue Bowl" is not an angular, stiff painting, however. Diagonal lines compete with sensuous curves to create the tension necessary to impart movement in the painting's subject. The artist also uses positive and negative space to achieve the painting's dynamism. The top and right borders are dark and the bottom and left borders are light. The darkness of the background is the negative space from which the woman's bright form creates a lively foreground.

The woman's face and the blue bowl are obfuscated, in contrast to the neighboring glare on her.