Thirteen americans painting
When trying to understand a painting there are a lot of elements that have to be analyzed. Questions have to be answered and paralleled with other observations. One will realize that most of the choices the artist makes have to do with one question: What is the artist trying to express through his painting? It seems as though in this painting, Thirteen Americans, all Alfred Leslie's choices relate back to the answer to that question. Another question that helps with answering the first question is: why are there thirteen people standing there on an enormous canvas? When studying a piece of art, one of the first steps in appreciating what the artist created, is understanding the title. Thirteen Americans and United We Stand go hand and hand. They both represent what our country is built upon, a diverse country with equal opportunities. This painting comprises thirteen Americans of all ages, ethnic backgrounds and both sexes. Without the title, Thirteen Americans, one wouldn't be able to appreciate Leslie's message he is conveying. All one would see are thirteen random people standing there, but with one simple word, Americans, one then understands what is being represented. Alfred shows that it doesn't matter who you
All of his choices he made for this painting accent his subject, thirteen Americans. Instead of complicating things, he makes his subjects become one big focus by arranging the Americans to stand all on the same plane together. One may begin to believe these people are actual because of the way Alfred Leslie adds shadows and detail to them. Since it is darker around the top of them, it's not as easy to distinguish their hair as it is their facial features or clothing. Most of the colors used are dark or pure, which are usually used in oil painting, rather than highlighted colors used with fresco. Now not all of these colors are pure, a lot of the reds used have different values: one man is wearing pure red, while a woman standing next to him is wearing a darker muted red, almost maroon. Thirteen Americans is a piece of art that entices you with its deep colors, its enormous size, realistic characters, and dramatic light. This lighting allows their features to be accented and not hidden or covered in shadows. Since the light is projecting onto the figures, there are some shadows that can be easily detected on top and behind them. He also alludes one to believe the grocery cart exists in front of us by making it three dimensional and by foreshortening it. Without great detail the painting wouldn't be lifelike, which wouldn't represent realism anymore, and then the painting wouldn't carry the same meaning. Alfred Leslie uses two of the secondary colors, orange and green sparsely among the primary colors, red and blue, along with, of course, the neutral colors, brown and white. Some of the people even have dark spots near their foreheads from this gradation. Everything is clear and easily observed, similar to the lighting in photographs. The shading is done by dark gradations around the top of their heads.
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