Thursday, January 15, 2009

Image 18



In this portrait, a man sits with a white cat on his lap, smoking a cigarette, while a woman stands with her hand on her hip. The man’s position in the chair, arms and legs more spread, makes him seem more at ease, suggesting this room is a part of his home or his life. The cat also sits on his lap, showing his attachment to the house. He seems a bit unkempt, potentially Italian. His openness conveys a sense of belonging to the house or room, but his position is slightly awkward, suggesting this situation or house may be new to him. The furnishing of the house also suggests this. He seems to be a wealthy man, who recently bought a home and placed a few objects in this living room, but he has not committed to the house, or, it seems, the relationship with the woman.
The woman stands with a look on her face of questioning or pleading about the situation. She also seems pregnant to me. Something about her body proportion, clothing, and stance suggests she’s hiding something, and the pleading of her face led me to believe she was pregnant. She does not seem to feel the connection to the man, even though he seems to have bought the house for their potential family or relationship.
Both seem to be beckoning to the audience with their eyes, and the doors behind them led me to believe they were beckoning them into their world and relationship. They are bringing people into their world, and the doorway behind them also signifies their relationship. The door behind her is closed, while the door behind him is still open. This signifies her closing of the relationship to something steady or simply giving up on the relationship. His door being open signifies his being open to the relationship and making the situation work. I think he bought the house to establish their family, with the sparse furnishings showing a new situation, but she does not seem very receptive to the changes or her pregnancy.
The texture and coloring of the picture also adds to their hectic life. The textures and colors of the clothing the couple wear are very vivid and solid. The solidness of their dress seems to represent them being the only solid thing in their life. Nothing else seems as concrete. The walls behind them are full of more colors and the objects in the room show their confusion as well. She wears purple, signifying a higher stature in society, while he wears cooler colors, suggesting more of a tranquility. Throughout the picture, he seems more at ease than she does, and this shows through his more casual clothing and body language.
Overall, they seem like a couple on the brink of something new in their relationship. Whether an ending, pregnancy, or simply moving in, their surroundings are not as solid as they are individually.

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