Reading Between the Colours
-Vanshikaa Khandelwal, SY. BSc. Economics (2023-27)
Estimated Reading Time ~ 6 minutes
Painting is something that is puzzling to a lot of people. The strokes and shapes seem to hold deep secrets that they refuse to divulge to me as I stare (head empty no thoughts) and nod deeply, pretending that I am in on this classified information. Most of us have seen paintings that have left us speechless, but for all the wrong reasons – “What was the artist even thinking here?” is a question that crosses my mind often. Art appreciation is usually thought of as something too complicated for the average person, but why must it be so? Shouldn’t all of us be able to understand the art that someone has poured their heart into?
I invite you all to look upon any painting of your choice and note your first impressions. These will serve as your starting point – remember what you notice distinctively, be it the style of painting, the figures shown or even the colours. This brings us to our first point of analysis.
We should keep our eyes peeled. What is essential is to remember that just like we read a book, we can read a painting. A book contains a basic storyline, and we create a mental image, look for deeper meanings by making inferences from the figures of speech. In this very fashion, the artist creates a physical picture for us to see what they see, and uncover the symbols used there. What makes understanding a painting more complicated, and impressive, is that the artist only has one frame to depict their idea instead of multiple pages, and that frame is filled to the brim with symbols and innuendos – meaning that we must take a longer time observing the painting to discern its meaning.
There are a few methods to being a mindful observer. One could ‘take a walk around the painting’ – look at each part of the painting, top and bottom, background and foreground. One could pretend to be within the painting and try to imagine how their five senses would react. A painting usually has visual cues for its admirers to start off – the use of specific colours, subjects and objects, juxtapositions (contradictory items) and more that usually guide a viewer to the next cue. Colours and leading lines could be used to divert attention to the focus of the painting, the subject, or simply to symbolise a particular idea associated with the colour itself, an example being portrait artists using tones of black and grey as backgrounds to denote the realistic nature of their work, like in the painting Girl with a Pearl Earring. Keep an eye out for any kind of repetition – lines, shapes, or colours since they serve to lay emphasis.
Second, feel it out. Art is meant to be seen and to be felt. The artist etches a part of their being in the painting and gives it a life of its own. We often have an initial, instantaneous response to a painting. The figures enchant us, the colours attract us, the aesthetic enthrals us. Usually, it is because it reminds us of something we have experienced or felt, a memory or a moment or even a thought we have had. It is a visceral response we have by relating ourselves to the work in front of us, like seeing a beloved character have the same quarter life crisis as us (Phoebe saying, “I don’t even have a ‘pl’”, I’m looking at you).
Even without being as profound as this, the colours could bring up feelings. This is known as ‘colour psychology’. A good example is an artist using shades of blue to evoke feelings of calmness and serenity, like in our old friend, The Starry Night by Van Gogh. Other colours include red for passion or danger, green for health and renewal, purple for power. We must look at the colours used in relation to the image portrayed and try to understand how their meaning fits into the general concept of the painting.
Next up, symbols. All the Da Vinci Code fans reading know how symbols and metaphors can be incorporated into any form of art, be it a painting or architecture. Understanding symbols is complex and usually not within the understanding of a novice like any of us. My suggestion is to find a repetitive item in the painting, which is usually a symbol. Upon finding such a recurrent item, one could simply search up its meanings throughout the years and try to relate them with the whole of the painting. An example is skulls in many paintings of the wealthy that imply ‘memento mori’, and that their wealth and life is temporary, like in the painting of Katheryn of Berain, ‘Mother of Wales’.
Another useful trick is ‘due diligence’ – finding out more about the artist and why they took on a particular painting. This could be knowing what era they lived in to understand the main issues that plagued them, who commissioned them to paint this artwork, or its location. Look at Michelangelo’s paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, showing the Old Testament scenes of the creation of life by God, befitting their location, where all must look up to the heavens to see. The mental state of the artist often influences their work as well since they express themselves through their art.
Lastly, broad strokes – literally, the brush strokes and lighting that create the general background. Dramatic lighting acts as a spotlight to the subject of the painting. Halos shown in gold depict holiness and miracles, while shadowed faces show us the darker emotions of the human psyche, as in the painting Salome with the Head of John the Baptist. Messy strokes indicate a sense of urgency or rush within the scene.
‘Salome with the Head of John the Baptist’
Let’s analyse a painting just to encapsulate all the above points – the Sorrowing Old Man (At Eternity’s Gate) by Vincent Van Gogh in 1890.
We see the obvious, an old man with his head in his hands on a simple chair near a fireplace. If we were present at the scene, we would see the crackle of the flames and smell the sulphur, see the quivering man, and hear his sobs, or the creaking of the chair, and feel the heat from the fireplace.
The man is shown to be in blue – a nod to the sadness he is feeling, the greying of his hair indicating fragility of age and mind and the fiery tones of the fire showing his agony. While the man and the chair are boldly coloured, the background seems lighter and incomplete, to draw our attention to the isolation the man feels. It gives us a feeling of hopelessness from the posture of the man and pity. Symbolism is seen in the man himself – his elbows resting on his knees to show weakness and his fists clenched showing anger. He covers his eyes to hide from his pain and the world. The grey hair indicates that he may be nearing the end of his life, so maybe he is remorseful over this.
With a quick search we can find out that Van Gogh painted this after observing prisoners and war veterans suffering loss, which implies the man is probably either of these; yet it seems to show Van Gogh himself, as his mental condition declined further. The title says ‘At Eternity’s Gate’ again symbolising that the man is reaching the end of his physical existence. Overall, it is a painting of sorrow and symbolising hopelessness and the end drawing near.
Ultimately, art is subjective, and art is personal. Each painting invites us to explore its soul, each stroke made with purpose, each colour with an idea, and the scene a world of meaning. Every painting has a life of its own and is completely open to all interpretations. It is a skill to be able to know the core of an artwork, its purpose, one that is honed with practice and experience and knowledge, but I hope this article will help you to get acquainted with the painting you wish to understand.