Saboteur Visual Analysis

Parental expectations often differ greatly from the child’s expectations and perspective of life, and future plans. A vivid picture of this idea is presented by Richard Maury in the image “Lorenzo Plus”. The focal point of the image is the mirror, in which one can see the apparently disappointed and exasperated father who plays half the role in defining the visual representation of this father-son relationship. It can be assumed that the younger man in the image is the boy, perhaps named Lorenzo, and he is a struggling writer. There is crumpled paper all over the floor, and filling the waste basket. He is seated in a chair with fresh paper on the desk, pen in hand, espresso cup at the ready. The immediate expression is that the young man looks surprised, and distraught, as though he wishes to argue or explain his position. The viewpoint of the image is that of the older man as can be seen in the mirror, this man can be presumed to be the father of the struggling writer. The older man looks upset, impatient, at his wits end. He appears as though he has caught his son doing something he told him to stop, perhaps hounding him to “get a real job”. The young man’s supposed father looks disappointed in him, and does not appear to be supportive of his artistic aspirations. …show more content…
The mirror allows the older man, the father, to see himself, while also seeing his son, providing a clear comparison. It isn’t entirely clear, but it is possible that the underlying principle here is that the father wishes his son to be “normal”, like him, but this mirror allows the father to look back on himself, while also seeing that his son is a different person. It is obvious the son is not in communion with his father, yet he looks on at his father not with anger or frustration, but with eagerness, with the desire to explain and defend his work, his