Alice Neel’s work called David Bourdon and Gregory Battcock is a painting of two men notorious for the downtown New York art scene in the 1960’s and 70’s. Representing two opposite unities—dress and undress—the oil on canvas also portrays how David Bourdon and Gregory Battcock were once lovers. Neel, an American artist, masterfully captures this through the subjects’ gawky poses by “creating an insightful portrait of a historical era of social change” (Blanton Museum of Art 1). Despite creating this piece of artwork in 1970, Alice was not recognized for her works until much later on in her career. David Bourdon and Gregory Battcock is about two established art critics who are depicted as an former love affair, taking note of the lack of intimacy
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When I examined the painting more closely, I noticed it was actually smooth—the brushstrokes were even, indicating that the artist worked diligently to paint this. If I were to touch it, it seems as if I would not come across any odd bumps because it has an outwardly appearance of being silky. Since it is oil on canvas, it is kept simple; for instance, there is nothing within the painting that imitates a different texture. While there is depth, instead of being brought forward by texture, it is shown through the usage of shadows and painting …show more content…
When the viewer studies his tie, they can see that it goes diagonally. This draws attention to his arm which emerges as something that the artist has yet to finish. By also glancing downwards at the chair, the spectator can clearly note the difference—it is mainly vertical, but it can also be seen that the lines cave in towards the figure. This could have been included to emphasize the figure sitting there, which is obviously important as Bourdon is in a rather professional suit. As for Battcock, the lines of the chair he occupies allows for attention to be drawn to his brief and socks. The lines within this painting enables for certain things to appear more
When I examined the painting more closely, I noticed it was actually smooth—the brushstrokes were even, indicating that the artist worked diligently to paint this. If I were to touch it, it seems as if I would not come across any odd bumps because it has an outwardly appearance of being silky. Since it is oil on canvas, it is kept simple; for instance, there is nothing within the painting that imitates a different texture. While there is depth, instead of being brought forward by texture, it is shown through the usage of shadows and painting …show more content…
When the viewer studies his tie, they can see that it goes diagonally. This draws attention to his arm which emerges as something that the artist has yet to finish. By also glancing downwards at the chair, the spectator can clearly note the difference—it is mainly vertical, but it can also be seen that the lines cave in towards the figure. This could have been included to emphasize the figure sitting there, which is obviously important as Bourdon is in a rather professional suit. As for Battcock, the lines of the chair he occupies allows for attention to be drawn to his brief and socks. The lines within this painting enables for certain things to appear more