The Thing On The Wall Analysis

Summary and Response to “The Thing on the Wall” In the section “The Thing on the Wall” of the book An Introduction to Art, the author teaches us the important factors which determine the successful concentration or focus of our attention on a single painting when we view it in public. He says the first thing we should consider is the lighting and claims that the natural sunlight and artificial light sources differ in intensity. Daylight is generally less bright and goes well with ‘cool colors’ which are more appropriate for painting an outdoor space, landscape or similar kind of atmosphere, whereas the light of a bulb, candle, etc. is considered warmer and better suits ‘warm colors.’ The next crucial factors to take into account are the …show more content…
In the past, I’ve never thought so many factors would be important to put myself in an ideal position to observe the visual artworks better. I think Professor Harrison’s explanations are very informative and clear to understand. Besides all these, I was kind of familiar with the effect of a change in lighting condition on colors, especially on the balance of warm and cool colors spontaneously as if I experienced them before without understanding or knowing what was happening to my visual perception. Now I learned that colors temporarily don’t look the way they were few seconds ago when the lighting suddenly changes in intensity and that this experience lasts extremely short and is almost unnoticeable since our eyes adjust to the new condition very fast. I should say explanation about this experience instantly grabbed my attention. I think the author showed how it works very well in the book with an example from his own