"Woman" and "Celia"

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer studies two works of art that are displayed in the Metropolitan museum. The writer notes that Willem de Kooning's "Woman" is an oil and charcoal rendering of an anonymous woman on canvas, composed in 1944. It is a flat-looking depiction of a female nude against a background that looks like a home. The writer compares this work to "Celia" by artist John Graham. The writer points out that Graham's work is a far softer looking painting, as it is painted in oil, with casein, charcoal, chalk, pencil, pen and ink on Masonite rather than pure, flat oil on canvas. The writer discusses that it showcases "Celia," a woman with a classically hourglass figure and long, soft hair against a black background more reminiscent of a 19th century or classical nude than a modernist depiction of a woman, even though the painting was created at the same time as "Woman."

From the Paper:

"The space seems cramped, given her position, although there is no distinctive sense of location to the picture, other than the fact that it is indoors. The painting is classified as abstract expressionist in its color scheme, and its use of a mask-like face, which is reminiscent of some of Picasso's cubist works. Although this work is recognizably human, it seems like a grotesque rendering of the human form. The work seems more like smears or swirls on a canvas rather than a suggestion of someone one might know in life. The smile on the woman's face while she assumes an uncomfortable position, and the cartoon-like yellow, orange, green, and blues make it seem as if the work is a parody of a woman, as if the woman's image is being made intentionally ugly or distorted. Even if this was not de Kooning's intent, the artist's emphasis is on the arrangement of form, line, and color not the character of the woman herself. The woman exists as a subject, a series of surfaces, rather than a unique personality."

Sample of Sources Used:

• De Kooning, Willem. " Woman."1944. 13 Jun 2007.http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=21&viewmode=0&item=1984%2E613%2E2#a
• Graham, John. "Celia." 1944. 13 Jun 2007.http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=21&viewmode=0&item=68%2E185#a

More papers on "Woman" and "Celia":

• Book Review # 101195 : "Celia: A Slave"
• Analytical Essay # 131142 : "Female Strength in 'Celia: A Slave'"
• Analytical Essay # 30360 : "Victorian Women"

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