Joseph Stella's "Old Brooklyn Bridge"

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that the "Old Brooklyn Bridge" is positively aglow with color and light; the painting is alive and active, its linear composition is stellar, and the palate reminiscent of the industrial age in which it was born. The author points out that she sees the painting with increasing awareness and a deeper understanding of the artist's intent, now understanding, in Berger's words, that art becomes "a record of how X had seen Y." The paper reveals that the clearest structure the author could discern in the background was a strategically placed depiction of the bridge's recognizable towers.

From the Paper:

"Reflecting further on Berger's "Ways of Seeing," I recalled his section on perspective. One of the most remarkable aspects of Stella's painting is its linear perspective. The lines representing the suspension cables of the bridge converge in space. The most notable conversion occurs at the very top of the canvas, where at least two of these beams intersect. Had I not known they were suspension cables I might have thought they were beams of light or just abstract lines. Yet although Stella approaches an abstract rendition of the Brooklyn Bridge, this painting is not what I would call abstract."

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