One of my favorite works by one of my favorite artists, The Gulf Stream by Winslow Homer, depicts a sailor adrift in a mighty sea. He's on a tiny boat with a broken mast, surrounded by hungry sharks, with only sugar cane to sustain him. In the distance to the right is a looming water spout, which could potentially be his demise. In the distance to the left, is a far off ship which could potentially be his salvation. What I find constantly enigmatic about this painting is the attitude of the sailor himself. Despite his unenviable situation, he appears seemingly nonchalant. He's lounging comfortably on the deck, gazing off to the side, apparently ignoring all the dangers immediately surrounding him. I believe the sailor's attitude is what makes the expression of this subject unique. If he was scared, nervous, or even excited, this painting would probably be nothing special, but just like Mona Lisa's smile, The Gulf Stream always leaves me guessing what secret the subject knows.
just a clip of sheer writing genius: "What I find constantly enigmatic about this painting is the attitude of the sailor himself. Despite his unenviable situation..."
ReplyDeleteBut wow. You're right about the painting - probably with less artistic language... but that you can describe/apply commentary the way that you did in less than 10 sentences... and word choice is spot on with my resonance of the painting - enigmatic, mona lisa insertion, ... it's 9 sentences that tell the story.
blah blah i know, right? she's making me redundant... i'm sorry about that. I just had to say it. The compliment does very little swimming alone in my head.
Great painting! Great writing style. Super.
I wrote this for my college art class.
ReplyDeleteI went to college for two days. Hahaha!
I appreciate the compliment.
Thanks for saying it!