Assignment 1

Richard, Duke of Gloucester and the Lady Anne (c 1896)
Oil on canvas, size 52.5 x 104.25 inches
Edwin Austin Abbey
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

Jason Somerset

On March 31, 2007 I went to the Yale University Art Gallery in order to look for the piece of art for assignment 1. This was my first visit to this museum and I was impressed by the collection. I am not sure of what I expected, but it surpassed my expectations in every way. I will be going back. I first went into the room where they keep the ancient art. This is one of my passions. I have visited Stonehenge and the Roman baths in the city of Bath, England. I was in my glory looking at ancient objects. I especially liked looking at the Roman coins. I have recently purchased one from 300 AD and although it is not extremely valuable, it holds a personal value. I am amazed by anything man made that old. When I was done there it was time to find a painting to write about. I then headed to the third floor and browsed the Early European Art, Modern and Contemporary Art, and American Paintings and Sculptures. I was amazed to see a Picasso on display. I wandered the entire floor taking in the beauty of the displays. It was on my second pass of the floor when I decided on the painting Richard, Duke of Gloucester and the Lady Anne by Edwin Austin Abbey (shown below).

What initially drew me to this were the vivid colors of the nobles cast over the drab black color of the commoners. There is no mistaking the roles of the subjects in the painting. The rich are shown in bright colors (even Anne who is in mourning) and the common people are shown in a mass of black. Even the paths are not equal. Lady Anne and Richard walk to the left with plenty of room. The common people are in a crowded bunch to the right. When I first looked at this, I misjudged the message (I checked Edwin Austin Abbey’s bio when I got home). I took the message as a statement on society. I thought the few bright figures represented the few people who enjoy living in affluence, and the others dressed in black represented the working class. I did notice the ring Richard was holding, but could not figure out the meaning.
I judged Lady Anne’s unfocused stare (shown below) as a sign of indifference to concerns others, when in reality that is the face of a widow.

Another reason I came to my conclusion is there are looks of scorn coming from the crowd (shown below).

Regardless of the message I was drawn to this painting by the choice of color. The black backdrop really makes the bright reds and oranges pop out. On my way out of the museum I was let down because I was hoping that this painting would be one of the many for sale as postcards in the gift shop (in fact there were three paintings I really liked and not one was featured).

According to his bio posted at http://www.bpid.com/abbey.htm, Edwin Austin Abbey was born in 1852. He painted Richard, Duke of Gloucester and the Lady Anne in 1896. The painting features “Richard, in red … proposing to the widow of a man he has just murdered in the midst of the funeral procession”. The painting is a representation of a scene in Shakespeare’s Richard III (Act I, scene ii).
The flow of the picture moves from left to right. The flow works to give the illusion that the object are walking. When I first looked at this painting my eyes were drawn to Lady Anne’s eyes. Her face appears to have a light shining on it. I then looked at the sword Richard is holding, whose face is shadowed. The third thing I looked at was the faces of the children (Richard’s nephews) who are holding the back of Lady Anne’s dress, then finally into the crowd of mourners. The top two thirds of the painting is covered with the dark robes of the mourners. The bottom third is the light grays and browns of the cobblestone roadway. Lady Anne’s dress contains the colors white, gold, and red. Not typical colors to wear to a funeral. Richard is dressed in red, again not typical colors.
The picture is framed in a gold frame which reminds me of royalty (see below).

It is a large painting (52.5 x 104.25 inches) and the size works to showcase the contrast of color the artist chose. Although Edwin Austin Abbey was an American painter, the style has a distinct European look. In fact it is based on an English writers work ( I probably should describe Shakespeare as THE English writer).
I found the experience of visiting the Yale University Art Gallery to be positive. I was surprised at the number of pieces on display. I also found the experience helpful in inspiring me in another project I am working on. I am in the process of remodeling my home. The house was built in 1921 and I have spent the last ten years on various projects. The project I am doing now involves me building a set of closet doors. Instead of buying them I will design and create my own. In a past project I designed the door (shown below) and inlayed the Welsh Dragon. For this project I glued six 5’ pieces of pine together. I then cut the dragon out and inserted redwood.

I went into the area that displayed early American furniture and got several ideas at the design for the closet doors I will build. ( I apologize to go off topic, but as I toured the museum I was constantly looking for inspiration and color contrasts.)
I found it difficult picking one piece to focus on. There were many that I was considering. As I walked around I found myself lured to bright vivid colors, that is not always the case with me but I must have a case of spring fever. Here are a couple of other paintings I had also considered, both used a unique mix of colors that worked good visually for me.



As we go forward I am extremely excited about visiting other museums. I really enjoyed this assignment and will return to the Yale University Art Gallery. I always find viewing works of arts enlightening and bring something away with it. This gallery is user friendly and the staff is receptive.