Repose

Primary Creator
Painter John White Alexander
Contributor(s)
Properties
Era1900s
Height52 inches
StyleRealism (19th, 20th, 21st Century)
Width63 inches
Name of WorkRepose
Production Date1895
Production Location


Current Location


Media Typesoil
General Notes

This painter frequently painted women in sweeping poses, but this work may be his most elegant expression of his special genre.

Description

A dramatically draped womanly figure pressing against a divan and pillows. The visual dominance of the painting centers on the magnificent sweeps of her dress and the giant pillows. One's visual focus is dynamically drawn back and forth along the diagonal line from upper right to lower left and back again. Further the massive backrest and other strong, simple (yet visually detailed) elements such as the floor material and golden back wall add to the overall lushness of this painting.

Theme

Feminine Sensuality is a main theme, though one can argue that a related (equal theme or sub-theme) is: The Lushness of the Material World. The dramatic draped womanly figure pressing against a divan, whose figure is clearly oulined, shares the visual dominance of the painting along with the magnificent sweeps of her dress and the giant pillows, the massive backrest, and even the strong elements of the floor material and the golden back wall. All together a remarkable composition.

Emotional Sum or Sense-of-life

Life is extravagant and lush and sensual.

Scale

Survey