Fridah Kahlo Distinctively Visual Analysis Essay
Professor Ferris Williams
Art History
2 December 2013
For my Formal Analysis I decided to choose the painting that Fridah Kahlo did in 1946 entitled “The Little Deer”. When examining this piece of work I see the deer jumping and running through the forest in action. The deer has a female human style face which is somewhat interesting because Kahlo uses the same type face when doing self-portraits of herself. When viewing this piece I see the arrows striking the deer and blood running out and the dull face that the deer/human has which at first sends a tone as sorrow or pain or some kind of struggle. In the back ground we see the ocean with what seems to be daytime but also a lightning storm going on which gives me a little different look …show more content…
Such as the trees or the tree branches or the antlers of the deer or even the arrows really just don’t seem to have much of a “precise” type work to it. The linear structure of the fallen branch in the very front, also with the vertical trees all in parallel lines on both sides as well as the deer which seems to maybe be running down the trail all sends our eyes as a viewer once again to where the vanishing point is with the piece. With the trees, arrows, antlers, trail, and even the storm in the background give an example of multiple vertical brushstrokes with what seems to me to be a very heavy impasto like painting with all of the dark colors of the deer, trees or pathway that eventually lead to a brighter side in the “vanishing point”. Kahlo’s choice of colors for the trees, the deer, or the arrows striking the deer captures much detail, with the brown of the deer and the red implying “blood” of the arrows piercing through the deer. The colors eventually get lighter and brighter as you get further into the piece but I feel as though Kahlo is still giving a “sorrow” or disturbed type image with all of the dark colors and shades but even though the blue of the ocean and sky that gives brightness to this piece, there is still a yellow stroke of a lightning storm that seems to dull the mood back to how it
Art History
2 December 2013
For my Formal Analysis I decided to choose the painting that Fridah Kahlo did in 1946 entitled “The Little Deer”. When examining this piece of work I see the deer jumping and running through the forest in action. The deer has a female human style face which is somewhat interesting because Kahlo uses the same type face when doing self-portraits of herself. When viewing this piece I see the arrows striking the deer and blood running out and the dull face that the deer/human has which at first sends a tone as sorrow or pain or some kind of struggle. In the back ground we see the ocean with what seems to be daytime but also a lightning storm going on which gives me a little different look …show more content…
Such as the trees or the tree branches or the antlers of the deer or even the arrows really just don’t seem to have much of a “precise” type work to it. The linear structure of the fallen branch in the very front, also with the vertical trees all in parallel lines on both sides as well as the deer which seems to maybe be running down the trail all sends our eyes as a viewer once again to where the vanishing point is with the piece. With the trees, arrows, antlers, trail, and even the storm in the background give an example of multiple vertical brushstrokes with what seems to me to be a very heavy impasto like painting with all of the dark colors of the deer, trees or pathway that eventually lead to a brighter side in the “vanishing point”. Kahlo’s choice of colors for the trees, the deer, or the arrows striking the deer captures much detail, with the brown of the deer and the red implying “blood” of the arrows piercing through the deer. The colors eventually get lighter and brighter as you get further into the piece but I feel as though Kahlo is still giving a “sorrow” or disturbed type image with all of the dark colors and shades but even though the blue of the ocean and sky that gives brightness to this piece, there is still a yellow stroke of a lightning storm that seems to dull the mood back to how it