The Road to Versailles, Louveciennes: The Morning Frost
The painting that I chose for this analysis is The Road to Versailles, Louveciennes: The Morning Frost by Camille Pissaro. This painting was done in 1871 when Camille Pissaro lived in the Parisian suburb of Louveciennes. Pissaro completed several other paintings depicting this same street during different seasons while they lived here. The medium of this painting is oil paint on canvas, and the finished painting is twelve and seven-eighths inches by eighteen and one-eighths inches. Including the frame it is currently displayed in, it is slightly larger than twenty-two inches by twenty-seven inches. This painting is currently residing at the Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, Texas.
It looks as though this painting is showing how the area the artist lived in, looked during the colder months, so in either the fall or winter seasons. The leaves are beginning to turn orange, brown and yellow, and fall to the ground, and there is a small amount of either frost or snow on the grass and leaves. The grass is still slightly green, but also beginning to die in the cold, and turn brown. Everything in the painting is very soft and lifelike, but with a hint of idealism as well, giving it a naturalism representation. This painting also has elements of the style of Jon Constable and J.M.W. Turner added into this artists’ own personal style, giving it a unique but also familiar feel to it. Pisarro seems to have been influenced by their style during his time living in this particular Parisian suburb of Louveciennes. There are a few people in this painting, but only one person is completely visible and distinguishable. This helps give the impression that perhaps the suburbs here were not too busy during the early mornings and also adds to the sense of calmness the rest of the painting manages to portray. You can also see a building in the background that looks as if it might be a house.
As far as the visual elements in this painting, the lines are organic, not geometric. The objects and lines represented here are depicted as they would look in real life. The branches are irregular, and the leaves and frost are randomly dispersed throughout, as opposed to being perfectly in line with each other and mathematically dispersed. The painting is also 2 dimensional, not 3 dimensional, although the lines make it feel as if it has more depth than it actually does so it almost feels 3 dimensional in a sense. The majority of this painting takes place in the foreground, but far in the background there is a building and what seems to be a few more people, as well as a great deal more trees and greenery. This greatly aids in giving the painting more depth and helping the viewer visualize how far the path actually goes back. The ground in this is the actual ground and pathway, as well as the sky, and the figures in this are the people and the trees.
This painting is depicting an early morning, so the sun is rising and causing long shadows to be seen coming from the people and the trees. Because the sun rises in the east, the shadows are going toward the left side of the painting. In addition to the shadows from the early morning sunrise, the lighting is also very soft because the sun is not yet overhead and very harsh. This aids in make the painting seem very calm and peaceful and almost dreamlike. You can even see a bit of color in the sky from the sunrise in hues of light pink and orange.
The two prominent colors in this painting are orange and blue, which are complementary colors because they are opposite each on the color wheel. This color combination is known for emphasizing emotion in a piece of art. The cold tones of the blue manage to contrast with the warmth of the orange, making sure both of these colors stand out prominently in the painting. They work in harmony with each other to create this peaceful, serene morning. The colors are also a bit muted since it is depicting an early, cold morning view. In addition to this, the colors are also local colors because they are depicting what this street would likely actually look like at this time of year, at least through these colors.
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This painting has visual texture with the trees and leaves on the ground, as well as what seems to be snow or frost on the ground. However, it does seem as if there is also actual texture on the surface of the painting because of the layered paint. This makes the clouds specifically, seem more prominent on the page than they actually are. This may have been unintentional, but it does add an interesting effect for the viewer to look at.
This painting manages to show a moment frozen in time, and there is also a small amount of motion depicted as well. You can see leaves falling off the trees and blowing onto the ground and into the sky. There is also the sense that the people depicted in this are walking along the path. This painting could have been painted from memory, but it is equally as likely that the artist painted it at the time it was taking place. One cold, early morning the artist either decided to paint from this spot, exactly what was happening in that moment, or take in the moment and recreate it from memory at a later time.
As far as design principles shown in this painting, even though there is a contrast from the two main colors depicted here, orange and blue, there is still a sense of unity throughout the painting that makes it feel as though everything belongs exactly where it is. The evenly muted colors also help to aid in this sense of sameness and unity. Nothing feels out of place or disjointed.
The symmetry of this painting is reading as being slightly asymmetrical. The right side is visually heavier than the left. On the right side, there are more trees that are closer together, and the path is also curving into the right side of the painting, aiding in adding weight. Additionally, the pathway in this painting is aiding in creating a rhythm with this curve. The pathway curves around through the center of the painting, creating a flowy rhythm and a sense of movement throughout. This flow of movement adds to the calm, slow morning feeling. On the left side of the painting there are fewer trees that are much farther apart, and there is also not a person on the left, and the path is curving away from it. Although one side is visually heavier than the other, there is still a flow throughout that brings everything together.
The emphasis in this painting is on the trees and the skyline. The subordination is on the people, or rather person, walking along on the pathway between the trees. The two are distinguishable in this because the trees and the skyline are the largest thing in the painting, and your eye is drawn to them immediately Whereas the person in the blue shirt walking along the pathway may be the second or third thing that you notice when looking at this painting. The proportion of the components in this piece of art are reasonably to scale with each other. They are also in scale in relation to normal size. The trees do seem to be somewhat large in relation to everything else at first glance, but they are not unreasonably large once the viewer becomes accustomed to how this painting is set up.
In conclusion, this painting showcases not only elements of several different styles of painting, but also a great deal of design principles and visual elements that all make this painting as peaceful and serene as it is. Everything from the asymmetry of the trees, to the building far off in the distance of the background, has a purpose and connection to this piece of art. Nothing feels out of place or unnatural. The colors are not only local to the actual depiction of this area in the fall but chosen specifically to contrast with each other and bring variety. The lone person walking the trail aids in making the scene appear calm and not busy or hectic. The way the shadows are shown on the ground, shows the viewer that the sun is rising, and the scene is taking place during the morning sunrise rather than the afternoon sunset. The emphasis on the trees and skyline that bring the viewer’s attention to the beautiful scenery, and then onto the people and civilization as an almost afterthought. Everything has its place. Every viewer who looks at this painting is also able to pick out different elements that stick out the most to them, depending on their preferences. Viewing and analyzing art is a very individual experience.
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