Module 6: Art Analysis 'Portrait of Mnonja'
This painting depicts a women sitting casually on a couch in the foreground. She has her feet up on the side of the couch and she seems comfortably sitting. She is wearing a necklace, earrings, and very vibrant shoes and lipstick. There is a lot of textures going on in the background and all of them are different making it seem busy but it still works some how. The patterns on the couch are contrasting, the couch itself looks like its 3 different patterns and then the pillows or blankets on there are also different. There is also a painting or sculpture of a cat in the foreground. It appears to have rhinestones on parts of it. The shoes also appear to have rhinestones for their coloring. The skirt or pants she is wearing have the appearance of being suede. I'm not sure how the artist accomplished this because I do not think I have ever seen that before. The women appears very serious in the face but relaxed in the body.
There does not appear to be even one straight line on this painting which adds to the character of it. The colors are vibrant in some places and then rather dull in other places. The furniture and walls have a 1970's era coloring to them. The shapes in the painting also reflect that era to me. The emphasize is definitely on the subject of the painting which is the women laying on the couch. The patterns are so abstract and contrast each other that I feel it was a creative choice. I also love the incorporations of rhinestones in fine art, I think it adds to the texture and draws the eye to specific areas.
The purpose of this artwork seems to be portraying black females for their beauty, power, and sexuality. This artist is known for adding dramatic portions of her pieces with rhinestones and depicting these women in powerful positions. This one specifically has notes of sexuality but also of wealth by her fancy jewelry and clothing. The tone of this painting is serious but intimate. They are in a home showing intimacy but the women's face suggests that she is determined and sincere. Overall this painting is beautiful and I want to see more works from this artist.
Mickalene Thomas, Portrait of Mnonja, 2010, rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel on wood panel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2011.16, © 2010, Mickalene Thomas
Hi Grace! I really enjoyed reading your blog because you go into great detail about the piece of artwork that you chose to analyze. Your description the background is very accurate because there are so many textures going on. When writing your blog, did you figure out if there was a specific meaning behind this piece of artwork?
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job explaining this painting. While also explaining the vibrant colors of the woman's clothes, the decorations aorund her, the lines of this painting, shapes, overall colors of the painting, and you also told what the purpose of this artwork was. Great work.
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