Parisian Life PDF

Preview

Summary

Download Parisian Life PDF

Description

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila Intramuros, Manila

READING THE IMAGE

“The Parisian Life” by Juan Luna Submitted by MANSANO, CRISTINE PEARL PONCECA, VINCENT KIAN Course/Year/Block BSN 1-5 Submitted to PROF. ROSALIE ANNE BESIN

BASIC INFORMATION TITLE OF WORK ❏ "The Parisian Life" is also known as Interior d'Un Café or "Inside a Café" even referred to in some books as "The Maid" and "Un Coquette" or literally someone who is one point lower than the prostitute painted by Juan Luna.

ARTIST’S NAME ❏ Juan Luna y Novicio painted the painting, 'Parisian Life.' He was born in Badoc, Ilocos Norte, on October 23, 1857, and died in British Hong Kong on December 7, 1899. In the late 19th century, Juan Luna was a Filipino painter, sculptor and political activist of the Philippine Evolution, and he became one of the first Philippine artists to be known. Becoming his first mentor, Don Lorenzo Guerrero persuaded his parents to send him to Spain. He took private lessons there under Alejo Vera, a renowned contemporary Spanish painter.In Rome, Alejo Vera took Luna and opened himself to the immortal works of the masters of the Renaissance. ❏ He also has some other famous paintings/masterpieces other than "Parisian Life," including "The Spolarium," "LaBatalla de Lepanto," "El Pacto de Sangre" (The Blood Compact) and "Don Miguel de Legazpi."

MEDIUM AND TECHNIQUE ❏ “The Parisian Life”, is an oil on canvas impressionist painting.

DIMENSION OR MEASUREMENT ❏ The painting is 22x31in. (57x79cm) in dimension

DATE OF WORK ❏ 1892

PROVENANCE ❏ The original owner of The Parisian Life was Ariston Bautista Lin, one of the characters in that painting. Later on, it was acquired by the GSIS Museum at Christie's auction house in Hong Kong at a price of $87 hundred thousand (around P45.4 to P46 million).

THE FOUR PLANES BASIC SEMIOTIC PLANE ❏ VISUAL ELEMENTS ❖ Figures and shapes that have been blended or replicated with tone and color to produce patterns reflecting the mirror-image of the Philippine archipelago. ❖ LINE- Straight lines used to focus on viewpoints and objects while curve lines were used to emphasize the depth and mood. There were also vertical lines that can be seen at the window of the cafe. ❖ SHAPE- The painting used 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional shapes to present realism. ❖ COLOR- Vintage brown, black, and grey mostly dominated the artwork and added some accent colors such as light pink, white, and violet. ❖ TONE- The artwork showed a light to dark tonal value as the perspective goes from right to left. ❖ TEXTURE- It showed a light to moderate texture due to it being an oil painting. ❖ FORM- The Painting is harmonized and realistic in portraying its subjects. ❏ CHOICE OF MEDIUM AND TECHNIQUE ❖ “The Parisian Life” used oil paintings and impressionist work on a 57x79cm canvas. ❏ FORMAT OF WORK ❖ The main subject in the painting, which is the lady sitting on the couch, reflected a mirror-image of the Philippine Archipelago, meaning she represented the country of the Philippines. She also symbolizes a “fallen womanhood” as she was identified as a courtesan or a prostitute. ❖ The 3 men symbolizes the embracement of Western life for Filipinos because it was said that the three men (Rizal, Luna, & Lin) are one of our countrymen wearing European outfits and embracing Western lifestyle. ❖ As one of the men gazed at the lady as a mark of male gaze in an inquisitive glance, it portrayed a profound sense of why he had a vivid expression for the lady. ❖ Deserted hat and coat on the sofa next to the lady that represented an intimate mood for a lady who was waiting. ❏ PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND MARKS OF THE WORK ❖ A specific straightforward depiction of the past of a painting that depicts a Filipino's heart and country.

DESCRIPTION

❏ WHEN ❖ 1892 ❏ WHAT TIME ❖ Early hours of the Morning ❏ WHAT ❖ A richly layered representation of contemporary social expectations, gender issues and national abstraction. ❏ DESCRIPTION ❖ A lady is sitting on a sofa and three men are talking in a cafe, as one man gazes upon the lady. ❏ HOW ❖ The lady stands out because of her aura and poise that gives one of the men the opportunity to look at her. ❏ ANALYSIS ❖ The lady is a prostitute who is waiting for someone at the cafe. While the 3 men who were in the background are more likely talking about her. ❏ SYMBOL ❖ The lady has the shape of the geography of the Philippines. ❖ The 3 men are identified as Rizal, Luna, and Lin, who are renowned patriots in the Philippines. ❏ MEANING ❖ Playful and relaxed mood

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION ❏ POSITION ❖ The painting is in one-point perspective in a landscape orientation. ❖ The lady is in the middle of the painting as an equalizer to the story. ❖ The lady is in the center and there's a relaxing pose that she was presenting. - She's in a lavish dress and the hat is decorated with flowers. ❖ The 3 men are maybe at the point of origin that can signifies that they can be also the main focus of the painting. ❖ The three (3) men are in the shadows and in the middle-left background. As one is more vivid than the other two. - The men are dressed in Victorian clothes.

❏ BACKGROUND ❖ A scene from the café. There was a beer and a mug on the table near the woman. The couch has a cape and a hat on it. On top of the couch is a newspaper. ❖ 3 men dressed in European Victorian clothes are in the left side background.

ICONIC PLANE OR IMAGE ❏ SIGNIFIER-SIGNIFIED RELATIONSHIP ❖ Juan Luna, testifying to his awareness and capacity to catch and infuse with personality and universal feelings a flickering moment of ordinary life through painting. ❖ The main subject, which is the lady, is infused with luxurious items such as the dress, the hat, the gloves and even her mere posture is an interpretation of wealth and class. ❖ Despite all the luxurious privileges she has, just trying to stare at the woman's eyes, where she doesn't meet the audience, but looks down, a little disappointed and unhappy. Her face looks calm, but you can feel a vibe that is unsatisfactory. This could mean that she must have experienced unpleasant events in her life, such as being a prostitute. ❖ The lady is a mirror-image of the Philippine archipelago ❖ The 3 men who are having a conversation just next to the lady, may signify different levels of consciousness: The Id, Ego, and SuperEgo. ❖ The hat and the cape next to the lady, may signify a deserted companionship with the lady. ❏ POSITION OF FIGURES ❖ The main figure, which is the lady, stands out and has a frontal position in most of the painting’s canvas subject frame. ❖ The 3 men subjects are cramped up in the left portion compared to the right side of the painting which appears to have more space than the other. They are at the side viewpoint as one is seen with the posterior part of himself, and the other two are facing at the front. ❖ The painting presents balance among elements as the sequence of subject view begins from being minimal to having more subjects as the view moves to the left. ❏ STYLE OF FIGURATION ❖ The Lady and the three men who were sitting upright. ❖ The Lady sitting with her legs apart. ❖ One of the men staring at the lady. ❖ These grounds from the painting shows a proportional and spatial relationship of the subjects in the painting. ❖ Various elements show a foreground, middle, and mainly background view to portray the overall perspective of the painting and its subjects.

CONTEXTUAL PLANE ❏ FULL MEANING OF THE WORK

❖ Superimposition of the Philippine archipelago mirror image was the lady on the painting. ❖ Parisian life is Luna’s contribution to the revolution because it portrays the propagandists Luna, Bautista Lin and Rizal as if figuring out ways on how to free the lady from the bondage of exploitation. ❖ The lady appears to be being choked too as there is a line on top of her head because that time our country was being oppressed by the colonizers. ❖ The lone lady in the table portrays the Philippines that were being isolated during the time of Spanish era and being labeled as ‘indios’ and ‘savage’ ❏ PERSONAL OR SOCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF ITS PRODUCTION ❖ Parisian life also serves as a warning to his alleged adulterous wife Paz Pardo de Tavera of her impending demise. ❖ The three men in "The Parisian Life" were Jose Rizal, Ariston Bautista Lin and Luna himself and their last meeting. ❖ The painting depicts just another ordinary day of propagandists in Europe enjoying their bohemian lives.

EVALUATIVE PLANE ❏ FORM AND CONTENT ❖ Although the painting shows another ordinary day of people enjoying their bohemian lives, the Parisian lady or accused to be a courtesan prostitute seems to be in the company of a European man as proved by the overcoat on the cushioned seat just beside the lady; the slightly misplaced wooden seat; the full glass across the lady’s half empty wine glass; and the European hat placed deliberately on the table. Apparently, the lady is not comfy seeing the guys on the alternative table. She seems to be very worried that these people might catch her red-handed. Her reaction indicates guilt, fear, and worry. ❏ FULL MEANING OF THE WORK ❖ It shows three men eyeing a young good-looking Caucasian woman wearing a pale lavender frock, her hat decorated with flowers. With her outstretched left hand, she uncomfortably sits alone on the coffeehouse sofa in Paris, France. The table at the front has a chair pulled out. There's a half-filled glass on the table right in front of her, and another half-filled, empty glass on the side of the chair. A man’s coat, checkered inside exposed, lays on the sofa. A folded newspaper is at her back. Parisian Life reflects the masculinity and civility of the three men who wear European clothes. It shows how women were being objectify just because prostitution is being rampant at that time. The misogynistic ways of the society and the lady’s awkward posture and anxiety-ridden face shows how women were

living in constant fears. Luna proved this point as most of his models were prostitute women for the reason that they are cheap. ❏ ANALYSIS AND EXAMINATION ❖ Newspaper The newspaper L'Echo De Paris is folded up behind the lady. The newspaper stands for the Cry of Bastille or the French Revolution, the inspiration of the Philippine Revolution. The French aspirations of freedom, brotherhood and equality were the same as the Filipinos' longings. Thus, the French Revolution, the echo of Paris, is clearly behind the disturbed state of the motherland of the Philippines in 1892. ❖ Men Prominent personalities who are clearly represented in the painting are Jose Rizal, the artist, and Ariston Bautista Lin. Other than their very apparent physical features, their mannerisms and postures appeared to have been captured therefore accurately. The artist and Lin—Bautista stare directly at the direction of the Parisian lady, who seems to be disturbed by the accusatory gaze. As gentle as he was, Rizal seems to avoid contact with the lady. ❖ Women Aside to our motherland being compared to the lady, some experts suggest that Luna might have projected Paz through the Parisian lady. Suspicions of the adulterous relationship of his wife, in his mind, have been confirmed. Although no evidence, in Luna’s mind, there was a fixation. As per what we can see, women were being treated as an object and human with a lesser value than man at that time is very rampant. Paris, as per known as the sex capital of the world way back in 19th century, women need to live in constant anxiety as they were always being subjected to male gazes. The unregistered prostitute, who constituted a growing labor force in Paris, was regarded as “the site of absolute degradation and dominance, the place where the body became at last an exchange value, a perfect and complete commodity”.

❖ Clothes on the sofa and half-poured glass This suggests that she was being accompanied by a man and waiting for him to comeback because right beside her were a trench coat with hat, a male’s clothes and the half-empty glass on her table....