Painting: Les Raboteurs De Parquet (The Floor-Scrapers) (102 x 146.5)
Artist: Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894)
Nationality: French
Movement: Impressionism
Media: Paint (oil on canvas)
Elements:
Line: Uses mostly straight lines on the floorboards and thinner ones on the designs in the wall. These help give a sense of perspective and act as a dynamic and emotional contrast to the curves of the men’s bodies. The curved lines show movement and emotion.
Color: The main colors in this picture are yellow, brown, grey, and black. The colors are somewhat warm, but in general neither warm nor cool, rather, they are passive. They evoke depressed emotions, yet it is difficult to decipher the artist’s emotion in the painting. The colors are rich and intense, but also dark where the men are working. The only light source is from a window that they are not facing which almost makes them appear slave-like. Yet at the same time the men do not seem unhappy. They too, are passive.
Shape: Most of the shapes, as with the lines, are geometric with the exception of the naturalistic shapes of the men’s bodies and the wood shavings. The only other curved lines are in the window decorations, which helps break up the geometric repetitions in the walls.
Form: The forms in this painting are strong, and enhanced by the good perspective. The cubes that make up the walls and floor are clear because of the light source, as are the shapes/bodies of the men. However, they are not so clear in the pile of stuff in the corner, the wine bottle, and the men’s pants because they are completely dark and have no depth it would seem.
Space: The space is well used in this picture. The positive spaces (the men, the window, and the shavings) are well placed and not clumped together. The more negative spaces (the floor and walls) are not completely negative because of the repetitive lines in them, which also help the eye continue to move around the picture and create rhythm to keep it from becoming too boring.
Texture: The texture in this piece alternates between rough and smooth. The men, walls and most of the floor are smooth, giving the men an almost elegant and rhythmic appearance. The shavings, tools, and piles of stuff are mostly rough. This gives them character and a more realistic appearance. They appear dirty in contrast to the smoothness of the shiny floor and the men’s bodies.
Principles:
Proportion: The proportions in this painting are beautifully done, it would seem perfect with the exception that the wine bottle seems slightly too large. The men’s bodies, the walls, they are all in excellent proportion, and are not abstracted at all.
Balance: This picture is not very balanced. Light is brightest on the left side, but on the right, the picture is very dark. Also, on the left side is a large patch of bare, isolated floor, which also adds to the imbalance. The men are the other source of imbalance for this painting. The two men on the right are in the same position and are almost symmetrical with one another. The man on the right is slightly smaller, in a different position, and not parallel with the other two men. There is no apparent line of symmetry in this painting.
Contrast: There is a lot of contrast in this painting (mainly in the floor) but it is not overly heavy. It is apparent in the lines that make up the scraped floor versus the dark on un-scraped floor, and also in the light, bare torsos of the men, and their darker pants. While there is a lot of contrast it is enough to keep the picture unified, but not too much where it would break up the picture.
Harmony: This picture does have a certain amount of harmony, but I think it is lost in the overcast and passive feeling of the painting. It does not “sing.” This is a painting one could examine in silence.
Rhythm: There is a lot of rhythm in this painting, and it is mostly from the repetition of the lines (alternating dark and light) in the floorboards. There is also rhythm in the repetition of the squares on the walls and in the curlicues in the window decoration.
Unity: I don’t find much unity in this painting. There is too much contrast-rough vs smooth, shiny vs dull, bright vs dark-for it to be properly unified. However, it somehow pulls together to create a tranquil scene.
Expresses: It is very difficult to see what this picture expresses. Are these men happy? Sad? Depressed? Oppressed, perhaps? Through their body language and nonexistent expressions one can’t tell. They are strong and not starved or maimed in any way but it is clear they aren’t fat, rich lords, either. Because there seems to be no true feeling then I think, perhaps the painter is expressing the dull monotony of the laborers work. The day in, day out behind the scenes work.