I would say that only 3 people at the same time can view the paintings in this crevice. This piece also wasn’t hung and it as set on a standing column, sort of like a platform. Also, the painting was one of the smallest in the whole museum that I looked at. The size of the painting looked like it could fit inside a photo album. The framing used made it seem like a regular framed picture that you would see on someone’s desk in their bedroom. The light shone on it also gave it some intimacy and erotic attention.
I experienced the work of art in an informal way because it was a nude woman and she’s on the bed with a sort of comfortable expression and gesture. Also, it felt as if this painting was meant to be en in private by someone it was painted for. The fact that it was secluded, not hung like other bigger pieces, and how it was in the room with other artworks among the Rococo style, there was no stress felt, and I sort of almost felt fluffy and relaxed as if this painting was in my own home too.
I also had a feeling like I could grab this piece off the platform as if it was me picking up a photo frame at my mom’s house to look at. I think it was originally seen as a private painting like how it’s in a private placement in the museum and since the Rococo period was about love, being happy ND carefree, then that’s what the painting was meant to do. The gold framing wasn’t necessarily unique in the museum because most of the 14th-16th century pieces had some gold detailed framing.
But it was different, it looked like an exotic and luxurious frame and very thick around the perimeter. It suggested to me that it was important and that I shouldn’t be distracted by it because even though the image was as simple as it can be, the woman was still more outstanding than anything else. To describe the work of art, she is a nude woman lying on a bed and is looking way. The delicacy and contrasting colors captivated my attention. Her ivory body among the dark background made her stand out even more focusing specifically on her as the center of attention.
She is turning at someone which could probably be her love at that time as if the painting was made for him in a sense. In the painting, there are only three things: her, the bed, and the dark background. It’s amazing how only a few objects in this painting could make it so interesting to me. I’d have to say that the play of colors with the light is captivating. The pink in her cheeks could be that she’s blushing being well aware of her nudity in the scene or maybe the person she’s looking at is making her blush.
The fluffy technique Wattage used made the woman specifically delicate and fragile. As for its original use, I believe that it’s meant for entertainment and something that’s easy on the eyes. I don’t think there’s much history to this, aside the fact that maybe this was derived from other paintings of a naked Venus. Its original use would be for pleasure and for selected eyes only; it’s very private yet revealing. This fits well with our category of Rococo because it’s erotic and it’s about love. The fact that it’s neither a historical painting nor landscape makes it a Rococo style.
Also, the technique of the soft fragile textures of the brushstrokes makes viewers feel love, carefree, and happy. It does remind me of the works we’ve been discussing and studying in class because since we learned about naked vs.. Nude concepts, and how Venus was painted nude, and how artists wanted to stay away from the typical historic paintings they were expected to be creating. When I saw the work of art, it minded me of Titan’s Venus of Robin. The nudity involved looked very similar, and the setting was somewhat also similar.
In conclusion, the way the Reclining Nude was set up in the museum made it an intimate yet playful and sensual work of art to me. It was secluded in a tiny room along the wall which made it private yet the way the girl is nude on the bed was very revealing. The concepts of naked vs.. Nude, and the style of Rococo painting were applied to this work of art. The way the painting was set on the platform and not hung on the walls like the others, made it seem like it was a picture frame in meson’s bedside table.
The simplicity in the painting considering the amount of objects that were in it was still captivating due to the color choice with the contrasts and the fluffy brush texture that it embodied. Seeing works of art in person is definitely a much different experience that Just looking at them on the slides like we do in class. Just seeing it in person, the rich textures of the paint moves me and I feel like I’m part of it. It was almost like I was in awe because it was the real painting right in front of me. Overall, the experience was very intimate and fun.
