Blog Post #4

This painting is an example of figurative art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The piece is titled The Thinker: Portrait of Louis N. Kenton (1900) by Thomas Eakins. The medium is an oil on canvas painting with the dimensions 82 inches by 42 inches. The style of this painting is representational due to its resemblance to a human body in the natural world. It is a realistic representation of a figure. The figure is natural, specific in its subject, and shows features and flaws. The figure is looking down and dressed in dark colors that blend into his shadow and shading on the right half of his body. The other half of his body is in a bright light. The contrast of light and dark in this painting make the figure look to be serious and deep in thought. The figure's positioning, standing up straight with his head slightly tilted down and his hands in his pocket, also imply that the man in the painting is in deep thought. He is dressed neatly and looks like he should be well respected. The figure is not looking at the photo or acknowledging being watched. In the book, Ways of Seeing, by John Berger, Berger stated "it then showed how something or somebody had once looked- and thus by implication how the subject had once been seen by the people." This painting is a representation of how Louis N. Kenton was viewed. People might have thought of him as a serious man and this painting records his existence as one.