Art Analysis: Midsummer Night in Harlem, by Palmer Hayden

‘Midsummer Night in Harlem is an oil portray painted by Palmer Hayden. Palmer C. Hayden was an American painter who depicted African-American life as he noticed it, especially in the course of the Harlem Renaissance. The portray Midsummer Night in Harlem appears to depict African American people departing and stress-free after an evening at church in Harlem. This painting exhibits the energy and constructive attitudes of the individuals via the use of vibrant colors and the joyful expressions of the faces. The folks on this image have features that have been similar to the minstrel characters (Wikipedia, 26 July 2013) usually depicting Black face.

Many have very dark pores and skin with massive white eyes and enamel, and are all smiles. All of the people are dressed properly in dresses for the women and ladies, top hats and slacks for the boys and boys. It is safe to imagine that the folks within the image had just came from church, as a result of in the background you clearly see the church and a handful of individuals walking out as nicely as a carload of individuals driving off.

The most outstanding line in this art work would be vertical, as a end result of it leads the attention up /down and down/up and conveys the exercise in the picture. Upon first inspection of this work, my eyes are drawn to the church as point of interest, primarily due to the positioning of the church and using the vertical line from the moon to the child at the hearth hydrant. This identifies the viewers’ viewpoint and in addition exhibits how the moon is used as the light source, as properly as the road light positioned simply in entrance of the church.

The illusion of space across the church leading up to the moon in the sky is utilized to draw your eye upward as if to signify that it is nighttime. The illusion of depth is utilized right here in many ways by the appearance of distance created from the people by the church in back to the rise of individuals by the condo steps in entrance. Aerial perspective is used in this portray by the shortage of visual detail of the folks by the church, like their facial features and their clothes. Midsummer Night in Harlem has a distinct unity of composition all through the whole piece that helps the viewer relate the symbolism of the church and moon in again, to the people nicely dressed and congregating on the apartment steps in front.

The varieties in this artwork are utilized by the use of many three-dimensional shapes with size, width and depth, just like the condo buildings, the automotive and the church. Contrast is used all through the work to assist guide your eye from the condo buildings to the church, and the people. Movement is used in this piece by means of lines, contrasting shapes and colors to information the viewers’ eye throughout the composition. In this murals, our eyes move upward from traces of the little boy by the hydrant up to the people looking out of home windows of the house. From there, our eyes transfer to the slight contrast in colours of the church and the moon in the sky.

A good amount of balance is created on this artwork work by the way in which the colors and shapes are mixed in harmony. In this image, Hayden achieves a sense of steadiness by dividing the picture in two sections: the best facet is occupied by particulars of individuals with distinct options while the left aspect lacks a large amount of element in the people and focuses on the church and moon. Midsummer Night in Harlem has a colour scheme that is analogous as a end result of the colours work in concord and is very pleasing to the attention. The primary colors on this portray are pink, brown, white and gray.

The value of the colors used on this artwork work is ready to darkish while the depth and brightness is ready to medium. For example, the reds, burgundy and brown used in the picture (especially for the apartment buildings and clothing) are heat but appear a little toned down in color. Hayden creates emphasis by way of colour and position all through this piece. For example the faces of the individuals ranges in depth by the darkish faces and bright smiles as mentioned earlier. Also the outfits worn by the individuals reveal emphasis in shade; some are carrying white whereas others are in print and color.

In conclusion, the portray Midsummer Night in Harlem makes use of a vertical directional line that illustrates that there is some movement within the image, yet is calming in effect. The main implied shape all through this art work is a rectangle which additionally induces a calming impact. The portray has a slight contrast of color with an identical concord all through. The general illusion of depth and area in this piece supplies unity and balance to the composition.