Realistic Piece – “Jean-Léon Gérôme, View of Medinet El-Fayoum, c. 1868–1870”

In this piece, Gerome uses a very wide depth of field. Viewing this piece, I can see detail very clearly up until the large white building. The vanishing point appears to be behind the building in the background where the crowd of people in dark clothing is standing.

Gerome also uses a very muted, natural color palette. The most prominent colors in this piece are the browns that are used in the sand, and the blues that make the water and sky. The colors that he uses in this piece are very realistic. Nothing appears to be overly bright or dark. Also, all of the shadows and highlights seem to be drawn in a uniform way. The reflection of the person walking on the bridge in the river also makes the piece more realistic. Also, the way he uses shading and color value makes this painting very realistic. Every object/person in this piece is seen to be lighter on their ‘right’ side. From this, I assume that the sun is coming from the upper right corner of the scene. The way Gerome painted the scene; he creates a sense of movement through the repetition of the shapes of the bodies. This motion carries itself from the very bottom left, where the man and woman on the horses are, all the way to the crowd in dark clothing next to the white building. I’m not sure of the historical background behind this piece, but I can infer that the man and woman on the horses in the bottom left corner could be very important. It appears that the crowd of people is leading them to the white building – they are also drawn with the most detail. What drew me most into analyzing this piece was Gerome’s use of color. Although it may not be the most detailed painting I viewed that day, his usage of color illustrated a bright, beautiful day of a landscape I’m not familiar with. The size of the piece itself was also interesting, my experience with viewing it felt more intimate because I had to step much closer to it than others – in order to take in the detail I had to become closer to the piece. I enjoyed this interaction much more.