Visual Analysis

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The Mulatto, 1913

Emil Nolde

The Mulatto by Emil Nolde is oil on canvas painting, made in 1913. Its dimensions are 77.5 * 73 cm (30 ½ * 28 ¾ in.). It is a part of Busch-Reisinger Museum’s permanent collection, but it is currently exhibited in the contemporary art gallery on the first floor of the Sackler Museum. As implied by its dimensions, it is almost a perfect square, and has a dark wooden frame. The head of the woman, and the halo-like circular framing are at the center of the painting and occupy the entire area. The gradual transitions between colors and the presence of many different tones even in continuous surfaces indicate multiple layers of paint applied in thick brush strokes. The dominant geographic form of the painting is the circle, as the woman’s head, her hair and the halo-like formation around her head are all circular. It is almost suggestive of a progression of circles, focusing on the face of the woman. The different surfaces (her face, hair, the halo and the background) are clearly separated from each other with these circular borders. The circles also help create 3D space and imply negative space. This is achieved mainly by a suggestion of increasing depth: the face at the forefront, the hair adding 3D volume and the halo creating a background of extending verticality and horizontality. The painting is dominated by a color spectrum ranging from yellow to dark red. These colors bring the garish makeup and jewelry to focus. There are two isolated occurrences of blue, namely the headband and the pendant of the necklace. The colors are of high saturation and brightness and thus make the woman appear as if under spotlights or in a well-lit dressing room. The colors are not uniform, due to the uneven handling of paint. The yellow of the chain of the necklace and that of the line separating the two layers of background are almost identical, creating a parallel and the effect of a frame-within-a-frame. The outer yellow circle can also be imagined as the outline of a mirror. The light is uniformly distributed in the painting, suggesting that the light sources are evenly situated around the woman. The light is sharp and has high contrast.
 

This is a painting of a woman of mixed heritage and two cultures, as implied by its name. The woman is not idealized and creates a juxtaposition of modern nightlife (implied by the make-up and the jewelry) and an exotic subject. This is not a flattering portrait of her, and this creates a sense of intimacy, reality and relevance. Her expression evokes curiosity and mystery, and the choice of painting her eyes closed suggests a dream-like state, which is further strengthened by the halo-like structure around her head. This dreamy expression is inviting into her world, and encourages the viewer to project himself/herself into the sensory field implied by the artist’s choices. Such choices might be a satirical commentary on her social status, or on the society's treatment of people who share a similar background as her. The intention of the painting might be to attract the viewer’s attention to the artist’s interest in exotic subjects at the time of this painting’s execution. It addresses a wide range of viewers and hopes to introduce a new person, as an exemplar of the people with mixed backgrounds and heritages. The clashing bright colors of the painting indicate that Nolde had mixed feelings about this group. The painting has a complex temporal extension. The dreamy expression of the woman might suggest that something has already happened, but, at the same time, the continuous presence of “mulatto”s in the society adds a sense of timelessness to the painting.

I am particularly intrigued by the mysterious identity of the woman in this painting. Was it someone Nolde knew personally or was it an imagined character in his head? I would also want to explore whether Nolde's color choices (yellow-red spectrum) for this painting were deliberate. What emotions was he trying to convey? How different would the viewer's reaction be if a different color spectrum were used? Another question I am hoping to have answered later in the semester is the context for this painting: Was he traveling when he painted this? Was this painting a reaction to something? What were the responses of his contemporaries?

Emil Nolde  (1867-1956)

(image source: http://www.germanexpressionism.com/printgallery/nolde/index.html)