CHENG Wing Cheung, Paul

Upper Iowa University

ART 100- Introduction to Art

Instructor Name: Elizabeth Cummins, Ph.D.

26/9/2021

W4: Formal Analysis Assignment

The Artist Elisabeth Louise Vizier Le Brun painted a portrait of Madame Grand. Oil on

canvas painting from 1783. This is a gorgeous portrait of a woman. She sits on a saturated

dark green velvet sofa with her eyes facing up and smiling. The use of color and light is very

soft, the oval shape is a little unusual. The background of this portrait is pitch black, the

subject is a young woman, the dress is so gorgeous and sophisticated, the arms are placed on

a green velvet pillow. If you look closely, you will see that the paint is cracked, but overall it

looks new and there is no obvious color loss or yellowing.

The range in the painting shows the woman's waist up, and only the top of the knee is

visible. On the hair on her head there is a large light blue bow, on the chest and hips there is a

bow. I wore a long silver blue dress for a year, with a light green top with long sleeves and a

part of the chest visible. The azure bow and blue eyes resounded, and I looked up to the right

with curious eyes.

 The subject's female will be in a perfectly oval focus. Just as she is in the center of the oval,

her head occupies directly above the picture. The picture looks a bit asymmetrical as the right

elbow faces outward and the backrest and cushion of the sofa are on the left side. I feel like

the center of gravity is tilted to the left side of the picture. She also has paint on her right

hand, at the same time the lower part of the ellipse in front of her chest, and a pure white

score overlaps with the light blue bow on her chest, and the score looms.

The focus of this painting is on the face of a young woman. She had a flirty look, her eyes

stared at the light, and her red, glossy rosy lips opened slightly, smiling like Mona Lisa.

There was almost no perfect row of teeth behind her lips. Her hair is bright blonde, with

gorgeous halos combing around her head and curls hanging from her shoulders. Her curly

curls on the left were hanging sensually on her bare breasts, almost reaching bare breasts. Her

hair looks soft and fluffy like a cushion under her elbow. Our eyes want to easily follow her

eyes, but we are inevitably attracted to her bright face, neck and chest. The lighting is almost

uniform. The shadows are best seen on the left side of the woman, on the ribbons of hair and

clothes.

This is a work of art with very good color adjustments. The oval shape of the frame does not

have sharp corners that make people rigid, giving the painting a hearty feel. In the use of

lines, the elliptic curves coincide with the flattering oval face of the female. The curved upper

part of the back of the sofa is another round line. Even the score is slightly curled, mimicking

the curls of her hair. Along the curves of the sofa's golden edging, the artist's sign looks

vague. In summary, this is a description of a beautiful woman and she is proud of her face

and dress . Nevertheless, she is still not arrogant and maintains a relaxed and humorous

temperament.

Reference
Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Portrait of Madame Grand (Noël-Catherine Verlée, 1761–

1835), Later Madame de Talleyrand-Périgord, Princesse de Bénévent

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437898