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Object Analysis: The Bridesmaid BY YEONG MIN KIM April 17, 2007
Painted by the artist James Jacques Tissot, The Bridesmaid is a lavishly colored work of art, which now hangs in the Leeds City Art Gallery in the United Kingdom. Measuring fiftyseven inches high and forty inches wide, The Bridesmaid was painted with oil on canvas in the year 1883-1885. James Tissot’s characteristic depictions of society, fashion, and the complex interactions between citizens of the contemporary world are pleasantly exemplified in The Bridesmaid, in which the viewers are presented with a modern-life street scene that is focused primarily on the few individuals that comprise most of the canvas space. Essentially, the pictorial elements of line, shape, color, and light of Tissot’s The Bridesmaid come together to emphasize and segregate the two main figures, enabling viewers to better observe Tissot’s depiction of the subtle yet complex interaction and relation between the two main figures that provide an intriguing and suggestive edge to the otherwise innocent narrative. Almost exactly in the center of the painting stands a well-dressed woman- presumably the bridesmaid- who is sheltered from the rain by an umbrella that is held up by a smartly dressed man. She appears to be positioned on the edge of a sidewalk curb, standing before an open carriage while two women dressed in plain, simple garments and a shabbily clothed youth stand mere steps away from her. A colorful and vibrant street scene filled with the city’s inhabitants unfolds beyond the group of figures, but the main figures-the bridesmaid and the gentleman- and the large carriage obstruct much detail from being seen. One can, however, conclude from the somewhat limited view of the streetscape, the location in which the scene of everyday modern life is taking place. Notice the series of small red
parasols lining the storefronts of the streets on the upper left corner of the painting and their slightly folded state, which is appropriate to the rainy weather. The images are strikingly reminiscent of the brightly colored parasols that epitomize the Parisian café scene. Finally, the flow of traffic depicted in The Bridesmaid is not on the left side of the street as it should have been in London, but on the right side of the street. One can detect the carriages and horses that are coming towards the viewer with respect to the street curb and can assuredly conclude that the everyday modern life scene is indeed taking place in Paris, which is where Tissot reportedly painted during the time period of 1883-1885. Starkly positioned in the middle of the painting, the bridesmaid most certainly appears to be the main character in the artwork. This is reinforced by the artist’s employment of one point perspective. The vertical heights of the street buildings submerge into one another as the viewer’s gaze proceeds from the startling figure, which is placed immediately in front of the sightline, to the back of the painting, thereby creating a sense of depth and recession. The verticals of the buildings on each side of the street are parallel to the vertical of the bridesmaid’s body, which draws even more attention to itself with its eye-catching blue costume. The ruffled horizontals of the bridesmaid’s layered dress also contribute in drawing the eye to her correspondence with the gentleman with its contrast with the dominating verticals of the painting. Thus, both horizontal and vertical lines function effectively in the work to emphasize the two main characters of The Bridesmaid. Tissot’s use of color also plays a significant role in highlighting the central figures and their interaction. As mentioned before, the bridesmaid’s dress is colored in a brilliant shade of blue, which would have no doubt caught the attention of passersby as well as the viewers’ attention. This centered attention is all the more intensified by the repeat of dark colors that surround the bridesmaid that, as a result, encloses her within the focus of the artwork. The intensity of the blue provides a shocking contrast with the deep blacks of the surrounding elements. The dark and sullen garb of the young man on the bottom left corner connects to the
plain black uniform-like attires of the two women, which in turn extend to the black suit of a passerby and the black of the large umbrella that is held up by the gentleman who is, of course, dressed almost entirely in black. The similarly monotone colored carriage completes the border of separation that is created between the bright, colorful, and vibrant street of Paris and the stylish young lady. Further enhancing the isolation of the central character is the direction of light. Light, here in The Bridesmaid, comes from the back of the painting, thereby creating shadows that, for example, extend from the feet of the gentleman to the bottom of the canvas. With the light coming directly from the back of the streets, the barrier created by the previously discussed body of sullenly colored individuals and objects generates a private and clandestine atmosphere within the scene that is displayed directly before us. The aforementioned pictorial elements of The Bridesmaid succeed in attracting the viewers’ gaze. And once the eye is drawn to the main focus of the painting, one begins to notice the subtle nuances of the interaction that is being portrayed. At first glance, it seems as if the bridesmaid is leaning in towards the gentleman and presenting him with slight peck on his cheek, her hands meanwhile remaining delicately pressed against his upper body. Upon closer inspection, however, it is discovered that the painting portrays not an innocent and uncomplicated scenario, but a rather more complex and perhaps immoral one. Initially thought to be engaging in some form of bodily correspondence, the bridesmaid now appears to have no discernable physical contact with the gentleman Instead, her head, as well as her gaze, is positioned towards the interior of the carriage. The bridesmaid leans slightly towards the entrance of the carriage, her hands poised in mid-air. With her right hand she, perhaps, tugs against the gloves of her left hand. The bridesmaid’s obvious gaze towards the inside of the carriage, and her immobile feet (firmly rooted on the pavement, thus showing no viable signs of boarding the carriage) pose a critical question of whether or not the carriage is being occupied by an additional individual. The gazes of the two sensibly dressed women on the
left of the painting may also suggest the presence of an unknown character inside the carriage, as their somewhat approving gazes are directed at neither the gentleman or the bridesmaid, but at the interior of the carriage. Moreover, the image of what seem to be yellow flower petals strewn across the sidewalk pavement could possibly suggest the careless trail of a wedding bouquet the bride might have carried with her to the carriage. If, indeed, the individual present in the carriage is the bride herself, it would be logical to suspect that the gentleman- who, at first glance, was thought to be involved with the bridesmaid- is the groom himself. It is all the more intriguing to find oneself detecting the suggestive air of the groom’s gaze while he fixedly looks down, or rather, leers down at the bridesmaid. The viewer then proceeds to ponder what may be afoot between the two individuals. Staring out quite blatantly from the picture is the half-gloved hand of the groom that is holding aside the curtain of carriage. This inconspicuous display of the half-nakedness of the groom’s hand is obviously intentional; the flesh-toned skin of his nearly bare hand jumps out at the viewer amidst the surrounding coalblack colors. Could it be a mere coincidence that the gloved half of the groom’s left hand remains inside the carriage with the bride, while his bare other half remains leveled towards the bridesmaid? Interestingly enough, the groom can be seen clutching his other glove in his bare fists as he holds up the umbrella for the bridesmaid with his right hand. The white gloves, would then symbolize purity without doubt, his status as a newly wed husband and the vows of fidelity that comes with matrimonial union. When taking in the whole interaction of the central image, it is as if the groom is slipping away from the bride while she desperately tries to hold on to his gloved hand. His fingers are slowly slipping off the glove, and yet his other hand cannot quite decide whether to let go entirely of the symbol of matrimony or to hang on to it, thus settling the dilemma by temporarily clutching the glove in his tight fists while not quite wearing it. His feet, which, unlike the firmly rooted feet of the bridesmaid’s, hover
above the ground, and his body almost sways, as if his conscience and faithfulness were also swaying. It is difficult to conclude whether the attraction between the two characters is mutual; the body movements and eye contact of the bridesmaid reveal nothing too overt or exceptional to be considered reprehensible, although the small gapes of skin down the inner lines of her gloves might suggest otherwise. Perhaps she too, is experiencing a faltering conviction of trust and friendship. Whatever the bridesmaid’s circumstances may turn out to be, the complex and provocative relations between the sexes are well portrayed and readily detected in The Bridesmaid. By the use of line, color, shape, and light, as well as the body language and eye contact of the central figures, much can be speculated and understood about the artwork. Surely, artist James Tissot has the brilliance of generating within viewers much debate and postulations about the meaning and significance of the work of art with his expressive yet subtle illustrations of the modern nineteenth century society.