Picture & musical instrument Essay

In this picture, it showcases a man playing a musical instrument called bagpipes which are prominent and widely used in Scotland and Ireland. Based on the composition of the image, the man is probably a musician from an average social class because his choice clothing is typically worn by commoners probably during the Renaissance period. Generally, this illustration depicts an ordinary event in a musician’s life in the early periods. There are many components in this image that can tell the story of this single picture. Lines, shapes, color, shading and proportions are the elements that give life to a portrait. For the hat, it is a simple head ornament made from a plain fabric. The color gray with touches of brown suggest that it must had been used numerous times. The color combination gives it an aged look making it in a way look stylish. More so, the flower with a hint of light purple and baby pink colored petals that is surrounded by a couple of olive green leaves provided a natural component in the musician’s head cover. At first, it may seem that the beautiful flower is wilting probably because of its downward position but if viewers would look closely, the loveliness of the flower resides on its perfect color combination which exudes harmony. Additionally, a two-toned colored feather is also present on the hat. It is seamlessly intertwined with the flower. The feather added life on this very minimal hat through the blending of the colors gold and cream. Furthermore, the soft brushstrokes on the strands of the feathers give a sense of movement. It contrasted the stiff but delicate position of the flower. Moreover, the feather and the flower can be considered as accents of the hat that showcases the creativity of the musician and his love for things that possess simple yet striking beauty. On another note, hats are usually are worn outdoors during sunny days to protect the face from the rays of the sun. But on this picture, the black background suggests that the time was around in the evening or he was probably indoors which justifies the dark backdrop. Meanwhile, the relatively large brim of the hat had cast a shadow on the musician’s face. In a way, his wrinkles were partly concealed from the viewers’ line of sight. But if it will be examined closely, the series of lines on the forehead and on the mouth area can be considered as the focal points of the facial features. These lines indicate that the musician is probably in his late 40s or early 50s. On the other hand, the eyes tell a different story. It is hard to tell whether the arch of the left eyebrow and the roundness of the eyes signify an emotion. He can either be feeling tired or impassive during his performance. The semi-closed mouth with ripples of lines along the cheek area also adds up to the anonymity of the musician’s emotions. No outstanding feature can really be distinguished making it hard to determine the prominent mood of the painting. Overall, the musician’s face was painted in details. The realistic skin-toned color of the face accented by a small blush of red on the cheeks, the protruding nose, big black eyes, arched eyebrows, nude lips and the fine facial lines made an accurate representation of a male’s physical appearance. Furthermore, the layers of wardrobe added more personality into the painting. The musician is wearing three layers of garments. In the first layer is a white collared long sleeve shirt which is covered by a red V-shaped long sleeve with a wide collar. The bottom of the red shirt is tightened by a garter producing sections of scrunched up fabrics. Also, it seems that there is a set of embroidery at the bottom of the red shirt which serves as the accents to this plain piece of clothing. It is evident from the collar line to the sleeves that the musician is wearing layered clothes. Also, the combination of red and white complements very well. The simplicity of the white is balanced off by the intensity of the red. The third layer is a coat which has the same color as the hat with a dominant grayish tone but with touches of light brown and white. Also, the utilization of dark colors gave a slimming effect on the musician which made him look less stocky. The lining of the coat has a similar shade with the red shirt but more on the orange side. Probably this was intended to give continuity and proper blending of the colors used in the outfit. The whole look of the clothes did not seem stiff because of the folds seen all over the layers of clothing. The folds were intricately added to add movement in order for the clothes to look like as if they were moving with the musician. More so, these folds or lines contrasted the heaviness of the coat which gave a fluid quality to the whole picture. An unusual element was present on the left sleeve of the coat. This object has a circular shape with three layers of different sizes ranging from small to large. At one end is a hole where a red ribbon was tied which was pinned into the coat. Most likely this object is a type of medal that represents the musician’s profession or his achievements or this could just be an ornament used for fashion purposes. Regardless of its function, the circular object adds a touch of splendor to the whole garment. Moreover, the layers of clothing suggest that the weather was cold and that the musician needed the three levels of shirts to provide heat in order for him to properly play his bagpipes. Meanwhile, the bagpipe was illustrated in a neutral mocha brown color. Four pipes of varying heights and appearance were strategically strewn all over the irregularly shaped leather bagpipe. Because of the different sizes of pipes, it gave an illusion of elevation giving some dimension to a flat medium. Also, the creases on the bagpipe added some movement and tension to the image. Furthermore, the hands of the musician holding the main pipe were precisely demonstrated. The veins, the nails and even the lines on the knuckles were accurately portrayed. The viewers can really notice these details which suggest that these hands have been through a lot of experience in playing musical instruments. Despite the rigidity of the details on the hands, the way the hands were positioned displayed softness and finesse which is a true mark of a talented musician.