Formality And Informality Of Social Classes In Art

Artists in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries often used genre painting to depict scenes from ordinary life. Such paintings can be found in the galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Amongst these paintings are two large scale paintings, Curiosity by Dutch artist Gerard Ter Borch the Younger, painted in 1660-62 and The Stolen Kiss by French Rococo artist Jean Honoré Fragonard, painted in 1760. Both paintings are made of oil on canvas and direct the viewers’ attention to three figures interacting with one another. The women depicted in these paintings all wear colorful gowns and have fair complexions with light colors on their face drawing the viewers’ attention to them. While the two paintings are related in this manner, a close analysis reveals that Ter Borch uses formal elements to depict a more formal and upper middle-class scene of a woman writing a letter while two women are present, and Fragonard depicts the scene of three peasants interacting with each other intimately in an informal manner.

Curiosity by Dutch artist Gerard Ter Borch is a genre painting of a scene from everyday life that depicts three figures in an elaborately furnished interior. The woman to the left is elaborately dressed in a purple and silver gown. To her left is a table with a young woman sitting dressed simply who is writing what seems to be a letter. Behind her stands another young woman peering curiously over her shoulder who appears to be elaborately dressed as well. Perched upon a low stool is a dog who looks upwards at the women. This painting is composed of upright shapes and lines which give off the effect of formality. Firstly, this can be seen in the pieces of furniture painted on this canvas. The stool that the dog sits upon towards the bottom right side of the painting is shown on a sideways angle. The sides of it appear to be made of very sharp straight lines and the overall shape is even. The table by which the young woman writing sits also shows straight lines and sharp angles. The large piece of furniture behind the woman who stands to the left of the painting is also made of carefully painted straight vertical and horizontal lines and appears to be even and symmetrical as well. We see this as well with the chair to the left of the woman who stands. When looking closely at the top half of the canvas, one can see the straight lines painted to show the boundaries of this interior. These straight lines creating a corner and ceiling to this room give off this formal and upright effect to the painting.

Straight lines that give off the effect of formality appear on the figures painted on Curiosity. The lady who stands to the left of the painting wears a dress that shows many lines. The skirt of her dress displays many vertical lines that bunch and point straight to her waistline which gives off the effect of neatness and formality. If there were scattered vertical and horizontal lines on her skirt, it would make her outfit look wrinkled which would take away from its formality. Moving upwards from the standing woman’s skirt, one can see that the shirt on her bodice shows straight, unwrinkled looking lines. Zooming out towards the woman’s body as a whole, one can notice as she stands that her posture is very straight and aligned. Additionally, her hands are neatly crossed at her waste. The composition of her body gives off a very formal effect. Though not as much as the woman who stands, the two figures towards the right of the painting display straight lines on their clothing which gives off a formal effect as well.

Besides for the lines that compose this painting, Curiosity by Gerard Ter Borch is composed of several items that expose its formal and upper- middle- class theme. The purple and silver dress worn by the woman who stands seems to be made of fine satin material and her hair is neatly tied back with loose curls down in the front. This makes her look very put together which shows the formal effect. The woman who sits wears a navy and white dress with a matching bonnet. The bonnet suggests that she is a maid of the two other figures which shows that the upper-middle-class status they have. Though her outfit looks quite faded, the girl who peers over the maid’s shoulder also wears a formally styled dress and has her hair neatly tied back with a bow. Additionally, the furniture that appears in this painting express and upper-class effect. There is a golden chandelier that hangs from the ceiling and a piece of furniture behind the woman who stands to the left that appears to be custom-made and quite elegant with pillars and gold decorations.

All of the above suggest a formal and upper-class setting of this painting. The next formal elements which express formality in Gerard Ter Borch’s Curiosity are the use of light and color in the painting. Firstly, there seems to be very little emphasis on light to this painting which gives off a cold and more formal effect. The lack of light on the painting seems to not direct the viewer’s eye to any specific point on the painting. While this is a scene from everyday life, it does not seem so lively and interactive due to its dim appearance. This painting is composed mainly of darker colors, with the exception of the woman who stands on the left of the canvas as she wears a shiny silver and purple colored dress. In addition to bring dark, the colors are all cool tone. The material covering the table and chairs is a dark purple color, the women to the right of the painting wear navy blue and grey outfits. The use of blues, silvers, and purples in this painting gives off a cold and rigid impression which expresses the formality of the scene. In addition to this color scheme, when looking closely at the faces of the women, one can see that their faces are very pale with the exception to the maid who seems to have a little bit of redness to her cheek. Their paleness suggests that they don’t spend much time outside doing any work. This too gives off a more formal and middle-upper-class effect.

Unlike Curiosity, The Stolen Kiss by artist Jean Honoré Fragonard is a Rococo painting that depicts three peasants in a shed. The lady to the left wears a cream and pink satin dress while the woman who clasps her hand wears a solid pink satin dress. There is a man who wears a straw hat in the center of the painting that looks as if he is about to kiss the woman on the left. The three figures sit on stools by a short table with a white tablecloth. The lines that compose The Stolen Kiss express much of the informality of the scene. Unlike Curiosity, many of the lines in this painting are not straight. The lines that are shown on the satin dresses worn by the figures appeared to be scattered in multiple directions. This creates a wrinkled effect which not only shows that the people are peasants, but expresses the informal flexible effect that the entire painting projects. When looking at the wall of the shed behind the figures, one can observe that the vertical lines that compose it are not even. Though they are somewhat straight, there are enough diagonal lines that express this unevenness. Additionally, each of the figures sits bent on a slant. The woman to the left slants forwards and her head is slanted backwards. The man who kisses her thrusts his body forwards in a slant towards the figure. The lady who sits to the right is slanted forward as well.

This is quite unlike Curiosity where Ter Borch expresses formality with the even and straight lines that compose the figures, clothing, walls, and furniture of his painting. Besides for the lines that compose this painting, The Stolen Kiss by Jean Honoré Fragonard is composed of several items that expose its informal and lower- class nature. The material that makes up the clothing and tablecloth of this painting are all satin just like in Curiosity. This expresses the idealization of lower-class citizens the artist depicts However, as explained above, the clothing appears quite wrinkled and quite worn out. Additionally, the figures sit within what appears to be an old shack.

They sit on low chairs at a low wooden table. Another interesting contrast between the two paintings can be seen in the interaction of the figures. The Stolen Kiss depict three figures all interacting quite intimately with each other. This expresses the informal and lower-class culture unlike the formal upper-class scene in Curiosity where the figures appear to be stiff and acting alone. The last formal elements which express informality in The Stolen Kiss by artist Jean Honoré Fragonard are the use of light and color in the painting. This painting is composed mainly of pastel pinks, reds, cream, and brown colors which give off a warm effect. The figures each have rosy cheeks and they each wear pink and cream clothing. This warm effect contributes to the informality of this painting as it makes it seem much less rigid and formal than Curiosity. When analyzing the light on this painting, one can see that there is light shining behind the figures, and onto them. This focuses the viewer’s eyes onto the figures and what they are doing. These figures are interacting intimately by the touch of a hand, a grasp of a shoulder, and a kiss. This, unlike Curiosity, expresses a warm, intimate, and informal effect. The light effect also brings the scene of The Stolen Kiss much more alive than that of Curiosity. When the viewer’s eye is focused onto the interaction of the figures, it seems as though their actions happen right in front of the eye.

After analyzing the contrasts between Curiosity by Dutch artist Gerard Ter Borch the Younger and The Stolen Kiss by French Rococo artist Jean Honoré Fragonard, it is important to understand the cultural differences between the time periods in which they were painted. Curiosity is a Dutch painting that was painted in the 1660’s. Around this time the Dutch won their independence from Spain. Because of this, their economy benefited greatly due to their newly established power and expertise over their international trade. Political power was given over to the upper-middle-class of the region, who became the sources of art commissions like Curiosity. Because of these changes in politics, economics, and even focus on religion, many of the paintings of this period expressed genre scenes of everyday life, as seen in Curiosity. This painting would have been considered to be a conversation piece and the upper-class interior expresses the formal and upper-class social ideals of the Dutch Republic. On the other hand, The Stolen Kiss was painted in the 1760’s in France when Rococo art came about. At this time, patrons commissioned artists to paint canvases that would be displayed in their salons like The Stolen Kiss. This French Rococo style of painting, unlike Dutch scenes from everyday life, expresses the appreciation and idealization of informality and lower class citizens.