Crit Card

For this assignment, I picked crit card number 1, about General Reaction. The piece I used it on is a picture by Chaime Soutine-of a side of beef hanging up. Unfortunately I am unable to put it up.
However, here is my Crit Card analysis of it;

general reaction
1. My first response to this painting is that it is kind-of gory but in a pretty way.
2.This work makes me feel happy, as it is closely related to my own.
3.This work makes me think of my undergraduate years, painting.
4. This work reminds me of where my father works
Description
1. In this painting I see a side of beef hanging on a hook
2.As for colors, shapes and textures I see many warm colors, as well as some angular shapes.
3. I do not see any unusual features, other than the content of the painting.
4.I also see a lot of movement in the painting-such as the tendons in the beef kind-of swirling around the page.
5.To me, much of the painting looks dark and textures in a thick fashion (the paint is laid on heavily), but this could be due to age of the painting.
6. This work, I believe, was made by the artist hanging the meat either in his studio, or going into a butcher shop to paint it.
7. There seem to be heavy brushstrokes throughout the painting, with rather thick paint.
8. The artist is viewing the meat straight on as it is hanging, as that is the perspective in the painting.
Formal Relationships/Shapes
1. bright reds and yellows seem to dominate this picture-largely because those are the natural colors in the meat.
2. There is some negative space within this painting, but it is not merely blank canvas. There is not a spot of canvas uncovered. I would not necessarily call them significant.
3.There is movement within this piece caused by the curves of the meat as well as the underlying structure and tendons in it.
4. there is a bit of contrast within this piece, caused by the dark and light shades of the colors used.
5. The figure seems to be pointing slightly upward and to the right.
6.The focus in this work is mainly in the middle, because the image of the meat is so dominant within the painting. the movement in the painting goes upward and to the right. this is the main movement-for me-however there is more caused by the lines in the ribcage and such within the painting.

These are my answers to this specific Crit Card about this painting.