Museum Visit.

Isabella Stewart Gardner in Venice,1894
Anders Zorn.
In the Gardner Museum Zorns painting captured my attention with his use of color with which he creates great drama.By painting Isabella in a white dress amid a back drop of a darkness he allows her figure to dominate the composition.His brushstrokes are pronounced and almost hurried, a has mastery of this process is evident. His use of color sets a wonderful stage for mood and emotion.The red tones added to the browns surrounding the figure set a wonderful balance in relation to the red flower in the bottom right corner. Drama is added to the composition when he paints Gardners arms stretched horizontally and then balances this line beautifully with the vertical of her necklace.Hurried strokes of the dress receed as he uses finer marks to define her face.The green color on the floor allows ones eye to meander to the scene behind the figure. Zorn succeeds in drawring the viewer in to view his central subject and easily has us believing she is the star of a play re-entering the stage to collect accolades.
In comparison viewing the painting on line dulls the color taking with it the vibrancy of the white dress and the drama created by placing it atop the darkened background.The reds in the top left and bottom right corners look muted compared to the real painting. When looking at the online picture some details are excentuated,such as the doors to her left and right. I can see Gardners hands resting on glass or mirror,something I did not notice at the museum.There are clear differences viewing on line and in the museum. The richness of color and texture does not translated on line neither did I experienced a connection and emotion as I did viewing the painting at the museum. Zorn achieves movement and mood in the painting which is lost to the viewer when looking on line.