Description:

- In portraits, objects are depicted to portray social status. We can look at posture and objects in the image to show the class or interests of the subject. Every detail in the artwork is of importance.

- It is necessary to look into the traditional clothing of the time period. In the late 1930's and early 1940's, suits, ties, and hats (fedoras) were in fashion.

- It is a realistic portrait of Georgette Chen's husband, Eugene Chen.

- The subject matter is painted with the light source at the top right corner. The painting depicts a middle-aged bespectacled Chinese man who is bald.

- He is sitting on a rattan chair draped in a warm magenta cloth and holding a book with red cover between his fingers.

- The man is wearing a Chinese set of clothing, a grey long sleeved button shirt, which is similar to the traditional Chinese costume.

- The man is making eye contact with viewers with a serious expression upon his face. From his rather troubled and serious expression, the man looks like someone who pays attention to details but has a paranoid personality.

- From the book that he is holding, there is a possibility that the man is educated and wealthy.

- The background of the painting is empty and rather sketchy.

Style:

- Her style of painting is classified as Post-Impressionist.

- The colors used were mostly earthy colors like yellow ochre, dark brown, red et cetera that resemble those used by Rembrandt in his portraits.

Elements Of Art/Principles Of Design:

- Light and shade is very obvious, allowing the portrait to appear more realistic as well.

- However, the brush strokes tend to blur the facial features and hands, like portraits by Van Gogh. This painting, being painted in the Nanyang style, was also influenced by the Chinese brush painting techniques.

- The colors used on the main subject matter, mainly black and grey, are similar to that of Chinese brush painting in which those colors are used. Black used to create the folds of the shirt create great contrast, like black that used in Chinese brush painting.

- By doing this, the artist gets the viewer to be more focused on the foreground where the main subject matter is.

- This is actually a technique adopted by Chinese brush paintings. For example, an artist would paint a mountain and not paint clouds, therefore leaving a plain background, giving viewers space for imagination and at the same time, allow the painting to be visually appealing in its own way.

Meaning/Symbolism:

- As we know that Eugene Chen is a minister, we know that the Chen couple is not money-

minded. This may imply that he is humble.

- He is posed wearing glasses and a book. This suggests that he is educated, and places value on having an appearance as an intellectual or knowledgeable man.

- He has his hand on his forehead which shows he is contemplating.

- He sits in a wicker chair. This suggests that perhaps he enjoys admiring the outdoors or staying at home, as wicker chairs are not outdoor furniture and are typically only found in the home.

- He lays back on his chair showing his relaxed state and can show that he has a comfortable life, not under stress or pressure.

- It is done in a very mild hue of yellow ochre, possibly because the painter wanted to emphasize on the main subject matter in the foreground.

- Finally, please take note of the symbolism in the artwork including the traditional dress of the 1940's, Georgette and Eugene Chen's past, as well as the style of the artwork.

Artist background:

- Georgette Chen was born in Chang Li Ying. She was a Singapore painter known for her Post-Impressionistic styled oil paintings in the 20th century. She was also a forerunner of the visual arts in Singapore, who contributed to the birth of the Nanyang art style in Singapore.

- Being born into a rich family, Georgette was exposed to art at a young age. For most of her life in Paris, she would either be painting at home or visiting museums and roaming around the Parisian city everyday.

- In 1926, Georgette attended an American high school and studied art at the Art Students League of New York for a year. In 1927, she moved back to Paris as she felt that life in Paris suited her better and went home to study at the Academie Colarossi and Academie Biloul in Paris.

- Though her parents provided financial support for her art education, they had never fully accepted her being a full time artist as they felt that being an artist will starve for life and will never succeed in life.

- Georgette Chen continued to paint portraits of her husband post-mortem.

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