A COMPARISON: THE HATCH FAMILY vs. THE AMERICAN SCHOOL

A COMPARISON: THE HATCH FAMILY vs. THE AMERICAN SCHOOL

The subject of the Paintings

The American School shows five artists having a conversation in a studio. The two artists in the foreground are painters since they are holding paint and brushes. The man on the third left seems to be drawing something. The dress code symbolizes an era long gone.

The Hatch Family is a portrait of a family, and from the name of the painting, it shows that it is Hatch Family. There is an older man with white hair, showing he is the oldest and all the others are his children and grandchildren. There are other adults and children. In total, the portrait shows three generations.

Content of the Paintings

The American school shows a studio. This indicates that the figures in the picture are all artists, and they are engaging in a conversation. The person in the foreground, to the left, seems to be the one in charge of the conversation since he is the one showing the second left person a work of art. The others are all looking to the left to the person on the left, considered to be Benjamin West.

The Hatch Family is a portrait of the hatch family. The man sitting on the right is considered as Hatch himself, holding his wife. To the right, the older man with white hair is Hatch’s father, with his mother next to the father.

Context of the Paintings

A look closely on The Hatch Family shows the room, as well kept and the family intact. This shows prominence. In reality, Hatch was a Wall Street broker and also the president of the New York Stock Exchange for some time. The picture depicts wealth that wall street business leaders have and their lifestyle. The carpet, walls, curtains, table, and art on the wall shows wealth.

The American School shows artists in a studio. During these periods, many people loved art and artists were celebrities and famous people. Even today, the most famous artists are those during such periods in the 15^th to 17^th centuries. The artists are sharing ideas, showing many artists during such times worked together.

The style used in the Paintings

The Hatch Family has a realistic style, with the family having a moment for a perfect picture. The entire family symbolizes wealth, and in real life, wall street traders tend to wear suits as depicted in the painting. The painting also uses representational style with the carpets, curtains, chairs, and desks being things we use in our daily lives. The way the family is seated, the husband and wife being next to each other, and children playing looks like a setup, making it an idealized style.

The American School similarly uses a realistic style. The clothes the artists are wearing depict the form of dressing during the 18^th century. Besides, all the artists have the same hairstyle, which shows a form of fashion during those times. Clothes that the American school is a form of American culture for a certain period, thus the painting has cultural style in it. The curved head at the background of The American School looks takes on abstract style, since it is a human head.

Formal Analysis

Unity: The Hatch Family uses color and space to create unity. The use of black color for Hatch, his father and their wives creates unity. Also, space in the room and the way the family have arranged themselves creates unity, making the picture look beautiful. A look at the curtains in the background gives the impression that there is a pattern followed in folding the curtains, giving it unity.

Pattern: In The Hatch Family, the carpet has a pattern, created by the repetition of an image over and over again. The front of the table also has another pattern that stands out.

Space: The Hatch Family looks as if they are in the background of the painting. This is captured in the painting by using space between where the carpet starts and where the carpet is hidden by the table and the chairs they are sitting on. Space is used to give the distance between the foreground and the family seated in the background.

Forms: The American School has a three-dimensional sculpture of the head of a person.

Emphasis: in The American School, there is a lot of emphasis on the second left artist. Light seems to light his clothes more than the other artists. Also, all the other artists are looking in his direction, making him the centre of the discussion going on within themselves.

Shape and Form: In The American school, the second left artist is holding a canvas for painting, while the third left is holing a drawing board. The artist on the right side is seated in front of a painting canvas. These canvas and drawing boards give the shape and forms used by artists during their period.

Comparison of the Paintings

The American school and The Hatch Family have used some similar elements. For instance, both have used forms in the painting. The cast in both paintings are lovers of art, and both have some paintings hanging on the wall for The Hatch Family and one of the cast for The American School. Both of the paintings in the casts’ possession are three dimensional.

Both of the paintings have also used the effect of color, with The Hatch Family incorporating hue using black for the clothes of the seniors and white for the children. The American school has used bright colors for the cast to add some intensity in the background.

Texture is used severally. In The American School, for example, texture is used to show the softness and care taken by the cast for their hair. The socks that all the artists are wearing have a soft texture. In The Hatch Family, the table has a texture of soft but rough surface, with the designs depicted at the sides of the table.

Both paintings have used all types of shapes, such as squares or rectangles for the paintings the cast have in their studio and library, and tables that are rectangle in shape.

A significant difference between the paintings is the use of space. The Hatch Family has a spacious room, as depicted in the large unoccupied area at the foreground. The American School, in contrast, has a small space for the studio. The artists are occupying almost all the space, with the table at the center of the studio.

The medium used in the Artworks

The Hatch Family is a painting using oil and canvas. Similar to the American school. In both paintings, there are also painted works, with The Hatch Family having a painting pinned on the wall and The American School having the second left artist holding a painting. This implies that the painting in the artwork and the final painting itself were made of canvas. During the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the canvas was made of wood with a cloth, either linen or cotton, stretched on the wood. Oil is then used in painting the canvas.