Down to Details

Accuracy, detail, and precision...we see this painting and can easily envision the artist taking clear note of his surroundings while creating this piece. The background composed of soft green grass with a forest of trees tells us that there is a lot of land in which the horse can roam. In the direct focal point we see the stablehand most likely taking the upperclassmen's horse for a stroll along this large estate. The artist wants to draw our attention to this horse and does so by having the background greens less detailed and thus appearing blurrier; while in contrast we see very specific details on the horse even down to the way its skin covers the ribcage but still displays the structure. We too see such delicate details displayed in the way the mouth is open showing its teeth as well as the tedious technicalities such as the precision of each strand of hair layered for its tail. Although the stablehand is in the center with the horse, the artist chose colors strategically for the man in order to have him blend in with the background rather than stand out as the horse does. The stablehand is composed of muted shades that easily combine with those of the green background to then lead the focus onto the horse. The horse is formed by a mixture of creamy browns blended smoothly to give the illusion of its body's texture. The difference in color palette and details used for each object in this painting makes it undeniable that our attention should be laid upon the horse.

A generalization with some falsehood to it, but still intricately constructed is this painting. We see in the direct center an isolated zebra within the depths of a forest. We can most likely assume the zebra is simply wandering around in this habitat. The artist once again draws our attention to the central focal point of the painting not only by having the object be set dead-center, but by also having its color palette stand out. In the background we see a lot of dark green and brown tones that very much contrast with the white body of the zebra; so although the zebra has black stripes along its body, it still does not blend in. Along with the distinctive color differences between the leaves, branches and bushes making up the forest in comparison to the lighter color tone of the zebra, we see too how the objects' sharpness of details can lead our eyes to the center of the painting. The ground as well as the trunk of the trees are created from smooth strokes when the colors overlap rather than the clear-cut distinction of strokes on the zebra where its stripes change color from black to white. The difference in these brush strokes demonstrates once again how the artist wants to lead our eyes to the zebra rather than the surrounding information in the painting. By using various brushstrokes and colors, thus creating finer-line details for what is important rather than supplementary, the artist makes it clear to us that the zebra is our center of attention.