Slaughter of Innocents

DESCRIPTION: This painting is split dynamically. The men, women and children are all within the lower left half of the painting. There are a lot of diagonal splits through out. There is the line between the men, women and children and the background, the line separating the sky and buildings. Also, amidst the huddled mass of flesh [people] there are 2 bold bursts of color with red and blue swaps of fabric. The foreground is in sharper focus and more vibrant color than the background, showing depth.

INTERPRETATION: All the men are very fit and in a dominating position over the women. The red fabric, which is wrapped around one of the women, shows a loud violence, also representing femininity as red is a more feminine color traditionally. The red is also pictured below the blue fabric, which is wrapped around one of the men. This positioning depicts, again, the mans dominance over the women in the piece. Also the men are all above the women, again showing dominance.

CONCLUSION: I think it is a very successful piece. Its violence and focus very clearly depict what is going on. I like the clarity in the foreground opposed to the background showing where the focus should be. I think the color very accurately portrays the dominance and control of power as well as the violence associated with red.