PICTURE ANALYSIS

Picture Analysis

Picture Analysis

It has often been made of the chromatic unity of this portrait, in which the red flesh tones, the red cape, the red camauro, and the armchair of red velvet against the backdrop of a red door create such a dramatic effect that, if the pope were to open his mouth, even his saliva would be blood red. This marvelously orchestrated profusion of crimson tints - sometimes, as in the cape, with cold reflections as if "lit by neon" - undoubtedly derives from the example of Titian, while the representation of the contrasting white gown certainly harks back to Veronese, the only sixteenth-century Venetian painter who knew how to handle this difficult "non-colour." A man of power, bolt upright, depicted in magenta, an aggressive and vital colour, that together with white symbolizes creation. The background that implies the vastness and quintessential beauty of his inheritance. His gesture is commanding and effortlessly secure in the loyal obedience of his followers. From his neck up however, his head is that of sophisticated gentleman, with a neatly curled wig and a fair complexion, implying his status, and a controlled expression of non-enthusiasm typical of the English gentleman. Riguad's portraiture of Louis XIV, who inherited the throne in childhood and was called the “Sun King” not only because of his extraordinary power, but also because he had made himself the center of aristocratic and intellectual life in France. His portrait of Louis XIV portrays the bizarre personality of a absolute ruler without the least hint of irony, although for us, his flamboyant pose is irrefutably comical. 

Portrait is a semi-autobiographical novel about the education of a young Irishman, Stephen Dedalus, whose background has much in common with Joyce's. Stephen's education includes not only his formal schooling but also his moral, emotional, and intellectual development as he observes and reacts to the world around him. At the center of the story is Stephen's rejection of his Roman Catholic upbringing and his growing confidence as a writer. But the book's significance does not lie only in its portrayal of a sensitive and complex young man or in its use of autobiographical detail. More than this, Portrait is Joyce's deliberate attempt to create a new kind of novel that does not rely on conventional narrative techniques.

Rather than telling a story with a coherent plot and a traditional beginning, middle, and end, Joyce presents selected decisive moments ...