Color in the Nun by Otto Dix Thesis

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Color in the Nun by Otto Dix

Otto Dix's painting, "The Nun," is a striking piece of visual art. This painting evokes a sense of emotion in the viewer for a number of different reasons. The three figures rendered in the work are decidedly abstract, including the titular nun and the two figures on either side of her. Additionally, the artist's sense of depth and perspective are highly unusual, characteristics which aid in the work's abstract nature. Yet the most singularly remarkable thing about this work of art is its coloring. Many of the techniques that Dix utilized to make this work noteworthy are based on the elaborate colors utilized within the painting.

Perhaps the most eminent aspect regarding the color scheme that the artist employed in "The Nun" is the shading and tones that are applied to the nun herself. Her preeminence in this work is not only underscored by her size in comparison to the other figures (the nun is rendered so large that her hands and her neck on up occupy most of the painting, whereas the other figures are so small that their entire bodies fit comfortably on either side of her), but also by the stark colors with which she is portrayed. Specifically, the dark tones of her headdress or cape form the backbone of this work of art. Nuns typically dress in all black and in this regard Dix's nun is no different. Still, the black color found at the base of her neck is much more stark than the upper parts of the garment, which are lightened a little with white and shades of gray. Nonetheless, these stark, black colors characterize the work as a whole immensely and give the viewer a brooding sense of gravity when looking at this work. This fact is of immense importance in understanding this painting, since the nun is the most important figure in it and the most visibly noticeable color the artist uses to portray her is black. The result is an ominous, foreboding feeling.

That sense of darkness and gravity characterizes the painting in part because of the abstract nature of Dix's rendering which seamlessly blends the top of the nun's head into a series of geometric shapes.

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Those shapes are arranged in such a way that they resemble stain glass tiles such as might be found in a house of worship in which the nun is situated. Still, like the cloak the nun herself wears these stain-glass tiles are remarkable for their dark, brooding color. That which is closest to the nun's crown is the darkest, while extending outwards in an easterly direction those tiles lighten to incorporate shades of gray and white, some splotches even resembling purple in their various hues.

Still, these dark tones are greatly contrasted with the chromatic rendering of the nun herself. While her clothes and the stain glass domicile that houses her are mysteriously and ominously dark, her face and hands -- which are all one can see of her body -- leap alive in a multitude of colors ranging from red to green. There is still a fair degree of austerity imbued in her skin as the foundation of her coloring appears to be a wan, ashy gray, which gives her a listless and shadowy presence. Yet there is no mistaking the explosion of color that adorns that staid face and the pious hand that adorns her breast, her heart, as though she is in deep contemplation or perhaps in an act of prayer. The color is perhaps heaviest beneath her eyes with deep reds and scarlet orange tones that bestow her with a look of jaded hope. In deed, the contrast of the brightness of her face and hand with the darkness of her cloak and the stained glass tiles presents a dichotomy of hope and despair, rejuvenation and resignation.

Finally, it is interesting to see how the usage of color reflects the theme of opposition that is reflected in the nun and her coloring when applied to that of the two characters on either side of her. The figure on the right is the larger of the two, and appears to be a naked woman. The most fascinating aspect of her colorization is….....

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