Elements of Design

Jack Levine
Medicine Show IV

The lines (image 1) in this painting are mostly curvy, such as found in the edges of the people’s bodies.  There are very few straight lines, except for a couple in the buildings in the background.

There are not many shapes (image 2) in this artwork because Levine was more interested in creating form.  However, there a couple of shapes in the background, due to the buildings and ferris wheel.

The color palette of Jack Levine is mostly dull.  He uses a variety of dull skin tones and browns.  The neutral colors, black, white, and gray are also prominently used in this painting.  There are very small accents of bright color used, as shown by the small pink, red, and orange squares.

The textures found in the pink circle are mostly soft and hazy, such as in the edges and clothing of the people.  The green circle shows textures that look broken or spotty.

The light values in this painting are circled in blue, and the dark values are circled in red.  The light values come from the light source that comes from the left side of the canvas.  The shadows are created by this same light source.  It is interesting that the shadows cover the faces of the people trying to sell the medicine.  It reinforces the idea that they are “shady” people.

The people on the stage in this painting show form because they have a light side and a dark side to their faces and bodies.  The change from light to dark across them makes them look three-dimensional, even though they are two-dimen
sional.

Space is created in the painting through the use of three different techniques.  Overlap (pink) is used where the main guy overlaps the women behind him and the large woman on the left overlaps the women behind her.  Vertical Placement (blue) is shown because the people in front are closer to the bottom of the painting than the buildings that are further away.  Change in size (green) is shown where the people on stage are bigger than the people that are down in the audience, further away.