Thomas Eakins

I chose to evaluate Eakins' figure paintings because after first googling him, I saw all the emotion in his work.  It really drew me in right away, and I really appreciate when an artist has that power.  Thomas Eakins was an American realist painter, photographer, and sculptor of the modern era.  He like me, was from Philadelphia area.  Eakins uses a lot of darker earthy tones in his paintings.  His lighting is dramatic usually cast from one angle.  I believe this definitely adds to the emotion that it conveys.  His figures are so realistic and proportional.  They seem as if they are just frozen in time.  One of my favorites of his is a painting of a child playing with blocks.  The baby's face is so round that it makes me want to squeeze his/her cheeks!  After reading about him, this baby was probably his own or a friends because his subjects were usually people he knew.