The Artist’s Wife and His Setter Dog c. 1884 - 1889

Editor: Here we have Thomas Eakins’ painting, "The Artist’s Wife and His Setter Dog," estimated to have been completed sometime between 1884 and 1889. It is an oil painting and depicts a woman in a light blue dress sitting in a chair, with a dog lying on the floor beside her. It all seems to be composed using a subdued color palette. What visual elements stand out to you? Curator: Indeed. Note the stark contrast of textures. The smooth satin of the dress plays against the shaggy fur of the setter and the rough weave of the oriental rug. Eakins manipulates the very materiality of the paint to achieve this. Observe also how the planes of the composition direct our gaze - the strong diagonals created by the chair back, the line of the dog’s body, and the fold of the curtain all converge subtly near the sitter’s face. Have you observed how this brings into focus her melancholy expression? Editor: I see it now. The convergence of the planes definitely accentuates her expression, and the contrasts make her even more delicate. The way the light illuminates her also contrasts the dark shadowy corners. But I don't understand why? Is this contrast just technique, or does it imply something more about their relationship, perhaps? Curator: Consider this as a Formalist: it is a painting *about* painting. Eakins has employed a precise structure. Every line, every texture is carefully considered not for narrative, but for visual impact and arrangement. Even if the effect, in sum, feels emotional. He does not sentimentalize. Look again: he creates the image by use of the objective relations of line, color and form. Whether that mirrors his relationship is in fact *outside* the painting. Editor: So it's less about what it literally shows and more about how it's put together visually? I never would have thought to consider it this way. Thank you. Curator: Precisely. And in understanding its composition, we are in effect coming closer to understanding how this painting speaks—purely on a level of forms, textures, and values.