Selling out 1894

Editor: Here we have Augustus Edwin Mulready's 1894 painting, "Selling Out," crafted with oil paints. The figure almost seems to be emerging from the textures of the background. What do you make of the way the artist uses layering to create a sort of ethereal depth here? Curator: Let's consider the pictorial space. Notice how the backdrop seems to flatten, converging with the figure’s plane, challenging traditional perspectival depth? The ‘DAY BY DAY’ signage atop an earthy patch reads not so much as an exterior scene but perhaps also a canvas that melds both the inner world and literal surroundings of the main subject. Editor: So, it’s less about realistic depiction and more about creating a… structured juxtaposition? How does that flattening contribute to our understanding? Curator: Precisely! Consider how Mulready guides our vision. It moves past merely noting details of representation and instead focuses on dissecting structural interplay of tonal variation; consider dark against light and the use of textural contrast: how each device amplifies emotion without overtly expressing narrative cues. Editor: So you’re looking past the narrative elements of the flower seller toward the abstract relationship between all the shapes, colours and patterns? Curator: Precisely. Formalism prioritizes what can be appreciated by looking. Even the presence of roses amongst the advertised papers in the basket create a structural conversation around value in late nineteenth century London and creates dynamic visual interest. Does observing purely by shape, shade and texture change how one relates to this piece? Editor: Definitely. Before, I was so focused on her expression. Now, I see the subtle relationships between those planes of color. It’s fascinating. Curator: Indeed. The composition, through its use of compressed space and textural contrasts, presents a novel way to interpret depth that transcends beyond the physical limits implied from afar. Editor: Thanks, it's definitely changed the way I see the whole piece now.