7;s dress is white, with a hint of blue, suggests that the woman is almost, but not quite pure.Another compositional style that creates despondency in the paintings is Sloan and Hopper’s line usage. Hopper uses strong verticals, horizontals, and diagonals. These lines form simple, large geometric forms. This preciseness gives the architecture a sense of depth and perspective. There is also a stark play of light and shadow in the architecture of the building. All of these elements make the building’s architecture extremely realistic. In contrast, John Sloan heavily uses curvy, S-shaped lines in Spring Rain, for example, in the trees and in the shape of the woman’s body. The path of the top lines on the park benches gives the painting perspective, drawing the viewer’s eye to the background. The background of the painting uses the technique of pointillism, the specific arrangement of paint splotches. This technique also helps to give the painting texture in the tree branches and leaves. Even though both painters use different line styles, both styles trigger similar emotional effects in the viewer. For example, Sloan’s contoured lines give the painting a sense of dim murkiness. Similarly, the seemingly unending straight lines of Summertime create a peculiar mood of coldness. In addition to each artist’s unique technique, Summertime and Spring Rain contain individual, stylistic elements that contribute to the somber mood of each painting. For instance, the weather differs greatly in each piece of artwork, but neither condition is pleasant. The umbrellas in Spring Rain, (along with the work’s title), indicate that it is a soggy, miserable day to be out in the park. In Summertime, there are many clues to imply that the weather is extremely humid. For instance, the curtain in the window is blowing in the air; however, the woman’s dress remains perfectly still. This suggests that...
