Dr. Norman Prinsky

English 1102 - Augusta State University

Notes and Questions on Francois Boucher’s Painting Madame de Pompadour and Edward Hopper’s Painting Automat (Ch. 4/”Setting” in Roberts’ Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, 9th edition)

Francois Boucher’s Madame de Pompadour

Look up Francois Boucher and also Madame de Pompadour in your collegiate desk dictionary. Boucher did several portrait paintings of Madame de Pompadour because of her importance in the France of her time. As implied by your collegiate dictionary, why was Madame de Pompadour so important in France? How does Boucher allude to the reason for this importance in this portrait painting of Madame de Pompadour (as he does in several other of his portrait paintings of her)? What can be guessed about Madame de Pompadour’s preference in coiffure through the word (as opposed to name) pompadour, which you should look up in your collegiate dictionary, including the etymology of the word as indicated by the dictionary? (How are Madame de Pompadour and Elvis Presley connected?)

1. Where can you find flowers in the painting? What kind of flowers are these? What is the probable symbolism of these flowers, relating to Madame de Pompadour’s life? What ideas are suggested by where the flowers are placed in the painting?

2. What might be the symbolism of the globe and where it is located, connecting to Madame de Pompadour’s life and most famous relationship?

3. How is Madame de Pompadour connected to music in the painting? What meanings might this connection have, relating to Madame de Pompadour’s life and times?

4. Other than the globe and flowers, what else is strewn on the floor, and what meanings might these objects suggest or imply, relating to Madame de Pompadour’s life and times, including where they are placed in the painting?

5. What kinds of cloth or fabric can be found portrayed in the painting? Where? With what implications or meanings? What might be any of the suggestions of the peculiar way Madame de Pompadour’s dress is partially draped over a particular object in the room?

6. (A) What might be the suggestions of the glass cases, what they contain, and what is mounted on them, in the background of the painting? (B) How large is the mirror, which is located in the room? Potential themes or ideas? (C) How are many of the objects in the room possessed of filigree, and what does this feature help convey about the setting?

7. What are the most prevalent colors in the painting, and how might these colors relate to what is being suggested about Madame de Pompadour, her life and times?

Edward Hopper’s Automat

Look up Edward Hopper and the word automat in your collegiate desk dictionary (unfortunately, a few collegiate desk dictionaries no longer include the word, so you may have to check it in an unabridged dictionary or on the Internet -- the word is not included in The American Heritage College Dictionary, 4^th ed. or the Encarta World English Dictionary; it is included in the Oxford American College Dictionary; Oxford English Reference Dictionary; Random House Webster’s College Dictionary; Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary,10th ed.; Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4^th ed.; Webster’s II: New College Dictionary). Crucial to understanding not only the whole setting but also the meaning of the brass rails just visible in the right corner of the painting is knowing what an automat is. Pictures of the automat: Number 1 ; Number 2 ; Number 3 ; Number 4

1. (A) How is the floor covering in the Hopper painting austere, especially in comparison to the floor covering in the Boucher painting? (B) How are the chairs in the Hopper painting austere, especially in comparison to the chair in the Boucher painting? (C) In the Hopper painting, how might the empty chair facing the coffee drinker suggest or imply any symbolism or meanings? (D) In the Hopper painting, what ideas or feelings are suggested by what covers the table (e.g., table cloth?)?

2. (A) What several details in the Hopper painting suggest or convey or imply the concept of cold temperature? (Don’t neglect what is located on the floor toward the left edge of the painting.) (B) How might cold temperature be symbolic or meaningful with reference to the paintings themes or ideas? (C1) With reference to a lighting fixture in the Boucher painting, is the lighting fixture in the Hopper painting plain or ornamental? (C2) In the Hopper painting, how might the reflected sameness in multiplication of the lighting fixture as well as the straight lines of the reflected lighting fixture be symbolic or thematic? (C3) What ideas or feelings are suggested by the curvilinear lines in the Boucher painting, and what contrasting ideas or feelings are suggested by the straight (often vertical or horizontal) lines of the Hopper painting?

3. (A1) In the Hopper painting, what is suggested about the environment or setting by the kickplate just visible on the exterior door, toward the bottom left edge of the painting? (A2) What function might be served by the two thin brass bars or rods on the exterior door, just visible toward the middle of the left edge of the painting? What implied ideas about the setting do these rods help convey? (B) With regard to interior decoration, how does the placement of the radiator convey the fanciness or plainness of the setting in the Hopper painting? (C1) How is the bowl of fruit emphasized in the painting? (C2) How does the bowl of fruit suggest a thematic contrast to the other elements or components of the setting in the painting? (D) With regard to setting, nighttime can be divided into dusk, evening, and night. Which one of these is conveyed by the view through the large picture window, and how does this aspect of setting relate to the themes or ideas or feelings of Hopper’s painting? (E) How does the large picture window in the Hopper painting compare or contrast with the mirror in the Boucher painting?

4. How does what each woman is touching with her hand compare and contrast, with regard to the symbolism of setting, in the Hopper painting and the Boucher painting?