The Venetian Blind

Description

A woman leans over a dark window blind, her pale body turned away as she raises one arm toward the slats. The blind angles across the upper half of the image, and a small patch of warm light appears beyond it. A dark table or sill fills the lower foreground. The bent figure and diagonal window create a close, inward-looking arrangement with little open space around the action.

About The Venetian Blind Reproduction

Cream, rose and muted skin tones contrast with deep brown-black surroundings. The window slats form a firm geometric band, while loose strokes soften the edges of the clothing of the woman. Light touches her back and arm before fading into the shadowed sill. The vertical placement of her body counters the diagonal and gives of the blind the composition a restrained sense of tension.

The image works best in a quiet room with minimal decor, where its dark tones can provide contrast. A pale wall will keep the figure readable, and a simple frame suits the spare arrangement. Display vertically with soft illumination across the pale form, avoiding glare on the dark window. Allow open wall around the image so the diagonal remains clear. The diagonal slats partly of the blind screen the brighter exterior, and the raised hand reaches toward their edge. The small warm opening contrasts with the dark panel.

The hand-painted reproduction

ByMuseum offers The Venetian Blind by Edmund Tarbell as a hand-painted oil reproduction on canvas. A pale wall will give the dark window scene definition; use soft, non-glare lighting.

• The slatted blind cuts a firm diagonal across the scene.
• Light picks out the figure against deep shadows.
• Painted individually in oil on canvas.
• Select the available size and presentation on this page.