My 3 Favourite Images: Styling

Narrowing down my choices of paintings to just three was extremely hard. I found that almost all of the images I had initially chosen had great merits as to why I should choose them as my final piece however the following are the ones that I feel would be the best for this particular styling project due to character numbers to themes and aesthetics.

#1
'The Three Witches from Macbeth'

The Three Witches from Macbeth, D. Gardner (1775) NPG

Pros

• Intense lighting could be achieved in a studio setting.
• Only three characters.
• Interesting colour palette, very dark.
• I also like the composition of the image, very much at the front of the picture plane.

Cons

• Costumes would proved difficult to not look like a  'halloween' costume.
• If the lighting wasn't quite right the atmosphere would be all wrong (key to the image)
• Hard to achieve the paintily effect of the image.

#2
'The Arnolfini Portrait'

The Arnolfini Portrait, Jan Van Eyck (1434) NG

Pros

• The subject matter is fascinating.
• The symbolism and colour themes are the key and could be transferred to other periods.
• The composition is complex in it's embellishment but simple for the characters but very powerful.
• I feel that it could be re-interpreted to a different era in a very interesting way. Not purely as simply a 'copy' but as an image in it's own right.

Cons

• There is a lot going on in the image and a lot of props to source.
• The setting needs to be right but this could prove problematic.
• The colouring needs to be spot on to make the image work in another era.

#3
'The Beach at Trouville'

The Beach at Trouville, Monet (1870) NG 

Pros

• Only two characters.
• Simple setting on the beach.
• Minimal props.
• Costumes can be source from the archive
• Parasols already owned

Cons

• Setting would never be exact.
• Weather/ Clouds would be very hard/ impossible to get just right on the day of the shoot.
• Outdoor/ Public settings are hard to orchestrate.
• Hard to achieve paintily effect.
• Cannot artificially light so the correct time of day would have to be waited for. Allowing only a very small window of time to get everything right.