Loneliness And Alienation - A Study Of The Compositional Forms Of Colville's Paintings

As a well-known Canadian painter in the 20th century,Alex Colville's painting style is famous for its melancholy and coldness.Colville presents a sharp image in his pictures with a distinct contrast between colors of black,white and gray,and also with clear structural lines.Through this use of contrast relationship,he expressed the sense of loneliness,and his balance of pictures also implies loneliness.In the meantime,he makes the application of unique brushstrokes and light to create the atmosphere of alienation.These factors in the visual form all reflect the sense of loneliness and alienation in modern life.This thesis focuses on the research and exploration on the relationship between Colville's painting composition and the sense of loneliness and alienation,as well as the concrete visual presentation of the sense of loneliness and alienation.Chapter one carries out the analysis on the sense of loneliness in Colville's paintings,which makes the elaboration on the connotation of "loneliness and alienation".Furthermore,it explores on the causes of the sense of loneliness by analyzing social background in Colville's time and his personal experience.Chapter two discusses the visual presentation of "loneliness and alienation" in the composition form of Colville's paintings by studying the four aspects of picture effect,contrast relationship,balance and atmosphere creation.Chapter three presents how Colville's influences the author's painting style on three aspects,the choice on painting theme,the application of occlusion techniques,and the creation of the sense of loneliness.