Beginning of Essay
The portrait. A single person immortalized forever on canvas. At first glance, you only see the subject. With a more analytical eye, though, you not only see the image but you begin to hear the voice of the painter and of his time. This is what I hope to do, t ....

Middle of Essay
.... of the background. He has on a black suit, brown vest, and white shirt, as well. These colors working together allow you to make certain assumptions about him. He looks like a working man, which he was. “Louis-Francois Bertin (1766-1841), was one of the great leaders of the French upper middle class, a businessman and a journalist” (Rosenblum, 134). This would explain the one striking color in the piece, the red. Bertin is sitting on a red cushion, red being a color classically associated with royalty. This could be a commentary on Bertin’s life on a whole. His journal, the Journal des Debats was a strong supporter of liberal journal ....