Union Square 2- Mya Marshall

November 4, 2008 · Posted in Hassam's New York 

I chose to replicate Union Square 2 by Hassam.

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 I decided that I wanted to choose a painting of Union Square since I have so many memories there, and at one point in my life I regarded it as somewhat my second home. Considering my long history with the park, I figured that it would be easier for me to figure out where exactly the painting was created, whereas it would have been a lot more difficult in a place unfamiliar to me.

I found the picture a little harder to replicate than I had expected. It seems that Hassam was at a higher angle than I was while painting his picture, as his painting depicts a more bird’s eye view of the park. I could only get as high as the top floor in Filene’s Basement across the street. Also, looking at the perspective and vantage point of the painting, I noticed that the painting was at an off-center angle, while my photograph is at a more centered angle. In addition, the park has gone through so many changes and renovations over the years, causing it to look very different from today. The patches of grass are in different areas and broken up at different spots. It is difficult to see the patches of grass in my photograph, because of the density of the trees, and the increased number of them. 

At first I thought that Hassam’s painting was done a little later in the year, as the foliage on the trees is sparse, while in my photograph the trees are still full of leaves, but still having the shades of fall. Then I realized that the color of the grass and remaining leaves on the trees seems more like the color of new growth in spring. The time of day appears to be the same, but my photograph appears to have been taken on a rainier day, as the lighting in Hassam’s painting is bright and sunnier, as opposed to my picture, which is a lot grayer.

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