This is Childe Hassam’s painting titled “Winter in Union Square.”
This is a picture of Union Square taken on September 9, 2010.
In Childe’s painting, the buildings in the background are farther away than the buildings in the picture. The building are much more bigger in the photograph than in the painting. The trees are much taller in the picture, which limits the visibility of buildings in the background. The pointed tower is also much more visible in the painting than in the picture. The painting seems to have been done from a higher position, while the photograph is a street view. The vanishing points are almost the same for the painting and photograph. The painting was done from farther away as there is much more ground painted than in the photograph. It wasn’t possible to go further back because of a blockaded building behind me from where I took the picture. There are still trees in photograph which is impressive considering that over the years more and more trees are being cut down to make room for more buildings. There is also still room for traffic. In the painting, there are horse-drawn carriages, while in the picture there are cars and buses. The picture shows a more traffic oriented place than the painting. Though the overall image has changed, the buildings in the background have stayed the same.
Sadia Chowdhury
This painting was done from a higher floor window. If you entered any of the department stores and climbed to the top floor you might have been able to view the fountain and some buildings in the painting. We will discuss in class how to determine if the artist is on ground level or not. You chose a tricky one. Nice Try.