Along the Way

Along the Way by Beverly Darline Soto

This painting is done in the existensialist manner because it portrays the world of the man in black at the far right corner of this painting. He looks upon three women and in doing so turns them into objects in his world. This is exemplified through the style in which the women are portrayed in. None resemble human bodies, just impressions of them. The women are essentially what he makes them out to be. Therefore, all the charachteristics he has drawn from them are reflected in their bodies. Their bodies are composed of geometric shapes and shades that do not match each other. The background of the painting and the surrounding abstract shapes are present to supplement his world. At the moment, he is at the center of his universe being as he is the looker. He still has his free will intact. However, due to the very geometric and far removed nature of his observations, it is evident that he is alienated from the world that surrounds him.

Along the Way was inspired by three original paintings:

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907, by Pablo Picasso

Le Chef D'Oeuvre ou Les Mysteres de L'Horizon, 1955, by Rene Magritte

Dinner at the Grand Palais, 1975, by Sir Howard Hodgkin