If this man was being written about in literature there would be a definite described state. He could be seen as tired or sick, or hungry. This man could be seen in so many different opinions and states. The idea of the man being drunk is inconclusive. My interpretation of this picture is a man with a white and black cloak with long hair. (111) He talks about the Regent being drunk, but there is no evidence to support this. He says Hals must almost seduce us into believing that we know the personality traits of the men and women portrayed. Berger talks about how the painter must seduce the viewer into seeing what he or she wants them to see. It is left up in the air for the viewer to make any conclusion he wants, where in Berger gives the reader straight forward evidence through description as to what is happening in the picture.Īgain Berger contradicts himself in talking about the one Regent in the picture on page 111. The artist cannot get his point across to the viewer though the painting. Again, the painting proves to lack description and thought. It shows action and thinking, which the painting doesn t. This description is amazing, because reading this, one can easily picture this scene in their head. The two figures that appear are still apart of a violent noise and light of the invasion, ( 132). Berger s says this painting depicts five men sitting around their usual table, telling stories, gossiping, boasting of what one day the will do, counting money. But through Berger s description a reader or viewer can see much more. In this picture, to the naked eye, all the viewer would see is group of men in a dimly lit room. From the picture all I saw was a girl laying in bed, nothing more.Īgain Berger describes Caravaggio s The Calling of St. From this writing I can see this girl in the bed and almost feel what she is thinking. This explanation also enables a reader to relate to the writing. The writing paints this picture in the readers mind, much better than the actual image. ( 129) From this painting I could not see any of this. The curtain of the bed which Hendrickje lifts up her hand, marks the threshold between daytime and nighttime. This complicity includes both retinence and abandon, day and night. He writes there is a complicity between the women and the painter. When I look at this painting I see a young woman looking up at something from her bed. Literature would be able to describe these people and possibly establish relationship and feelings, something art and pictures cannot do.Īnother example, that writing explains much more than a picture is Berger s On Rembrandt s Women in Bed. Any other conclusion a reader would make would be built on circumstance and not evidence. The viewer can see five people and describe what they look like, but he cannot dig any deeper. Here he is saying by looking at the picture, there aren t many valid conclusions one can make. He says It is not possible to produce circumstantial evidence to establish what there relationships were, (110). Berger is talking about the sitter in a painting by Frans Hals. These two descriptions are important in learning about the character, thus literature is more precise than images.īerger s also states that paintings leave the reader to make many conclusions. A picture cannot significantly show someone being jolly or good hearted. This description is something a picture can not describe. On page 225, DuBois describes a child, he says Thenie was on hand early ,-a jolly, ugly ,good-hearted, who slyly dipped snuff and looked after her little bow legged brother. A writer s words are stronger than the stroke of an artist.Īn example of this could be from W.E.B Dubois s Of the Meaning of Progress. He will leave the reader with a picture in his head of what he is describing. A good author will also paint his own picture by words. By doing this the author can get his point across and the reader can hopefully relate to him. He does this by describing things, offering opinions, and making conclusions. An author s job is to show the reader his point of view. When a reader reads literature it is easy to feel what the author is writing about. This can be proven after reading Berger s descriptions of paintings in Ways of Seeing and also reading parts of literature written by W.E.B Dubois. Literature lets the reader feel what the author is thinking, not just see it as you would in a painting. Literature has been the focal point of all modern learning. In this respect images are more precise and richer than literature, (Ways of Reading, 106). John Berger makes a bold statement in saying No other relic or text from the past can offer such a direct testimony about the world which surrounded other people at other times. Pictures Don t Always Paint a Thousand Words
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