Art Analysis.

La Belle Epoque II

-Terry Bradley

This particular painting depicts an attractive model, with the deliberate exaggeration of her beauty, reflected mainly in the colours involved.

Within the face of the painting, a thick black line makes a point of emphasising and defining the distinctive cheekbone of the woman. It is by this process of exaggeration that Bradley’s work emphasises a sharp, emotive view of the subject. The colour black used boldly in the cheekbone is reflected within the tattoos shown. It is obvious that the female in the painting is trying to be portrayed as a conventional ‘femme fatale’ character as she is performing a seductive pose; however the tattoos challenge this stereotype as these types of tattoos are conventionally found on males. Going against this ‘stereotype’ raises a level of enigma within the painting, therefore causing an interest between the public and the way in which Terry Bradley works.  

Bradley can explain why he used such shapes in the tattoos: ‘‘I work from my mind, incorporating culture from a varied amount of places, such as in the streets of Paris. I even find myself seeing a shape or a curve, whether it is in a street, or a shape of an object, and I will put it in my painting.’’

The character in the painting can be defined as French simply because ‘Belle Epoque’ is French for ‘Beautiful Era’. It can be assumed that Bradley was trying to incorporate the French culture, with his own twist of tattoos and colour to create what can be defined as ‘a peculiar beauty’. As there is a restaurant in Belfast called ‘La Belle Epoque’, this is obviously one of the reasons that he has named his painting this. He has tried to create a link between France and Northern Ireland, in his art.