William Robinson's mixed medium masterpiece Verandah at night expresses the feminine form of his wife and her providence within their home, vantaged from the artists perspective looking outward towards the surrounding suburban scape shrouded in darkness. Initial impressions of the piece are subversively simplistic and without careful consideration as to the underlying visual narrative it is likely dismissed as plainly an aesthetically pleasing portrait showcasing common Australian experiences in the pleasantry of suburban sundown seclusion. Communication through the expressive use of visual elements such as; line, shape, colour, and form convey a distinct message of entrapment and repression as experienced by the female form from within her own domain. These visual…show more content… It reads as though she is awash with organic and irregular thought patterns much like the use of texture, line and form; however, it is entirely over shadowed by the outward shine of her orchestrated ornamentation of an existence. Reflecting back to seeming insignificance of the woman who now upon observation seems peculiar as she is seemingly at ease in her own home and yet still she is dressed in heels and a floral dress tying back to the balance and unity the form creates as it shares its stage with the arrangement of flowers.
William Robinson’s Verandah at night takes the quintessentially Australian and to some degree human experience of a shared moment of suburban solitude and through the subtle manipulation of visual elements establishes a clear pathway of artistic principles throughout the work. These principles effectively communicate a somewhat counterintuitive visual narrative that causes notable tension between the viewer and the established forms within the
