In 1822, Theodore Gericault painted this portrait, Insane Woman at a time in his life when he was interested in the mentally ill. Notice that the background of this piece is nearly black, and her clothes gradually lighten as you approach the face. Theodore believed that you could gauge a person's character by studying their face.
Notice how he frames the face in white, guaranteeing that the reader gets pulled into the woman's face. She doesn't engage the audience, rather, she looks to her right at the unknown located off the edge of the canvas. There is a strong, white highlight on her forehead that mirrors the white hat on her head. Her dark eyes, perhaps a metaphor for the darkness in her soul, echos the darkness in the background.
I like this piece, partly because of my interest in realism and portraiture, and partly because it is different. Most portraits of the time period show the subject sitting at a 3/4 turn toward the audience and dressed in their 'Sunday Best'. This woman is dipicted with her head tilted forward, her eyes to our left, and she is clothed in rags. Most often it was the wealthy who were painted, and yet the painter chose to paint someone condemned with insanity.
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