Ways of Seeing

The image that I chose is a painting of a woman and two young children looking out of a window which seems mysterious as if there is more to discover about the painting.  The image falls right into the category that John Berger describes as mystification. Mystification confuses or puzzles an image. One of the children is holding some kind or box which looks ancient or at least dated. In the painting there are so many questions that are not answered. For an example, where are the people in the painting located and what are they doing? The picture keeps the viewers wondering about the era or time that the painting is portraying. The picture reminds the viewer of the period where people dressed in that certain kind of clothing that was displayed in the image. Since there are rarely people that dress like that in the 21^st century it mystifies the era.

I searched for the painting on the internet and it is obvious that it is not the original. I cannot help but wonder if the image that I see is actually the whole painting. The image could possibly be a small piece of a big image. For example, the women and two children could be looking out of a window in a busy town scene with lots of things going on. The individual who uploaded the image and put it on the web could have just cropped or zoom in on a particular image within the painting. If this is so, then that person used their influence; only allowing the viewers to see what they want them to see or think. With that said, as much as you know about the past, you can never experience the whole picture because you were not present in that era.  Without being able to relate fully with the past, the elements mystify the painting and makes the period seem distant.