Close Looking: Ecuadorian Lithograph

A black and white print of two women, both wearing dresses and shawls over their heads. Neither is wearing shoes. The one on the left has her hands clasped, while the one on the right is cupping one hand up to her ear.

Here are some tips for doing this close-looking exercise yourself or with others:

  1. LOOK. Start by looking at the image for around 10 minutes. Don’t worry about writing anything down, yet – you just want to look at the art, first!
  2. DESCRIBE. Ask yourself what you’re seeing – are there figures present? How many? Is it a landscape or a portrait? Feel free to write your observations down. Be descriptive!
  3. FEEL. Think about how the artwork makes you feel. What does it remind you of? Why does it remind you of that? Use what you were able to see in earlier steps to here.
  4. INTREPRET. Finally, what do you think the artist is trying to convey?

It’s normal to leave with more questions than you started with!

Here are some observations about this image to get you started after you finish step 1:

  • The image is in black and white.
  • The clothesÌýworn by the women are almost identical to each other.

Here are some more questions to help guide you during steps 2 and 3:

  • How would it be different if the figures had different facial expressions? Different postures?
  • How would it be different if the image was colorful?
  • How would you describe the lines and shapes?
  • How would you describe the people in this work?
  • What would it feel like to be inside of this artwork?

Image credit: Galo Galecio, 1908-1993 (Ecuadorian), The Deaf Women, n.d. (20th century), lithograph. Gift of Anna C. Hoyt, ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Art Museum, University of Colorado Boulder, 57.199. Photo: Jeff Wells / ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Art Museum.