The Siesta

Frederick Arthur Bridgman was an American artist who studied art in New York. He later moved to Paris, where he was inspired by the Middle Eastern themes in Jean-Leon Gerome’s work. Bridgman began creating his own ‘oriental’ type paintings. His style is marked by bright colors, high contrast lighting, and painterly brushwork. The Siesta is a beautiful example of his colorful and exotic artwork. It also displays his use of lighting and contrast, especially in the area where the sunlight falls over the lounging woman. This painting has extraordinary dimensionality, with multiple layers used to pull together areas of the scene. The woman on the couch in the foreground, the railing beyond that, and the garden in the very background create an open space inside the painting.