-Artist: Édouard Manet 

-Title: The Balcony 

-Medium: Oil paint 

-Provenance: Currently at the Musée d'Orsay 

-Source: http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/search/commentaire_id/the-balcony-7199.html

-Describe: Two women on either side of a man who is standing up. One woman sits and looks to her right, while another stands and stares slightly to the left. All three people are on a balcony. There is a small green object in the lower left corner which resembles a plant. Background is a blurred room. Each person in painting is dressed well. Man wears a suit and tie, woman on the left is holding a folded paper fan, wears a necklace and wears a white dress, and the woman on the right wears a white dress, hat of some sort and yellow gloves while holding a green umbrella. Colors throughout image suggest an uncomfortable and worsening mood. 

-Analyze: Sharp line on the balcony fence and the shutters located on the left of the image. Triangle shape made between the three people. Values of green throughout with lighter white on the women and white and black on the man. 

Smooth textures throughout  silky textures on the dresses of the women. Negative space in the dark background. Asymmetrical balance. Emphasis on the two women.

-Interpret: The sharp lines on the balcony's fence represents the almost too secure feeling of the women; they are safe but they are being held back. The triangle shape amongst the three people shows unity, but represents the man, who is the head of the triangle, as a superior. The shades of green throughout give an uneasy and nauseous tone. The man fades into the background showing he is only halfway there, figuratively and spiritually. The women in white look kind yet angry or frustrated, showing they have endured something unfair or infuriating. The background fades into negative space, projecting a theme of "never looking back" because what is behind you is gone. 

-Judgement: I do feel drawn in and attracted to the subject of this painting. It is easy on the eyes and expresses lots of feelings at once, a mood of elegant distress, and it tells multiple stories. It is visually interesting and expertly painted and has used not only human emotion but color and composition to it's advantage in successfully communicating it's message.