Researching the 'Most Haunted Paintings'

For this part of my initial ideas for our film trailer, I decided to look at different cursed paintings to gain some visual inspiration for one of our props- a drawing.  Here I will be ranking each painting by applying my personal thoughts and feelings for each one as well as mentioning the symbolism within them.

1. 'Hands Resist Him" by William Stoneham (1972)

PERSONAL- This portrait looks very eerie as the artist juxtaposes the calm composition with the ominous use of dolls. Personally, it expresses my deep fear of dolls as their porcelain-like appearance looks realistic than that of a real human being.

SYMBOLISM-

• The boy staring directly looking at the viewer is supposed to be a younger representation of the artist when he was five.
• The doorway is supposed to symbolise the divide between fantasy and reality
• The dolls represent the boy's guide or guardian to the alternate life or world
• The warm colours makes this painting look very innocent but really it isn't as the dolls standing displays a blank stare directly and indirectly at the viewer.

          'Resistance of the Threshold'
PERSONAL- this is a sequel of the previous painting.  By looking at it, it recalls controlas it shows the doll girl hanging on the wall with her face latching open, emphasising a grotesque feel for this painting.

SYMBOLISM- 

• The doll girl could symbolise oppression as she appears dead.
• The hands in the background symbolise control as it appears to be changing or damaging the doll girl
• The old man could be the artist himself and he could be implying his mental state.

   2.  'The Crying Boy' by Bruno Amadio
PERSONAL-  Similarly to the first painting, the boy appears frail and vulnerable as he expresses his sadness and sorrows. In my opinion, the painting looks almost harmless as there is no ominous message or symbols behind it.

SYMBOLISM- The little boy weeping could symbolise loss of innocence as well as the boy himself could be the artist's son. From these points, I could maybe illustrate a drawing that no one will suspect as evil or a bad omen.

  3. 'Sonii/ Princess Ruu' by unknown artist

PERSONAL- It looks calm because of its colours. when in gazed at for too long, it produced a disturbing image of her crying. I personally think this painting looks creepy because of its visual changes.

SYMBOLISM- The girl herself could be the artist herself and the sudden face change suggests a thin façade between good and evil illusions.

4. 'The Anguished Man'

PERSONAL- It looks very twisted, and it really does connote the pain of the man. its origins are very unsettling, as when I read it, it connoted a paranormal presence of its owner's house. This idea could be used for our trailer as our synopsis shares a similar story (a person is tortured mentally by a supernatural being.

SYMBOLISM- the bloody red colours almost implies blood as the artist could have used his own blood as his own palette to show the anguish and distress he feels mentally.

5. 'The Headless Man' by Laura P.
PERSONAL-  The painting looks very optimistic as it seems like a normal landscapek, but there is something unusual  within it.

SYMBOLISM-

• The wagon implies a significance in the painting; it is an object moved by the apparent ghost itself,
• The headless man suggests a tortured soul shown. He could be a former resident in the farm or possibly a Civil War soldier killed in a battle.