This painting is by Henry Wallis created in 1856 titled "The Death of Chatterton". The painting itself is woven with connotative visual communication and the mise-en-scéne is in direct relation to my media product. Wallis' painting has the image of a hauntingly white Thomas Chatterton lying in a twisted position, with his arm falling to the floor. This broken up almost contortionist-like body languages connotes that the person is in fact dead. The vial on the floor close to his hand shows that he has committed suicide. Surrounding the man are visual elements that portray the man's state of mind, a poet, Chatterton's arm is next to shredded paper, perhaps poems, creating a notion that he was trapped by his work and discerned with it. The window allows brightness into an otherwise dark and shadowed room, acting almost as a metaphor for the viewer, as a window out to the world without sorrow or sadness. Through placing items in the surrounding, Wallis strategically conveys meanings and messages through connotations and denotations.
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