MBTI Paintings

[proteanmix]

I went to the Smithsonian American Art Museum yesterday and this is a little game I played while I looked at the portraits.

I tried to pick paintings that I thought captured the essence of a certain type. I didn't do all of them because that museum is huge and I only had a couple of hours and I forgot to write down the names of the artists.

These are the artists in no particular order:
Abbott Handerson Thayer
William H. Johnson
J. Bond Francisco
Howard Finster
George Tooker
William Sidney Mount
John W. Waterhouse

ISFJ

ISJ (ISTJ?)

SJ

NF (INFP cause they're so ethereal?)

INJ

I don't know about this one but it appealed to me (NJ??)

 

[The Ü™]

ISFJ

I'll definitely go with ISFJ on this one in terms of theme. Are you trying to correlate the theme of the paintings or trying to determine the artist's type (or both)?

ISJ (ISTJ?)

Yes, the theme is very ISTJ; realistic, detailed, and quite literal. It captures the themes of the everyday world, which particularly appeals to the ISTJ.

SJ

I'm not sure, in terms of theme, this is xSFJ, I think. But in terms of the composition, I'm leaning towards ESFP.

NF (INFP cause they're so ethereal?)

Definitely captures the essence of INFP. I really love these two because of the sense of beauty and wonder. While they contain a Sensate aesthetic, I feel that they are both driven by Intuitive because, as you said, they have an ethereal rather than sensuous quality.

INJ

This is definitely NT, no question about it. It's more focused on the creation of worlds from a systematic point of view. It's not really about the emotion or people (although it is a bit small, so I'm probably missing things).

I don't know about this one but it appealed to me (NJ??)

[/QUOTE]

This probably has strong INFJ appeal. It's got an extremely mystical aura about it and I do believe it focuses on the emotions of the people.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

This probably has strong INFJ appeal. It's got an extremely mystical aura about it and I do believe it focuses on the emotions of the people.

I agree with a lot of what you say, but fwiw, this pic has about the least fascination for me. The reason is that it lacks subtlety. The emotional reactions are overstated and stylized, lacking an organic, human quality. This painting is 'telling' you everything. It does not engage or draw one into it the way an iNuitive would desire. I'd actually suggest SJ for this last one.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

This is a powerful INF- image

I don't really want to nail down P or J because my sister is a professional artist, is an INFP, and she relates to Van Gogh on a deep level. She wearies of the fluffed up assumptions that go along with INFPs. We both value the meat of the emotional world over the sentimental frosted fritters.

I would venture to describe this as the fire of Fi, and quintessential INFP

This is a frozen Fe, the deep world of the INFJ. (edit: i had to move this from my next post to articulate contrast of Fi and Fe or INFP - INFJ.

Here's another very INFJ portrait

 

[proteanmix]

I'll definitely go with ISFJ on this one in terms of theme. Are you trying to correlate the theme of the paintings or trying to determine the artist's type (or both)?

I'm not trying to figure out the artist's type, just the portrait's type.

I'm not sure, in terms of theme, this is xSFJ, I think. But in terms of the composition, I'm leaning towards ESFP.

I was leaning to SP with this artist. Many of William H. Johnson's paintings are of people working or people dancing. Here's one of his paintings I think is ISFP.

INJ

This is definitely NT, no question about it. It's more focused on the creation of worlds from a systematic point of view. It's not really about the emotion or people (although it is a bit small, so I'm probably missing things).

I don't see anything inherently NT about this one, but Ni is off the charts. It's looks so chaotic.

This probably has strong INFJ appeal. It's got an extremely mystical aura about it and I do believe it focuses on the emotions of the people.

I like how horrified the people look. Kinda macabre. Not as blatantly Ni as the one above.

I agree with a lot of what you say, but fwiw, this pic has about the least fascination for me. The reason is that it lacks subtlety. The emotional reactions are overstated and stylized, lacking an organic, human quality. This painting is 'telling' you everything. It does not engage or draw one into it the way an iNuitive would desire. I'd actually suggest SJ for this last one.

Do you think this looks Si or Ni?

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

Here I'd say ST. Representational, with a strongly T expression. Rather ESTJ in its delivery.

Do you think this looks Si or Ni?

I'd say very Si. It is based on a traditional story. It is a literal depiction of it containing all the expected reactions of the characters.

(something interesting I just realized: every painting i have chosen to represent a personality type is a portrait. There may be an element of INFJness to the concept of portraiture? )

 

[Kyrielle]

I don't see anything inherently NT about this one, but Ni is off the charts. It's looks so chaotic.

I'd agree about the Ni bit of this, of all the ones that have been listed in the OP, this one is the one that I can look at and feel like "Oh, I've been here before." It reminds me of my notebook pages when I get bored at work and start doodling and writing random things.

 

[The Ü™]

I agree with a lot of what you say, but fwiw, this pic has about the least fascination for me. The reason is that it lacks subtlety. The emotional reactions are overstated and stylized, lacking an organic, human quality. This painting is 'telling' you everything. It does not engage or draw one into it the way an iNuitive would desire. I'd actually suggest SJ for this last one.

Subtlety? Who says Intuitive types are subtle?

Since when do Intuitives have the desire to make other people think? I thought MBTI type was about the self!

And things of a stylized, fantastical nature are Intuitive, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[htb]

Slightly off-topic: I adore The Lady of Shalott.

On-topic: John Jude Palencar, a likely INTJ himself, favors a low depth-of-field, emphasis on line, and a consistent and precise application of paint -- very NT.

 

[cafe]

On-topic: John Jude Palencar, a likely INTJ himself, favors a low depth-of-field, emphasis on line, and a consistent and precise application of paint -- very NT.

Wow.

 

[raincrow007]

ISJ (ISTJ?)

Yes, the theme is very ISTJ; realistic, detailed, and quite literal. It captures the themes of the everyday world, which particularly appeals to the ISTJ.

Meh, I call bullshit on both of you. The image isn't that naturalistically rendered at all, nor is it obsessively detailed. The color scheme is excessively exaggerated, and the use of complimentary colors seems to be used to add a surreal and jangling quality to the seemlingly commonplace scene. [I mean, how often do you really see everyone randomly color coordinated like they're presented in this image? Look at the repetition of orange, for example]. Additionally, the placement of the magazine to substitute [at least visually] the woman's head isn't accidental; it's an intentional statement, especially in the context of the rest of the image.

Nah, not ISTJ -- it strikes me as too subtle for all of that.

I'd say INTJ, perhaps even ENTJ.

 

[The Ü™]

Meh, I call bullshit on both of you. The image isn't that naturalistically rendered at all, nor is it obsessively detailed. The color scheme is excessively exaggerated, and the use of complimentary colors seems to be used to add a surreal and jangling quality to the seemlingly commonplace scene. [I mean, how often do you really see everyone randomly color coordinated like they're presented in this image? Look at the repetition of orange, for example]. Additionally, the placement of the magazine to substitute [at least visually] the woman's head isn't accidental; it's an intentional statement, especially in the context of the rest of the image.

Nah, not ISTJ -- it strikes me as too subtle for all of that.

I'd say INTJ, perhaps even ENTJ.

I was thinking more in terms of the theme and what the painting is about. It's a very down-to-earth environment about everyday life. Despite not being very realistic in terms of composition, it certainly doesn't have much of a fantastical vibe.

And ENTJs are not subtle!

 

[raincrow007]

I was thinking more in terms of the theme and what the painting is about. It's a very down-to-earth environment about everyday life. Despite not being very realistic in terms of composition, it certainly doesn't have much of a fantastical vibe.

And ENTJs are not subtle!

The color scheme isn't subtle either. Complimentary colors cause maxium impact because they are opposites, and therefore create the most visual tension.

The subject matter is irrelevant. However, I'm curious -- what do you think this painting actually depicts?

I don't think it's as concrete as you think it is.

 

[proteanmix]

Meh, I call bullshit on both of you. The image isn't that naturalistically rendered at all, nor is it obsessively detailed. The color scheme is excessively exaggerated, and the use of complimentary colors seems to be used to add a surreal and jangling quality to the seemlingly commonplace scene. [I mean, how often do you really see everyone randomly color coordinated like they're presented in this image? Look at the repetition of orange, for example]. Additionally, the placement of the magazine to substitute [at least visually] the woman's head isn't accidental; it's an intentional statement, especially in the context of the rest of the image.

Nah, not ISTJ -- it strikes me as too subtle for all of that.

I'd say INTJ, perhaps even ENTJ.

I'm not very good at interpreting paintings or explaining myself, so bear with me.

What makes me think ISTJ (although I'm completely open to other opinions) is that this painting feels paranoid to me, like Si gone bad. A man is peering over his shoulder at the viewer. You can't see his eyes and his expression is disapproving and he's the only person's face you see completely. Everyone else's face is in profile or obscured. The woman with the magazine covering her face is anonymous. The people in this painting all seem interchangeable to me, like just faces in the crowd. The lady in stall 117 is clutching the guys elbow like she's holding on to something (Si). I noticed the vibrant reds and oranges on each person in the stalls but the color scheme seems monochromatic. This suggests to me that this painting needs such brilliant color to shake it loose of its banality. Everyone's body language is downcast and sullen. The whole painting feels like the aftermath of society gone wrong and these are ragged survivors. They're even in a waiting room with numbered stalls. How bureaucratic is that?!

 

[raincrow007]

I'm not very good at interpreting paintings or explaining myself, so bear with me.

What makes me think ISTJ (although I'm completely open to other opinions) is that this painting feels paranoid to me, like Si gone bad.

Where you see paranoia, I see control issues -- both from the artist's choice of style, as well as within the characters in the image itself. When I think of control issues, I tend to think of INTJ or ENTJ. Probably just my personal bias, though.

Although I could see your expanded interpretation as valid too.

 

[The Ü™]

I thought paranoia was more of a radically Intuitive trait.

I said SJ because the painting seems to depict something relatively ordinary and to me, it's rather uninteresting and boring -- much like most SJs I've come into contact with.

 

[Noel]

Zdzislaw Beksinski

 

[The Ü™]

That one's definitely Ni; I'm leaning toward INFJ. It's just so damn mysterious.

 

[cafe]

Darn! I think that's blood on those stairs. I'm going to have to choose between never knowing what is in there or dying a gruesome death. I'm not sure which is worse. Maybe it's not blood . . .

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

This strikes me as INTP for some reason...