Kimberly Sears11/6/14SunbathIn 1924, Richard Edward Miller painted Sunbath. This painting is one of the many impressionist pieces by Miller. Prior to creating this work in particular, Miller spent many years studying in France. He studied and taught at the American Art Colony of Giverny. At the start of World War I, Miller returned to the United States and lived several years in Pasadena, California. He continued to paint there, especially in the home of his patron Eva Scott Feynes. However, his Sunbath piece was not created until after he moved from California to Provincetown, Massachusetts in 1917. He stayed in Massachusetts for the remainder of his career, which came to a close in 1943 upon his death. Like this piece, many of his works feature women lounging idly.The oil on board painting features the image of a woman sitting up on a chaise, wearing a dressing gown. The viewer (and painter) sees the woman from behind, but her face is visible because of Millers use of a mirror. Because of the viewpoint at an angle, the entire side of the womans face and front of her body is visible in the mirror. Without the mirror, only her back would be seen. In addition to using a mirror so the viewer can see the woman, another handheld mirror is used for the woman to see herself. She holds it at such an angle so that she would be able to see her face. The physics here is the law of reflection, which states that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. If a normal line emerged from the center of the large mirror, it would be very easy to see that the angle from the womans face and the angle from the mirror appear to be equal.Once again, physics and the visual arts cross paths, this time in the form of the role of mirrors in Richard Edward Millers Sunbath painting.