Portraiture
by Julie Corey Morrow
A THESIS Submitted to the Graduate Faculty In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
of Master of Applied Art
Montana State University
© Copyright by Julie Corey Morrow (1950)
Abstract:
The first part of this thesis Is a discussion of portraiture in general, and a history of portraiture as a
specialized field of art.
The period covered extends from approximately 1000 B C to the present day. The amount of material
is vast, therefore, though of equal importance to painting, portraiture in sculpture must be omitted.
Apart from the earliest expressions, which were in sculptural form, and covered in Chapters I and II,
this thesis will be confined to painted portraits.
The second part of this thesis concerns the painting of four portraits of professors recently retired from
Montana State College. It is a discussion of the problems encountered, and the methods and reasons
employed in their solution. PORTRAITURE
Toy
JULIA COREY MORROW
A THESIS
Subm itted to th e G raduate F a c u lty
in
p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t o f th e req u irem en ts
f o r th e d eg ree o f
M aster o f A p p lied A rt
at
Montana S ta te C o lleg e
Approved:
_____________
H eagf M ajor D epartm ent
Bozeman, Montana
J u n e , 1950
/M i?3 L p
C M9’
2
TiBLX Of CONTENTS
- Xi
Abetraet o f the Thesis ................................................
Aa Introduction to Portraiture
..............................
Mexico
...............................................................................
Aa Xxample o f Portraiture o f th is Period
Analysis o f a P ortrait o f th is Period
Oreek and Roman P o r t r a i t s ..........................................
Flemish, Dutch, Oermaa and Spanish Painters
Examples o f Portraiture of th is Period . .
. .
Examples o f Portraiture of th is Period . .
. .
Analysis of a P ortrait of th is Period . . . .
The English School .............................................................
Examples o f Portraiture of the English School .
Examples o f Portraiture of the English School . .
Analysis of a P ortrait of the English School . .
Painting In Prance ...........................................................
Examples o f Portraiture of th is Period . .
. .
Examples o f Portraiture of th is Period .
. .
Examples o f Portraiture of th is Period . .
. .
Analysis o f a P ortrait of th is Period
. . .
Analysis of a P ortrait of th is Period .
. .
Portrait Painting in the United States of America
Examples o f American Portraiture ..............................
Examples o f American Portraiture ..............................
Analysis o f a P ortrait of the American School .
Painting Tour P ortraits .................................................
Miss Leora Hapner .............................................................
Photograph o f Miss Hapner1s P ortrait ........................
Mrs. Beatrice Freeman Davie ..........................................
Photograph o f Mrs. Davis' P ortrait ........................
Mr. Louie Howard ............................................................
Photograph o f Mr. Howard's P ortrait ........................
Mr. William Coblei^x ......................................................
Photograph o f Mr. Cobleigh's P ortrait . . . .
D efin ition s o f Terms ......................................................
Literature Consulted ......................................................
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ABSTRACT OP THB THESIS
The f i r s t p a r t o f t h i s t h e s i s i s a d is c u s s io n o f p o r t r a i t u r e in
g e n e r a l, and a h i s t o r y o f p o r t r a i t u r e a s a s p e c ia liz e d f i e l d of a r t .
The p e rio d covered e x ten d s from ap p ro x im a te ly 1000 B C to th e p re s e n t
day. The amount of m a te r ia l i s v a s t , t h e r e f o r e , though o f e q u a l im port­
ance to p a in tin g , p o r t r a i t u r e in s c u lp tu re must he o m itte d . A nart from
th e e a r l i e s t e x o re s s io n s , which were in s c u lp t u r a l form , and covered in
C h ap ters I and I I , t h i s t h e s i s w i l l he c o n fin e d to p a in te d p o r t r a i t s .
The second p a r t o f t h i s t h e s i s co n cern s th e p a in tin g o f fo u r o o rt r a i t s o f p r o f e s s o r s r e c e n tly r e t i r e d from Montana S ta te C o lle g e . I t i s a
d is c u s s io n o f th e problem s e n c o u n te re d , and th e methods and re a so n s em­
p lo y ed in t h e i r s o lu tio n .
*
4
AN INTRODUCTION TO PORTRAITURE
P o r t r a i t u r e l a a s p e c ia liz e d and lim ite d f i e l d o f a r t , and f o r th e
p u rp o ses o f t h i s t h e s i s , only th o se a r t i s t s o r sch o o ls o f a r t which have
c o n c e n tra te d on th e p o r tr a y a l o f th e human fa c e w ill be c o n sid e re d .
It
i s tr u e t h a t many a r t i s t s made im p o rta n t c o n tr ib u tio n s to th e p o r tr a y a l
o f em otion and c h a r a c te r in th e human f a c e , b u t t h i s was o n ly one f a c to r
in th e t o t a l im p ressio n which th e y sought to a c h ie v e .
These a r t i s t s have
been in c lu d e d to the e x te n t in which t h e i r work c o n trib u te d to the
developm ent o f p o r t r a i t p a in tin g .
My own i n t e r e s t in p o r t r a i t u r e i s due, p r im a r ily , to my i n t e r e s t in
p e o p le , and to my a b i l i t y to " f e e l" a p e r s o n a lit y .
This a b i l i t y I cannot
d e s c r ib e , o th e r th a n to c a l l i t a s e n s i t i v i t y to o th e rs such as good
p h y s ic ia n s and a c to r s h ave.
to a c tin g .
P o r t r a i t p a in tin g , to me, h a s a s im i l a r i t y
The a r t i s t p r o j e c t s h im s e lf in to th e p e rso n he i s p a in tin g ,
becom ing, te m p o ra rily , th a t p e rs o n .
He knows o r re c o g n iz e s , through h is
f e e l i n g s , th e sim ple o r complex p e r s o n a lit y o f h is s i t t e r , h i s shallo w n ess
o r depth o f c h a r a c te r , h is s e r io u s n e s s , warmth o r c o ld n e s s , h i s dom inating
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o r s u b tle n e s s , a s th e c ase may be.
C h a ra c te r re a d in g i s
n o t d eterm in ed by th e shape o f the n o se , o r a rc h o f th e eyebrow s, i t d e a ls
w ith th o se in ta n g ib le s which most fa c e s su g g est w ith o u t d e fin in g .
How does th e p o r t r a i t p a i n t e r e x p re ss h i s f e e lin g s and im p ressio n s o f
th e p e rso n he i s p a in tin g ?
A f te r " fe e lin g " h i s s u b je c t e m o tio n a lly , and
h a v in g keen p e rc e p tio n o f th e s i t t e r s movements, shape and f e a t u r e s , he
must t r a n s l a t e a l l t h i s onto canvas in p a t t e r n s o f c o lo r , l i n e and v a lu e s .
T h is must r e s u l t in a p le a s in g co m p o sitio n , a u n if ie d w hole.
To produce
5
a harmonious whole, the a r tis t paints so that a l l the various parts
o f the picture develop together.
Each color, mass, value and lin e has
an e ffe c t on a l l other parte, and th eir rela tiv e values and Inter-relation
ships give the Illu sio n of form and dimension.
2ke personality of the s it t e r , a fter the painting Is completed, must
he apparent to the beholder o f the p o rtra it.
Painting from memory Is as
necessary as painting d ir e c tly , for memory omits n on -essen tials.
The
a r tis t should also be so fam iliar with h ie to o ls that the use of them
does not con stitu te a problem.
Por me personally, the human face as a subject for painting Is more
in terestin g than, fo r instance, s t i l l - l i f e , landscape, or abstract d eslgi.
The photograph Is not an alternative fo r painting. In the same way
that the movie i s no substitute fo r the theatre, or a te le v isio n symphony
performance fo r a concert in Carnegie Hall.
Each medium has I ts dis­
tin c t and d ifferen t contribution to make, and the product In each case
should not only r e fle c t the nature of the
subject, but should be a work
o f art In I t s e l f .
Painting Is a means of expressing an a r t i s t ' s experiences, and so
there are as many ways of painting a portrait as there are a r tis ts .
Each
new portrait that an a r tis t does i s also a d ifferen t concept from the la s t ,
as i t presents new problems.
Painting, as a medium of communication,
reveals not only the a r t is t 's thoughts, personality, emotions, but also
h is Impressions o f h is subjects.
Just g ettin g a lik en ess does not con stitu te a good p o rtra it.
Un­
fortunately, most people want only a fla tte r in g lik en ess, and are not
6
q u alified to appreciate a work of art.
Another d iffic u lty that presents
I t s e l f In p ortrait painting Is the Im possibility o f pleasing a l l the
friends and r ela tiv e s who f e e l that they have a proprietary In terest In
the s it t e r , and therefore in the p ortrait.
I f a work of art i s to be
created, i t Is e sse n tia l for the portrait painter primarily to please
him self in h is Interpretation of the subject.
That the c lie n t must also be considered i s Important because h is or
her preferences may lead to new Ideas of concept, color, or composition.
In placing the model, the p r o file generally con stitu tes the most decora­
tiv e view, but the three-quarter view i s usually the most satisfactory
for showing head construction and revealing character.
I b elieve that the e ffe c t o f lig h t on the s it t e r requires the great­
e st attention; masters such as Clouet, Holbein, Da Vlncl and Rembrandt
were much concerned with th is problem.
It i s by the judicious use of
lig h t and shade that mass, form and color can be captured sig n ifica n tly .
Some a r tis ts prefer f u ll lig h t, some l e t the lig h t f a l l to accentuate the
modeling of the face, while some prefer the lig h t to be concentrated on
one part.
These manipulations allow the bringing out or suppression of
d ifferen t ch a ra cteristics, and should vary according to the different
requirements of each s itte r .
Light and shadow on the face and body also
brings out the modeled form.
A choice of clothing Is of importance, particularly as to color,
for different colors bring out different q u a lities of the fa ce, and vary­
ing moods.
The background can be compared to a musical accompaniment,
whose rela tiv e value accentuates the form o f the theme, and adds strength
7
and b e au ty to th e com p o sitio n .
The s iz e and f i n i s h o f th e fram e must be c o n sid e re d a s im o o rta n t.
I t s c o lo r and form should harm onize w ith th e p a in tin g and i t s s e t t i n g .
f a c t , th e a r t i s t should know where th e p o r t r a i t i s to be hung so th a t he
can a rra n g e i t s s i z e , com position and c o lo rin g a p p r o p r ia te ly .
The i l l u ­
sio n o f form i s even more v iv id i f th e p o r t r a i t i s hung w ith th e l i g h t
f a l l i n g from th e same d i r e c t i o n as th a t in th e p ic tu r e .
Whereas th e se f a c t s a re h e lp f u l, th ey a re n o t a b s o lu te ly e s s e n t i a l ,
a s a f in e p a in tin g can be shown in d i f f e r e n t p la c e s , and u n d er v a ry in g
c o n d itio n s , and does not have to be p a in te d w ith a d e f i n i t e s e t t i n g in
mind.
There i s alm ost no l i m i t to th e mediums which can be employed in
p o r t r a i t u r e — s to n e , m arb le, wood, c la y , o i l s , u e n c il , cray o n , c h a r c o a l,
w a te r c o lo r , p a s t e l s and pen and in k —have a l l been used s u c c e s s f u lly .
U su a lly th e a r t i s t e x c e ls in one o r two mediums, and f r e q u e n tly th e sub­
j e c t su g g e sts an a p p ro p ria te one.
I f th e a r t i s t a l t e r n a t e s betw een
v a rio u s mediums, h i s c o lo r sense w i l l be fre sh e n e d and h is sen se of l in e
and v a lu e s im proved.
M odeling h e lp s to d ev elo p th e f e e l i n g fo r form,
p la n e s and the t h i r d dim ension.
P a in tin g o f d i f f e r e n t s u b je c ts h elp s to
in c re a s e th e i n t e r e s t n e c e ssa ry f o r a r t i s t i c su cc e ss by a v o id in g c o n sta n t
re p ititio n .
The a r t i s t ' s jo y in h is work must be e v id e n t.
P o r t r a i t u r e in v o lv e s much p re lim in a ry stu d y and work.
The a r t i s t
must have a m astery of draw ing, co m p o sitio n , c o lo r com binations and
c o lo r m ixing, and o f v a lu e s , p lu s a knowledge o f anatomy, p e r s p e c tiv e
and t e x t i l e s .
In
g
The p o r t r a i t p a i n t e r sh o u ld alw ays be s in c e r e , g iv in g th e b e s t
that i s in him, n e v e r f o r g e t t i n g th a t a f in e p o r t r a i t , though a lim ite d
and s p e c ia liz e d s u b je c t in th e f i e l d o f p a in tin g , can be a work o f a r t .
I b e lie v e t h a t a p o r t r a i t p a i n t e r sh o u ld , even a t the c o s t o f
p e c u n ia ry rew ard, p a in t h is s u b je c t a s he th in k s f i t , t h a t he should
c a p tu re th e e s s e n t i a l s p i r i t o f th e s u b je c t, and f i n a l l y , t h a t he should
e n jo y h is work.
9
MEXICO
The a n c ie n t c i v i l i z a t i o n s o f Mexico were so h ig h ly d eveloped th a t
th e y cannot he c a ll e d p r im itiv e .
T h e ir e a r l i e s t p o r t r a i t u r e , which
goes back alm ost th re e thousand y e a r s , was s c u lp tu r a l In form.
F o r a n c ie n t M exicans, r e l i g i o u s s u p e r s t i t i o n was th e m a in sp rin g
o f t h e i r l i v e s and t h e i r c r e a tiv e e f f o r t s .
Each t r i b e and s e c tio n o f
th e c o u n try had i t ' s own i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f human and d iv in e p o r t r a i t u r e .
F ig u r in e s have been found in tom bs, and th e s e were p ro b a b ly p o r t r a i t s
o f th e dead.
In th e fin d in g s a t C o p ilc o , a suburb o f Mexico C ity , i t i s
b e lie v e d t h a t the nude fem ales were a s s o c ia te d w ith f e r t i l i t y , and th e
m ales were o f f e r i n g s to ensure su cc e ss a t war.
The o ld e s t o f th e modeled
heads resem ble c u t out c o o k ie s , and th e f e a tu r e s a re in d ic a te d by lumps
o f c la y which a re s tu c k on, o r by gougings and in c is io n s .
D uring the b r i l l i a n t p e rio d of the Mayan c i v i l i z a t i o n , ab o u t 300600 A .D ., th e f ig u r e s on monuments re p re s e n te d c a p tiv e s , w a r r io r s , p r i e s t s
and w o rsh ip p e rs, s t i f f and form al in s t y l e , b u t co n v in cin g .
F unerary
u rn s o f th e Zapotecan In d ia n s , u s u a lly found in th e Mm ogotesM o r b u r ia l
mounds, were co n ce a led behind e la b o r a te modeled f ig u r e s t h a t re p re s e n te d
human b e in g s and d i v i n i t i e s .
The heads were modeled in h ig h r e l i e f ,
and were e x tre m e ly la r g e in p ro p o r tio n to th e body.
The f ig u r e s were
u s u a lly s e a te d , w ith th e hands on th e k n e es, o r fo ld e d on th e b r e a s t.
P erh ap s the b e s t examples of s c u lp tu re d heads u n earth ed were found
in th e c e n t r a l p a r t o f Vera C ruz, where th e Totonacan In d ia n c u ltu r e
f lo u r is h e d .
Each head h as a tu b u la r e x te n s io n a t th e back, which allow ed
i t to be s e t in to th e tem ple w a lls .
The fa c e s and fo re h e a d s were broad,
10
b u t th e re l a so much v a r ie ty o f d e t a i l t h a t th e y ap p ear to be p o r t r a i t s
o f a c tu a l p e o p le .
T h e ir e x p re s s io n s o f m irth make them seem v ery human.
"Where th e Oods D w ell", o r San Ju an T eotihuacan i s now an enormous
ru in on th e e a s te r n edge o f th e V a lley o f Mexico.
T his sp o t i s noted
f o r i t s p o tte r y f i g u r i n e s , and f o r th o u san d s of heads re v e a lin g such
v a r ie ty o f f a c i a l c o n to u r and e x p re s s io n , t h a t many d i f f e r e n t ra c e s
must have been used a s m odels.
Some o f th e f i n e s t h e a d s, in th e s t y l e known as Olmec, a re fa sh io n e d
in ja d e , and found betw een BI S alv ad o r (C e n tra l America) and th e H uasteca
re g io n of Vera Cruz.
They a re some o f th e b e s t examples o f a r t , w ith
t h e i r s im p lic ity , b e a u ty o f p ro p o r tio n , and s e n s i t i v i t y o f m odeling.
In the exam ples o f Mexican p o r t r a i t u r e so f a r quo ted , s e v e ra l
g e n e ra l p o in ts emerge.
F i r s t , the e s s e n t i a l l y s p i r i t u a l b a s i s o f t h e i r
a r t in which im a g in a tio n and v i s i o n , r a t h e r th a n s t r i c t anthropom orphic
re p ro d u c tio n i s a l l im p o rta n t.
Second, t h a t a lth o u g h th e re was p ro b ab ly
l i t t l e c o n sc io u s d e s ir e to reproduce th e human face in a p h o to g ra p h ic
se n se , th e re was in f a c t no te ch n iq u e e x ta n t which m ight make such a
d e s ir e p o s s ib le .
T h ird , the com plete absence of the p a in tin g medium
which ap p ears to have been unknown.
th e c la y medium,
F o u rth , th e alm o st e x c lu s iv e use of
a p a r t from the Jade of th e Olmec s t y l e .
F i f t h , th e re
i s no evidence th a t th e se works o f a r t were produced under any p e c u n ia ry
s tim u lu s .
I t i s p ro b a b le how ever, t h a t work on fu n e ra ry u rn s was on a
com m ercial b a s is ; and s ix th , th e h ig h a r t i s t i c le v e l of most o f th e work.
The S panish conquest in 1521 was th e b e g in n in g o f th e p e rio d o f
C o lo n ia l a r t i n Mexico.
European p a in te r s a r r iv e d ab o u t th e m iddle o f
11
th e c e n tu ry , b rin g in g w ith them th e s ty le u re v a le n t in S n aln .
Due to th e
ra p id growth o f th e c o lo n y , and th e in c re a s e d demand f o r p a i n t i n g s , the
q u a lity was n o t o f th e h ig h e s t, h u t was a r t i f i c i a l and academ ic.
Miguel
C ah rera and Jo s* M aria Vazquez a re two o f th e b e s t known p o r t r a i t p a in te r s
o f th a t p e rio d .
D uring th e f i r s t h a l f of th e 19 th c e n tu ry , th e re was a p o p u la r de­
mand f o r fa m ily p o r t r a i t s , and d e a th bed sc e n e s, p a in te d w ith charm and
p r im itiv e re a lis m by am ateurs and obscure p a i n t e r s in th e p ro v in c e s .
Jo se M aria E s tr a d a , and S an tiag o R eb u ll were th e b e s t known f o r th e
lik e n e s s e s o f t h e i r p o r t r a i t s .
Modern p a in tin g i n Mexico has been g r e a t l y in flu e n c e d by d i c t a t o r ­
s h ip s and r e v o lu tio n s .
P o r t r a i t p a in tin g h as had no prom inence, alth o u g h
th e r e a re some p o r t r a i t p a in te r s of d i s t i n c t i o n , such a s H erm eneglldo
B u sto s , Tebo, F r id a K ahlo, C a rlo s Orozco Romero, and M iguel C o v arru b ias
who i s a ls o w e ll known in th e U n ite d S ta te s .
P e r s o n a l i t i e s in modern Mexico r i s e to th e s u rfa c e , r i p p l e f o r a
b r i e f p e rio d , and th en d is a p p e a r.
They do n o t rem ain lo n g enough in th e
p u b lic eye f o r any school o r su c c e ss io n o f p o r t r a i t p a in te r s to develop,
and th e r e f o r e the em phasis i n p a in tin g i s p la c e d on a s p e c ts o f the
p o l i t i c a l s tr u g g le .
An Example o f P o r t r a i t u r e o f T h is P e rio d
13
A n a ly sis o f a P o r t r a i t
14
GREEK AInD ROMAN PORTRAIT'S
The a n c ie n t G reeks and Romans were a c q u a in te d w ith most o f th e
s e c r e ts o f p a in tin g known to us to d a y , though th e y were i n t e r e s t e d in
draughtsm anship and form , r a t h e r th an c o lo r .
T his p e rio d a ls o saw th e developm ent o f many o f th e v a rio u s kin d s
o f p a in tin g w ith which we a re f a m i l i a r to d a y , such a s s t i l l l i f e , genre
s c e n e s, anim al p a in t i n g s , la n d s c a p e s , and p o r t r a i t s .
h i s t o r i c a l p a in tin g s .
Roman a r t added
The mediums used were u s u a lly tem pera on wooden
p a n e ls , o r wooden p a n e ls covered w ith s tu c c o .
P a l e t t e s were g e n e r a lly
r e s t r i c t e d to fo u r c o lo r s , r e d , w h ite , y ello w and b la c k .
TIiere a re s e v e ra l a n c ie n t Greek a r t i s t s whose p a in tin g te c h n iq u e s ,
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , and stu d y have had trem endous in flu e n c e on th e whole
f i e l d o f p a in tin g , and a b r i e f c o n s id e ra tio n o f t h e i r c o n tr ib u tio n s
w ill n o t be o u t of p la c e .
P o ly g n o to s i s th e f i r s t A thenian o f th e f i f t h
c e n tu ry to be c o n sid e re d a p a i n t e r in o u r modern i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f the
word.
His em phasis was on th r e e - q u a r te r and f u l l - f a c e v iew s, and h is
tre a tm e n t o f d r a p e r ie s su g g ested movement.
He made a g r e a t s te p toward
s o lv in g th e problem o f th e t h i r d dim ension by gro u p in g f ig u r e s a t d i f ­
f e r e n t l e v e l s , u s in g a h ig h h o riz o n l i n e ,
w ith th e f ig u r e s a t the top
b e in g supposedly the f a r t h e s t away, even though th ey were p a in te d on
th e same s c a le a s th o se in the low er l e v e l .
A pollodoros was th e o r ig i n a to r o f e a s e l p a in tin g .
He was th e f i r s t
to observe th e e f f e c t o f l i g h t on o b je c ts and used c o lo r ,
l i g h t and p e r ­
s p e c tiv e in a way t h a t marked the b e g in n in g o f modern p a in tin g .
Zemcie , th e g r e a t e s t Greek a r t i s t a t th e end of th e f i f t h c e n tu ry B. C .,
15
was th e f i r s t to use women a s m odels, and to employ a te ch n iq u e o f
sh ad in g which in tro d u c e d re a lis m in to h i s work.
He a ls o p a in te d o b je c ts
in th e background s m a lle r than th o se in the fo reg ro u n d , w hich was a con­
s id e r a b le s te p
forw ard in the use of p e r s p e c tiv e .
P a r r h a s io s , a contem porary o f Z eu x is, was a m a ster o f c o n to u r, and
h i s p o r t r a i t s were v e ry e x p r e s s iv e , w hile A p e lle s was famous
in the
f o u r th c e n tu ry a s th e p o r t r a i t p a i n t e r o f P h i l l i p and A lex an d er.
By 300 B.C. , Greek p a in tin g had developed from th e t i n t e d p r o f i l e s
o f th e e a r ly f i f t h c e n tu ry B .C ., th ro u g h th e m odeling o f form s w ith lig h t
and shadow, to p i c t o r i a l scenes w ith backgrounds o f n a tu re .
From th e
t h i r d c e n tu ry on, the a r t i s t s improved and developed t h e i r i l l u s i o n o f
r e a l i t y , and in c r e a s in g ly e x p re sse d em otion in t h e i r works.
P o r t r a i t u r e was p o p u la r in th e H e l l e n i s t i c tim e s.
Some o f th e
P e rs ia n and Greek g e n e r a ls were p o rtr a y e d by adding in d iv id u a liz e d
f e a tu r e s to a fo rm al ty p e o f f a c e .
The e a r l i e s t m in ia tu re s known were o f
women, done in e n c a u s tic on iv o ry .
L ik e n e sse s of fa m ily groups and in ­
d iv id u a ls
were done in g o ld l e a f on g la s s .
The G reeks, Romans and Jews
in Egypt d u rin g th e f i r s t and second c e n tu r ie s A .D ., p a in te d p o r t r a i t s
on wooden n a n e ls o f lin d e n , sycamore and c e d a r wood.
B ecause o f t h e i r
c o n ta c t w ith th e E g y p tia n s , th e y p r a c tic e d th e m um m ification of t h e i r
dead, p la c in g p a in te d p o r t r a i t s o v er th e mummy's head.
These f i n e ex­
amples o f p o r t r a i t u r e show th e e n c a u s tic te c h n iq u e , th e use o f im pres­
sio n ism , and the v a ry in g ra c e s o f p eo p le l i v i n g in Egypt a t th e tim e.
M o stly, how ever, p o r t r a i t s were done o f l i v i n g p eople to be hung in t h e i r
h o u se s.
Some were s e t in fram es, and when th e p erso n d ie d , th e p a in tin g
l6
was c u t out to f i t over th e head o f th e mummy.
T his le d to th e p o s­
s i b i l i t y o f a p o r t r a i t b e in g p a in te d of a p e rso n in h is tw e n tie s , and
p la c e d over th e mummy when he d ie d a t f o r t y .
G e n e ra lly , tem pera was used
on th e garm ents and background, w hile th e head and neck were done in en­
c a u s tic .
(The tem pera and e n c a u s tic methods o f p a in tin g w i l l be e x p lain ed
in th e D e f in itio n s of T erm s.)
The p o r t r a i t s were m ostly p a in te d l i f e s iz e ,
showing th e h e ad , s h o u ld e rs and c h e s t in th r e e - q u a r te r o r f r o n t view , and
i t i s p ro b ab le t h a t th e in d iv id u a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s were imposed on an
id e a l iz e d fa c e .
The more o f th e f ig u r e shown, th e l a t e r th e p e rio d in
which th e p o r t r a i t was p a in te d .
tim es from above.
L ig h t u s u a lly came from th e r i g h t , some­
C o lo rs were l a i d on f o r t h e i r e f f e c t from a d is ta n c e ;
th e fa c e was u s u a lly p a in te d brown, ro se on th e cheeks and fo re h e a d , and a
d i f f e r e n t shade o f re d used on th e l i p s .
Sometimes a s tr e a k o f w hite
went down th e n o se, presum ably f o r a h ig h lig h t.
The eyes were v ery la r g e ,
th e fa c e s long and o v a l, and th e no ses p ro m in en t.
A ll o f th e s e p o r t r a i t s a re f r e s h and c o n v in cin g , sim ply e x p re sse d ,
w ith th e garm ents and backgrounds s u b o rd in a te d .
c h a r a c te r , and im p r e s s io n is tic in method.
Some
They a re r e a l i s t i c in
examples o f th e se a n c ie n t
p o r t r a i t s may be seen a t v a rio u s museums, such as th e M e tro p o lita n Mu­
seum in New York, th e Vienna G raf C o lle c tio n , th e Ny C a rls b e rg in Copen­
hagen, the Museum in B e r lin , and S tra s s b u rg U n iv e rs ity .
E a rly Homan p o r t r a i t s were o f v ic to r io u s g e n e r a ls , p a in te d on wood,
and c a r r ie d in triu m p h a l p ro c e s s io n s .
The fr e s c o tech n iq u e was used
m o stly , w ith an im p r e s s io n is tic h a n d lin g o f c o lo r , w hile c o n v e n tio n a l
p o ses were a d o p ted , to which t r i v i a l d e t a i l s were added.
In t h e i r
17
s c u lp tu r a l forms o f p o r t r a i t u r e , however, th e Homans su rp a ssed th e G reeks.
D uring the second c e n tu ry A .D ., when Home was a t th e h e ig h t o f h e r
pow er, th e r e was g r e a t demand from h e r p ro v in c e s f o r s ta tu e s o f th e em­
p e ro rs.
Yet th e most I n t e r e s t i n g heads o f t h i s n e rlo d are th o se o f th e
p a t r i c i a n s , and th e m iddle c l a s s , and p erh ap s because I t was more Im­
p o r ta n t fo r th e I d e a liz e d v i r t u e s o f Roman em perors to be In c o rp o ra te d
In a form al p o r t r a i t , r a t h e r th a n le a v in g th e r e a l i t i e s to n a tu r e and
th e a r t i s t , t h i s produced a grim b a s ic p a t t e r n f o r each s ta t u e .
In th e
p o r t r a i t s o th e r th a n th e e m p e ro r's , th e h a i r and d re s s s ty le s , fo llo w in g
th o se e s ta b lis h e d by th e e m p ero r's
fa m ily , re v e a l t h e i r p e rio d .
B esid es
th e Homan, d i f f e r e n t n a tio n a l ty p e s were re p re s e n te d in p o r t r a i t u r e , as
German, S p an ish , V e n etia n and G reek.
These s c u lp tu re d p o r t r a i t s were
am azingly l i f e l i k e , sev e re in s t y l e , r e a l i s t i c a l l y d e ta i le d and ex­
p r e s s iv e o f c h a r a c te r and p e r s o n a lit y .
Thus, in th e Graeco-Roman p e r io d , a
number o f
velopm ents in p o r t r a i t p a in tin g took p la c e :
i n t e r e s t i n g de­
There was th e grow th o f an
in fo rm a l p e r s o e c tiv e , th e use o f e a s e l p a in tin g and m odels, and a d is ­
co very o f th e p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f l i g h t and shade in g iv in g form and mass.
The a b i l i t y to a c h ie v e p h y s ic a l lik e n e s s e s , and im port re a lis m to the
p o r t r a i t was in c re a s e d .
There was v a r ie ty in th e mediums u se d , such a s
e n c a u s tic on iv o ry , tem nera, f r e s c o , g o ld l e a f on g la s s , and f i n a - l y ,
th e grow ing use o f im p r e s s io n is tic methods o f e x p re s s in g th e em otional
c o n te n t o f a f a c e , d e s p ite th e g e n e ra l p r a c t i c e o f ad d in g in d iv id u a l
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s to s ta n d a rd f o r a s .
18
FLEMISH, DUTCH, OEHMAH AHD SPANISH PAINTERS
In Tlandere during the Renal seance, the church did not have the
Influence on painting which I t had In Ita ly .
Flemish a r tis ts concerned
themselves with the accurate reproduction of objects which were beautiful
in themselves, such as colorful landscapes, flowers and in te rio rs.
They
had a love fo r the d e ta il in everyday things, and sought to portray them
fa ith fu lly .
The Flemish, German, Dutch and Spanish painters were not as
concerned with commercial portraiture as the English.
There were a few
outstanding men, however, who must be mentioned not only for th eir own
superb works, but for th eir great influence on the f ie ld of a rt, and on
portraiture in particular.
Rubens possessed a Joyous nature, and loved color, movement and
physical freedom.
He had a tendency toward roughness of s ty le , although
he painted d e ta ils with characteristic Flemish exactness.
He was a very
able businessman, and with h is p u p ils, turned out about four thousand
paintings.
Although he was knighted in England, he returned to Antwerp,
because he bated the puritanism of the people and the corrupt n o b ility .
Sir Anthony Van Dyck ranks with the world’ s best portrait painters.
His heads were se n sitiv e , b eau tifu lly
modeled, and vibrating with l i f e .
He portrayed elegance with dign ity, and caught the subtle thing called
breeding.
One of h is best works Is a portrait of Charles I o f England,
painted in 1632, at a time when he was h is court painter.
Since he remain­
ed in England, h is work had a great Influence on successive English
painters.
Hans Holbein was a master of draughtsmanship, and German portrait
19
p a in tin g .
He p a in te d w ith a charm ing s im p lic ity , g ra s p in g th e e s s e n t i a l
c h a r a c te r in a fa c e w ith a few w e ll p la c e d l i n e s .
and p a in te d a l l th e c e l e b r i t i e s .
He went to London,
H is work in m in ia tu re s was so ex­
q u i s i t e t h a t i t developed in to an S n g liah a r t .
The J o l l y T oner, an e x c e lle n t example o f F ra n s H a ls' p a in tin g , i s
e x ec u te d w ith freedom and a b ro ad sweep.
H als c o u ld c a p tu re any f l e e t i n g
e x p re s s io n in a v ig o ro u s and s tim u la tin g s t y l e .
th e word, he
In th e r e a l sen se of
was one o f th e f i r s t im p r e s s io n is ts .
s p e c if ic i n s t a n t in th e l i f e o f h i s s i t t e r s .
He s e iz e d upon a
A f te r a n i g h t 's debauch,
he would do a p o r t r a i t in one s i t t i n g , c a p tu rin g th e f e a tu r e s in b ro ad
h a l f - t o n e s , ad d in g l i g h t s and shadows in s w if t s tr o k e s .
works were n o t a p p r e c ia te d f o r two c e n tu r ie s , he
A lthough h i s
i s one o f th e b e s t
p o r t r a i t p a i n t e r s o f th e Dutch sc h o o l.
One o f th e f i n e s t m a s te rp ie c e s o f a l l tim e , th e Syndics o f th e
D ra p e rs ' G u ild , i s by Rembrandt.
The l i g h t , i n c o n tr a s t to th e d a rk n e ss,
g iv e s p o e tr y and im a g in a tio n to th e can v as.
Rembrandt was a m a ste r o f
c h ia r o s c u ro , t r e a t i n g form w ith power and s u b tle ty , and u sin g i t to
e x p re ss h i s im a g in a tio n .
He su rp a ss e d th e v a s t number o f p o r t r a i t
p a i n t e r s o f Amsterdam, b o th in th e q u a u n tity and q u a lity o f h i s work,
a s a d m ira b ly i l l u s t r a t e d by h i s s e l f - p o r t r a i t s .
J a n Vermeer had few e q u a ls in Dutch a r t .
te x tu r e s .
He was a m a ste r a t p a in tin g
H is G ir l w ith a F lu te i s e x q u is ite i n i t s c ra fts m a n s h ip ,
c o lo r and charm.
V elasquez, of th e S panish sc h o o l, was the f a u l t l e s s p a i n t e r o f th e
v is ib le
w o rld .
The harmony of h i s co m p o sitio n s was a ch ie v e d by to n e ,
20
Bxeunplea o f P o r tr e ltu r e
21
and th e ju x ta p o s itio n o f p r o p o r tio n a l m asses, th e g e n tle g ra d a tio n s in
tone b e in g b a la n c e d by b u r s ts o f c o lo r .
H is p o r t r a i t o f th e Pope,,
In n o cen t X, i s a p e r f e c t i l l u s i o n o f .p h y s ic a l l i f e .
Each o f th e s e a r t i s t s p a in te d n o ta b le p o r t r a i t s , y e t none o f t h e i r
c o u n tr ie s , w ith th e p o s s ib le e x c e p tio n o f th e N e th e rla n d s , pro d u ced im­
p o r ta n t sch o o ls o f p o r t r a i t u r e .
H olbein and Van Dyck, o f c o u rs e , be­
came v e ry much a p a r t o f the E n g lis h sch o o l.
22
Ixamplee o f P o r tr a itu re
Grwi wHli ou^Tuht)a.h
I^uicU , Vevweerj
$
Analysis of a P o r t r a i t
ILff
24
THB BNOLISH SCHOOL
In England, by contrast with Ita ly , the church made l i t t l e use of
painting for illu s tr a tin g the teachings of the Bible.
Portraiture had
no relig io u s stimulus, instead pictures were desired for the personal
enjoyment of th eir owners, not fo r the masses.
Therefore, the portrait
received much popularity and consideration, since most people usually
appreciate themselves, though only the wealthy could afford to in the
pre-camera age.
Ancestry and lineage were of great importance, and
portraits were frequently painted in order to be handed down to family
descendants.
Landscapes wouldn't s e l l , and some story t e llin g pictures,
such as Hogarth's, were appreciated only by lite ra r y people.
In my
opinion, the fifte en th century to the nineteenth century was the great
age of portraiture in B ritain.
Although examples of very early B ritish p ortraits are rare, and many
in the Gothic churches have been painted over, yet th is type of painting
in England, during the Middle Ages, was widespread.
There i s a portrait
o f James III and h is QfUeen, Margaret of Denmark, and Chaucer's Canter*bury Tales were "illuminated" by English a r t is t s .
Although the a r tiste
are unknown, portraiture was done on a large scale in the middle of the
fifte e n th century.
Miniature p ortraits known as "limnings" were done
mostly by foreign a r tis ts liv in g in B ritain.
Manuscripts were ocasslon-
a lly illu str a te d with p o rtra its, proven by the "treaty portraits" of
Henry VIII in 1543, and of P h illip and Mary in 1556.
A fine piece of
vellum, or a piece of chicken skin was stretched over a playing card.
On these surfaces, small Elizabethan p ortraits were painted.
There are
25
many p o r t r a i t s , la r g e and sm a ll, o f Henry V III and h i s numerous w ives.
Hans H olbein came to England about 1527, and c r e a te d an im por­
t a n t sch o o l.
H is fo llo w e rs d id n o t have h i s d rau g h tsm an sh ip , b u t th e i r
c o lo r sense was much b e t t e r .
Most o f them a re unknown e x ce p t N ich o las
H i l l i a r d , whose sense o f c o lo r was w o n d erfu l.
Queen E liz a b e th o rd e re d
him to rtIymne h e r body and p e rso n in sm all compasse o n ly , and w ith o u t
shadow", w ith th e r e s u l t t h a t h i s f l a t work resem bled illu m in a tio n s
f o r m a n u sc rip ts.
Queen E l i z a b e t h 's in flu e n c e was f e l t , f o r some tim e,
i n th e s t i f f l y d e sig n e d , h ig h ly c o lo re d , d e c o ra tiv e m in ia tu re p o r t r a i t s .
P a in tin g s were done on oak p a n e ls , and r a r e l y o f
life
s iz e .
Canvas
f i r s t came i n t o use in th e s e v e n te e n th c e n tu ry , and t h i s made p o s s ib le
works on a l a r g e r s c a le .
Samuel Cooper was th e g r e a t e s t E n g lish m i n i a t u r i s t , and h i s s tre n g th ,
pow er, b re a d th o f h a n d lin g an d c h a r a c te r in s ig h t were q u ite e x tr a o r ­
d in a ry , p a r t i c u l a r l y in p o r t r a i t s o f men.
A fte r co m p letin g th e head ,
most o f h i s works were l e f t u n fin is h e d .
P e te r L ely made h i s p o r t r a i t u r e charm ing.
This was, in a sen se ,
f a l s i f i c a t i o n f o r economic re a s o n s , sin c e h i s s u b je c ts were u s u a lly
th e d is s o lu t e c o u rte s a n s o f C h arles I I 1s re ig n .
p a i n t e r s u s u a lly became " c o u rt" p a i n t e r s .
S u c c e ssfu l p o r t r a i t
They were g iv en an an n u al
incom e, a home, and a d d itio n a l pay f o r each p o r t r a i t o f th e k in g and h is
fa m ily .
They a ls o p a in te d th e l e s s e r n o b i l i t y and
n eo p le o f prom­
in e n c e .
The d e a th o f G odfrey K n e lle r , German b o rn , in th e s e v e n te e n th
c e n tu ry , ended th e re ig n o f fo r e ig n p a i n t e r s in England.
26
W illiam H ogarth i s c o n sid e re d th e f i r s t t r u l y B r i t i s h p a i n t e r .
Yet
b ecause he was e x c e e d in g ly t r u t h f u l , he n e v e r became p o p u la r a s a p o r­
t r a i t p a in te r.
H is a r t i s th e v is io n o f th e m iddle c la s s o f n o rth e rn
E ngland, which he p a in te d w ith com pellin g re a lis m .
In 1765, S ir Jo sh u a Reynolds and contem porary a r t i s t s form ed a
group, which was th e b e g in n in g o f th e Royal Academy.
m e rc ia l
He was th e com­
p o r t r a i t p a i n t e r p a r e x c e lle n c e , and a lth o u g h h is co m p o sitio n s
were n o t too good, and h i s brushw ork h e s i t a n t and la b o re d , he co u ld
p a i n t th e fa c e and hand.
A l i s t o f h is works a r e so numerous t h a t th ey
would form a c a ta lo g u e .
Thomas G ainsborough was a f in e lan d scap e p a i n t e r , b u t E ngland had
no i n t e r e s t in t h i s phase o f a r t .
He was an im p r e s s io n is t in p a in tin g ,
s e e in g h i s s u b je c t in mass, c o lo r and to n e .
A lthough h i s p rim a ry in ­
t e r e s t was in la n d s c a p e s , he c o u ld c a tc h th e fem in in e a l l u r e o f women,
and gave a l l h is p o r t r a i t s a s o f t d e lic a c y , charm and w is tf u ln e s s .
G ain sb o ro u g h 's a r t was t r u l y E n g lis h , fo r he had n ev er s tu d ie d abroad
a s most o f th e E n g lish a r t i s t s d id .
George Romney s a c r i f i c e d lo v e , fa m ily , and fr ie n d s h ip s f o r fame,
b u t h i s p o r t r a i t s were s in c e re and sim p le.
S ir Henry Raeburn won q u ite a r e p u ta tio n in E dinburgh.
draw f i r s t , b u t p a in te d d i r e c t l y in a b ro a d , v i r i l e s ty le .
He d id not
He was a
m a ste r o f tone and v a lu e , r a th e r than a c o l o r i s t , fo r he had a g r e a t
knowledge o f l i g h t .
He fo llo w e d no law s o r t r a d i t i o n s , and was a m aster
o f c h a r a c te r iz a ti o n .
These a re b u t a few o f th e many fin e and s u c c e s s fu l B r i t i s h
27
Examples of P o r t r a i t u r e
28
p o r t r a i t p a i n t e r s up u n t i l th e tim e o f C o n stab le and T u rn er, who were
n o t swayed from t h e i r love o f lan d scap e by th e n e c e s s ity o f e a r n in g a
l i v i n g by a c c e p tin g ro y a l o r a r i s t o c r a t i c p a tro n a g e in r e tu r n f o r
t h e i r s e r v ic e s a s p o r t r a i t p a i n t e r s .
In H o lb e in 's day, sin c e th e re were no cam eras, p o r t r a i t u r e , to h is
s i t t e r s , meant slm nly g e ttin g a lik e n e s s .
The p ro ced u re was u s u a lly to
draw th e p erso n f i r s t , and th e n p a in t th e p i c t u r e s from th e draw ings
which f r e q u e n tly found t h e i r way in to fa m ily album s.
Van Dyck was
p ro b a b ly th e f i r s t to p a in t d i r e c t l y w ith b ru sh on can v as, h a v in g h is
s u b je c t in f r o n t o f him.
Even th e n , he f i r s t made sk e tc h e s in o i l on
sm all c an v a se s, a rra n g in g h is com p o sitio n .
On th e f i n a l and l a r g e r
can v as, he p a in te d o n ly th e h e a d s, le a v in g th e r e s t o f the com position
f o r h i s a s s i s t a n t s to f i n i s h .
F o llo w in g Van Dyck, many E n g lis h p o r t r a i t
p a i n t e r s adopted t h i s system and worked d i r e c t l y on the c an v as, th e
m inor a r t i s t s r e q u ir in g numerous and v e ry lo n g s i t t i n g s .
As tim e went
on, how ever, i t became I n c r e a s in g ly d i f f i c u l t to p ersu ad e p e o p le to en­
dure such lo n g s i t t i n g s ( a s i t u a t i o n which lim it e d th e m a te r ia l su ccess
♦
o f Rembrandt and Cezanne and L a u tre c , whose s i t t i n g s were e x t r a o r d in a r ily
lo n g .)
To become s u c c e s s fu l f i n a n c i a l l y , th e p o r t r a i t p a i n t e r must
make sm all demands upon h is s u b je c ts .
L ely and Reynolds were in te r e s t e d
in th e d e c o r a tiv e d e sig n o f t h e i r p o r t r a i t s ; th e y were concerned w ith
some e x p re ss io n which seamed i n t e r e s t i n g in i t s e l f , o r which was in ­
t e r e s t i n g in r e l a t i o n to th e g e n e ra l o o se , o r b o re some r e l a t i o n to an
im p lie d p re v io u s s i t u a t i o n .
The E n g lis h p e rio d d is c u s s e d in t h i s c h a p te r was th e "Golden Age" o f
29
p o r t r a i t u r e in two r e s p e c ts , f i n a n c i a l l y and a r t i s t i c a l l y .
The growing
w e a lth o f m e r c a n t i l i s t and l a i s s e z - f a i r e B r i t a i n was c o n c e n tra te d in
r e l a t i v e l y few h an d s, and t h i s , p lu s th e s tro n g m onarchic and a r i s t o ­
c r a t i c t r a d i t i o n o f th e c o u n try , p ro v id e d th e economic and s o c ia l
background a g a in s t which p o r t r a i t u r e f lo u r is h e d .
Oddly enough, i t
seems to have been the c o n tin e n ta l a r t i s t s who f i r s t saw th e f in a n c ia l
p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f p o r t r a i t p a in tin g , and e x p lo ite d them.
S t a r t i n g w ith
H o lb ein , th ro u g h to K n e lle r, th e y c r e a te d a t r a d i t i o n o f com m ercial
p o r t r a i t u r e which was l a t e r developed by n a tiv e p a i n t e r s , c u lm in a tin g
in th e works o f G ainsborough.
P o r t r a i t u r e a s an a r t advanced no l e s s th a n as a b u s in e s s .
From
th e te c h n ic a l p o in t o f view , th e re were a number of i n t e r e s t i n g d e v el­
opm ents.
For in s ta n c e , th e t r a n s i t i o n from m an u sc rip t to m in ia tu re s
was fo llo w e d by a c o n s id e ra b le fa s h io n f o r such works.
The in tr o d u c ­
tio n o f canvas in th e s e v e n te e n th c e n tu ry f a c i l i t a t e d th e a c tu a l T ain tin g
p ro c e s s , and allo w ed a g r e a te r v a r ie ty o f p o r t r a i t s iz e ; and f i n a l l y ,
d i r e c t p a in tin g from the s i t t e r lo o sen e d
th e p a i n t e r 's s t y l e , and made
more a c c u ra te r e p r e s e n ta tio n s p o s s ib le .
I t i s a d e b a te a b le p o in t a s to w hether p e c u n ia ry ends in flu e n c e d
th e r a th e r lu s h b e au ty o f many o f th e p o r t r a i t s o f t h i s
p e r io d , bu t i t
i s in d is p u ta b le t h a t th e use o f c o lo r a ch ie v e d a new m a tu rity , w hile
many o f th e p a in tin g s a re incom parable works o f a r t , such a s G ains­
b o ro u g h 's "Blue Boy", R ey n o ld 's "Dr. Jo h n so n ", and R ae b u rn 's "The
Drummond C h ild re n " .
One f e e l s th a t h e re
th e a r t i s t s were a c h ie v in g
th e r e a l purpose o f th e p o r t r a i t p a i n t e r a s o u tlin e d in th e in tr o d u c tio n .
/
30
Hto f e e l h i s ( th e s u b je c ts ) c h a r a c te r and p e r s o n a l i t y , and to d e a l
w ith th o se in ta n g ib le s which most fe c e s su g g est w ith o u t d e fin in g * .
31
N o. 5 9 —M rs. R ob in so n
G eorge R om ney ( 17 3 4 -1 8 0 2 )
W allace Col. L ondon
E n g lish School
Example# of Portraiture
32
Mrs•I^oVtvssovi
G*eortfe
Ehdi'ih.
Analysis of a P ortrait
- ^02*-
/
33
PAINTING IN PBANCB
The r r t o f F rance in th e R e n a issa n c e , was i n t e l l e c t u a l , r e f in e d ,
c u l t i v a t e d , re s e rv e d .
When F ra n c e s I s t a r t e d th e famous F o n ta in e b le a u
School o f A r t, w ith Leonardo da V in c i, Andrea d e l S a rto , and R ossi
among i t s fo u n d e rs , a r t sp ran g f u l l blown in F ran c e .
D uring th e French R en a issa n c e, th e ro y a l c o u rt p a tro n iz e d th e
lo c a l p o r t r a i t p a i n t e r s .
D uring F ra n c is I ' s r e ig n , i t was fa s h io n a b le
to have an a r t i s t make a crayon draw ing in th e p a tr o n ’ s home, and then
i t was f in i s h e d in o i l s a t th e s tu d io .
th e draw ings p u t in to album s.
a re now in th e L ouvre.
th e King.
R e p lic a s were o fte n made, and
Many o f th e se s ix te e n th c e n tu ry draw ings
Some have comments supposedly w r itt e n on them by
The a r t i s t s were n o t in flu e n c e d by th e p r e v a ilin g s ty le s in
d e c o ra tiv e a r t , b u t were concerned w ith th e re c o rd in g o f f e a tu r e s .
The
b e s t o f th e se were done by Je a n C lo u e t, o f F lem ish b i r t h , h i s son
F r a n c o is , Je a n De C o u rt, E tie n n e , and C o rn e ille de Lyon, to name only a
few o f th e o u ts ta n d in g a r t i s t s .
In th e S ev e n tee n th c e n tu ry , th e de Beaubrun c o u sin s were most
s u c c e s s f u l.
They were charm ing and f l a t t e r i n g to t h e i r s i t t e r s .
T h eir
o o r t r a i t s have e i t h e r d is a p p e a re d , o r have been la b e le d "French Seven­
te e n th C entury S ch o o l".
P h i l l i p e de Champaigne1s p o r t r a i t s were re a ­
l i s t i c and l i f e l i k e , w h ile Claud L e fe b re 1s s ty le resem bled Van D yck's.
There was some e x c e lle n t p o r t r a i t u r e done d u rin g the re ig n o f
L ouis XV and L ouis XVI.
R igaud, P e sn e , and Dumont a re among th e b e s t
known p a i n t e r s .
The vogue f o r p a s t e l p o r t r a i t u r e was s t a r t e d by th e V en etian a r t i s t
34
R osalba C a r r ie r a .
P a s te l had been used b e fo re In F ran c e , b u t h e r l i g h t ,
d a in ty touch had a c o n s id e ra b le a p p e a l.
A f te r h e r r e tu r n to V enice, the
vogue was c o n tin u e d by LaTour and P erro n n eau .
LaTour1s p o r t r a i t s had
v i t a l i t y , and h is c o lo rs were e x c e p tio n a lly b r i g h t .
G erard became th e f a v o u r ite p o r t r a i t p a i n t e r of the c o u r ts o f
N apoleon, L o u is X V III, C h arles X, and L ouis P h lllp n e .
was th e most p u z z lin g o f French a r t i s t s .
J.A .D . In g re s
He c o u ld be c l a s s i c a l , a s ­
c e t i c , a b su rd , n a t u r a l i s t i c , o r fo rm al, bu t a s th e y e a rs went by, the
q u a lity o f h i s work d e c lin e d .
F o r e ig h te e n y e a rs he liv e d in I t a l y ,
e a rn in g h i s l i v i n g by making p o r t r a i t draw ings in p e n c il, such a s lfA
Lady and a Boy", now
in the M e tro p o lita n Museum in New York.
Between th e tim e o f C o ro t, and th e Im p r e s s io n is t movement, Gustave
C ourbet launched a d o c trin e o f re a lis m .
H is p a in tin g was in d iv id u a l,
and r i c h in q u a lity , a lth o u g h h i s c o lo rs were h a rs h .
The Im p r e s s io n is t movement which fo llo w e d , was i n t e r e s t e d in a
stu d y o f th e n a tu re o f l i g h t .
Claude Monet was th e tr u e o r i g i n a t o r of
t h i s movement when he became i n t e r e s t e d in ex p erim en tin g w ith o i l s , and
" p a in tin g f o r p a in tin g s sa k e ".
He was f a r more in t e r e s t e d in th e e f f e c t
he o b ta in e d than in th e s u b je c t- c o n te n t o f h i s p i c t u r e s .
By p a in tin g in
s p o ts o f p u re t i n t p la c e d s id e by s id e , th e members o f t h i s sch o o l of
Im pressionism produced r i c h e r c o lo r s , whose c o n tr a s ts were in c re a s e d by
th e use of complements.
But space was s a c r i f i c e d , and d e sig n n e g le c te d
in th e sea rc h f o r c o lo r e f f e c t s .
A lthough Cezanne belonged a t f i r s t to th e Im p re s s io n is t sc h o o l, he
broke away, and t r i e d to c a p tu re th e r e a l i t y which l i e s b e h in d appearance.
35
He l e f t o u t th e e f f e c t s o f l i g h t , o r su b o rd in a te d them to h i s main
p u rp o se—-the c r e a tio n o f in n e r r e a l i t i e s .
He p a in te d p o r t r a i t s o f h is
w ife a t a l l p e r io d s , p o r t r a i t s o f h i s f r i e n d s , and o f h im s e lf.
Some
p o r t r a i t s o f h is u n lo v e ly w ife a r e r e p u ls iv e , none were e v e r f in is h e d .
He c o n sid e re d h e r a p ie c e o f s t i l l - l i f e , and h i s te c h n ic a l method was
o f more im portance th a n h e r i d e n t i t y .
He a tte m p te d to combine im pres­
sio nism and c la s s ic is m , and was concerned l e s s w ith o b je c ts in th em selv es,
th a n w ith t h e i r r e l a t i o n to each o th e r , i . e . to space co m p o sitio n .
He
i s a m aster o f th e r i g i d l i n e , h i s forms a re s o l i d and a r c h i t e c t u r a l ,
and h i s s u rfa c e s f l a t t e n e d .
His work i s a u s te r e .
His s tro n g e s t c a p a c i­
t i e s were d is p la y e d in h i s p a in tin g s o f s t i l l - l i f e .
Cezanne has be­
come th e id o l o f th e modern movements.
The p a in tin g s o f Van Gogh and Gauguin and t h e i r fo llo w e rs , a re
c a l l e d P o st-Im p re ssio n ism .
T his school a n aly z e d th e e f f e c t s t h a t
n a tu re has on th e su b conscious mind, and how works o f a r t a re sub­
c o n sc io u s ly c re a te d .
Van Gogh, was n e rv o u sly d eranged , had a consuming p a s s io n f o r n a tu re ,
and a f e ro c io u s lo v e f o r hum anity.
His l i n e s have a n erv o u s, s e rp e n tin e
q u a lity r e s u l t i n g in a f e e lin g o f r e s t l e s s n e s s .
He p a in te d w ith sim ple,
p r im itiv e d i r e c tn e s s , u sin g c o lo r fo r i t s em o tio n al q u a l i t i e s .
His
p o r t r a i t , L 1A rle s sie n n e i s a p a s s io n a te , in s ta n ta n e o u s c h a r a c te r iz a tio n
o f a woman, f o r he had to f i n i s h a p ic tu r e a t one s i t t i n g .
Gauglun was a s e lf -c o n s c io u s ro m a n tic , w ith a contem pt f o r o u r
c iv iliz a tio n .
He too s tro v e to c r e a te h is s e n s a tio n s o f th e w orld
p a r t l y th ro u g h th e use o f h is m a g n ific e n t, b a r b a r ic c o lo r s e n s e , and
36
Examples o f P o rtra itu re
p a r t l y , th o u g h - M a sen se o f design;-.' He' d id 'n o % wish.' to r e - r e p r e s e n t l i f e ,
h e ' w ished to r e - c r e a t e
it.
A lthough Gauguin was an a r t i s t o f m e r it» '
he i s re s p o n s ib le fp r- many had modern a r t i s t s who w ish to p a i n t w ith o u t
le a r n in g to d ra w .. ■Gauguin ta c k le d th e problem o f p u re c o lo r , and de­
v elo p ed i t s im p o rtan c e i, some might- say a t th e ' expense o f th e o th er- ■
Components o f . a work o f a r t .
'
. , .
■ .Renoir h a s had g r e a t - influence.,.- a l s o , on; modern developm ents in - a r t.: .
A lthough h e whs i n t e r e s t e d in th e stu d y o f l i g h t , he u sed l i g h t and
o
shadow to make p a t t e r n s and s o l i d i f y h i s f i g u r e s , and used p l a s t i c I.
m odeling to ach ie v e 'volume, w h ile' the, Im p r e s s io n is ts , s tu d ie d l i g h t f o r
l i g h t ? s sa k e .
■
As- a r e je c te d an d -ren eg ad e im p r e s s io n is t, he e a rn e d a-
sm all income from p o r tr a it u r e ; - . R e n o ir p a in te d many fem ale n u d e s, and
scen es O f p u b lic g a ie ty . ' He o b ta in e d 1a Sense o f movement i n h i s f ig u r e s
th ro u g h th e u se o f S a tis f y in g Curves; ■ Hi-S c o lo r i s r i c h , th e f i n a l e f f e c t s
e x p re s s in g M's own e x h ila r a t io n , :M s. d e lig h t i n l i v i n g , and i n t h e sen­
suous a s p e c ts o f th e p h y s ic a l w orld..
H etiri d e -T o u lo u se -L a u tre c ; g ro te s q u e ly deform ed, and s a d i s t i c in
p h ilo so p h y j p a in te d ' th e dens and cabarets o f M ontmartre,- th e .morally
■
re la x e d and th e v ic io u s ,. 'He in v e n te d th e p o s t e r ,, a s we know i t to d ay ,
and M s p o r t r a i t s-.a re d is tin g u is h e d .
-■
' '
.
.
H enri M atisse i s n o t i n t e r e s t e d in v is u a l a c c u ra c y , b u t i n I'm -' ' - 1■
p ro v isin g -n e w a rra n g e m e n ts .' He h a s a t a l e n t fo r u n u su al c o l o r com­
b in a tio n s^ . and a p e r c e p tio n o f l i n e a r rh y th m s." H is f e e lin g f o r d esig n
h a s 'r e v o lu tio n iz e d many b ra n c h es of d e c o ra tio n .
Pablo
P ic a s s o i s c o n sid e re d th e m a ste r o f th e modern s c h o o l ,' H is
m ajor I n t e r e s t i s in . th e fo rm a tio n p f p i c t u r e s , th e com p o sitio n and i t s
s tr u c tu r a l' fram ework.
,Se b elieves t h a t p a in tin g , in i t s p u r e s t fo rm ,
i s a language of ,a b s tr a c tio n s , a lth o u g h h i s fo u r v e ry e x a c t p o r t r a i t s
'
o f a g i r l i l l u s t r a t e th e . e c le c tic is m o f h i s t a s t e . • Gubism i s n o t
i n t e r e s t e d i n what th in g s a r e , b u t ho,w th in g s a'pe r e la te d ,, a n d PieassO-5S
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w ith th e sch o o l in c re a s e d h i s fame,.
l e t he h a s 'n e v e r
a c c e p te d th e s u r r e a l i s t th e o ry o f d i s t o r t i n g th in g s in o r d e r to symbolizeth e w orkings o f th e subconscious mind.
He has. g re a t - te c h n ic a l pow er and
in v e n tiv e n e s s in com binations,- and h as s t i m u l a t e d 'a r t i s t s to th e stu d y
o f form and c o lo r ,
'
The p a in tin g o f F rance from th e H enaissan ce to th e p r e s e n t day
h a s been d e a lt w ith' a t some l e n g t h , not- b ecau se i t made s u b s t a n t i a l
c o n tr ib u tio n s to p o r t r a i t u r e a s su ch ,' h u t because o f i t s p ro fo u n d in ­
flu e n c e on p a in tin g i n g e n e ra l.
in many ways, i t i s an i n t e r e s t i n g .s p e c u la tio n as to why F ra n c e ,.
w ith a-m onarchic and a r i s t o c r a t i c t r a d i t i o n n o t to o d i s s i m i l a r from th a t,
of
England* sh o u ld n q t have developed a p o r t r a i t " in d u s try " o f compar­
a b le s t a t u r e .
The in flu e n c e s o f the French E e v o lu tio n , and such philo-r
s o p h ic a l te a c h in g s a s those o f V o lta ire -w e p e v e ry c o n s id e ra b ly a g a in s t
su c h -a developm ent, though th e economic background was n o t u n fa v o u ra b le ,. ■
The answ er p ro b a b ly l i e s in th e absen ce o f s t a b l e p o l i t i c a l
and s o c ia l
c o n d itio n s* which i n h i b i t e d th e grow th o f a sch o o l ‘o f p o r tr a it u r e ..
As
w,e saw i n the' c ase o f England* such a movement is . dynamic1—i f a success='
f u l a r t i s t S t a r t s such a Movement, i t i s s e lf - p e r p e t u a tin g So lo n g a s the
economic and s o c ia l c o n d itio n s rem ain p r o p i t i o u s . ■'
39
■■ :: .As th e m a te r ia l s u g g e s tSv, th e E re n c h 'p a i n t e r s re g a rd e d , the- human. •
face as j u s t a n o th e r s u b je c t f o r t h e i r art;. ■The new a n d .u n c o n v e n tio n a l
Uses o f c o lo r , balance and form removed p a in tin g from th e sphere o f
^ ,I i f e lik e tl ■re p ro d u c tio n to th e Sphere o f a r t - .f o r a r t flS s a k e ;.
•;
4o
M ile. R om ainc Lacaux
me
Renoir, 1 8 4 1 -1 9 1 9 , French
2 .* "
^ r t e x t P r “ ' t - P b o ,- « " '* h« l
Examplee o f P o rtra itu re
4l
S e IfF o rtra it
S e lf P o r t r a i t
A r t e x t J u n i o r N o . 365.
V a n G o g h , 185 3 -1 8 9 0 , D u t c h
A lso p u b lish e d a s a n A r t e x t P r i n t
Examples o f Portraiture
C ezanne, 1 8 3 9 -1 9 0 6 , French
1*2
DuicVi,
A n a ly als o f a P o r t r a i t
U3
SelV to^raii-
Cezavme, IHcI-ItICilf, Frenctn
Analysis o f a P ortrait
44
PORTRAIT PAINTING IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Since th e U nited S ta te s i s one o f th e you n g est n a tio n s , tim e has
been r e l a t i v e l y s h o rt f o r a developm ent o f i t s a r t .
There a r e th re e
d i s t i n c t p e rio d s to be c o n s id e re d , th e C o lo n ia l, the P r o v in c i a l, and
the C osm opolitan.
In th e c o lo n ie s , a r t was in tro d u c e d by u n s k ille d E n g lish c ra ftsm en .
I t was m erely a r e - i n t e r p r e t a t i o n and developm ent o f European p a in tin g ,
c o n s is tin g m ainly o f p o r t r a i t u r e , sig n p a in tin g and coach p a in tin g .
There a re no re c o rd s o f th e names o f in d iv id u a l a r t i s t s , b u t h i s t o r i c a l
r e p o r ts prove t h a t p o r t r a i t s were p a in te d d u rin g th e m iddle o f th e
s e v e n te e n th c e n tu ry .
One o f th e e a r l i e s t p o r t r a i t p a in te r s re c o rd e d
i s John W atson, a S c o t.
In 1715* he hung o u t
h is "s& lngle" in a way
which was q u a in t— d e c o r a tin g th e s h u tte r s o f h i s house w ith p erso n ag es
in a n c ie n t costum es.
From 1772 on, n o tic e s o r a d v e rtise m e n ts o f a r t i s t s t e l l i n g o f t h e i r
m e r its , and a s k in g f o r work, ap p eared in new spapers and p e r i o d i c a l s , as
f o r exam ple: "Lawrence K iIb u m , Lim ner.
J u s t a r r iv e d from London w ith
C ap tain M ille r , h ereb y a c q u a in ts a l l gentlem en and la d le s in c lin e d to
fa v o r him in h av in g t h e i r p i c t u r e s drawn, th a t he d o n 't doubt o f p le a s ­
in g them i n ta k in g a tr u e L ik e n e ss , and f i n i s h i n g
th e D rapery in p ro p e r
m anner, a s a ls o in th e Choice o f A ttitu d e s s u ita b le to each P e r s o n 's Age
and Sex, and g iv in g a g re e a b le s a t i s f a c t i o n a s he has h e r e to f o r e done to
Gentlemen and L a d ie s in L ondon."
On th e w hole, th e work was poor and u n s k i l l f u l , th e te c h n iq u e sug­
g e s tin g c o n tin e n ta l, r a t h e r th a n E n g lis h a r t , f o r E n g lish p a in tin g had
45
h a rd ly begun, and most o f th e a r t i s t s h ad s tu d ie d o r worked i n Europe
coming to Am erica.
In th e e a r ly c o lo n ia l d ay s, t h i s c o u n try a ls o
depended i n t e l l e c t u a l l y on th e m other c o u n try , even th o u ^ i th e p o l i t i c a l
t i e s were brok en.
B ut because o f th e change o f government and a d i f f e r ­
e n t type o f l i f e , th e E n g lish in flu e n c e g ra d u a lly d is a p p e a re d , and th e
crude s t r i v i n g s o f n a tiv e t a l e n t to o k i t s p la c e f o r a s h o rt p e r io d .
This
t a l e n t im proved under th e in flu e n c e o f a r t i s t s tr a in e d in D usseldor f ,
Rome and P a r i s .
However, a f t e r th e C iv il War, p r a c t i c a l l y a l l American
a r t i s t s s tu d ie d i n E urope, a b so rb in g European s ta n d a rd s .
Thus, American
p a in tin g was n o t t r u l y n a tiv e , b u t o n ly a r e f l e c t i o n o f th e w o rld ’ s
p a in tin g .
John S in g le to n C opley, 1737-1815, and Benjamin West, 1738-1820,
were th e f i r s t re c o g n iz e d p a i n t e r s o f th e New World.
At th e age o f seven­
te e n , when Copley d id h i s f i r s t m in ia tu re o f young George W ashington, he
a c h ie v e d re c o g n itio n a s a p a i n t e r .
H is work f a l l s in to two p a r t s , the
f i r s t p a in te d in B o ston, and th e second p a in te d in England.
h is works o f the l a t t e r p e rio d a re more
A lthough
s k i l l f u l , and more l i k e h is
contem porary E n g lish p a i n t e r s , y e t th e y la c k e d th e p e r s o n a lit y o f h is
C o lo n ia l p o r t r a i t s .
Copley reproduced h i s s u b je c ts a c c u r a te ly in the
c o ld c l e a r l i g h t o f New E ngland, and f o r t h i s reaso n h i s can v ases a re
r e l a t i v e l y c o lo r le s s .
He p a in te d w ith s i n c e r i t y , bu t h is work had no
b e a u ty o f to n e o r c o lo r .
H ig h lig h ts a re ch alk y w h ite , shadows b la c k o r
brown, and he used v e ry f r e q u e n tly a c o ld raw b lu e .
But Cooley knew
h i s c h a r a c te r s and p o rtra y e d t h e i r s e r io u s , s e l f - r e l i a n t , c ap a b le and
pompous a t t i t u d e s f a i t h f u l l y .
46
Benjam in W est, a P e n n sy lv a n ia Q uaker, s t a r t e d drawing a t th e age
o f e ig h t.
He l e f t America in h i s y o u th , and ta u g h t two g e n e ra tio n s of
younger men in E ngland.
West had a charm ing p e r s o n a lit y , and was most
h e lp f u l to s tr u g g lin g a r t i s t s .
American p a in tin g r e a l l y began in h is
London s tu d io , a m a tte r o f more im portance th an w hether o r n o t h i s works
a re c o n sid e re d good
to d ay .
Toward th e end o f th e e ig h te e n th c e n tu ry , th e number o f m ediocre
p o r t r a i t p a i n t e r s in c re a s e d .
They t r a v e l l e d a b o u t, p a in tin g p o r t r a i t s
f o r a few d o l l a r s a p ie c e , e v e n tu a lly tu rn in g to more m echanical o u t l e t s
such a s l e t t e r i n g , sig n w r itin g and coach
p a in tin g .
C h a rle s W ilson P e a le , 1741-1827, s tu d ie d u n d er West in E ngland.
In
P h ila d e lp h ia he s t a r t e d a Museum o f N a tu ra l H is to ry , and founded the
P e n n sy lv a n ia Academy o f Fine A rts .
At th e tim e , he p a in te d th e b e s t
p o r t r a i t s in th e c o u n try .
D unlap, a n o th e r p u p il o f W est, founded th e N a tio n a l Academy of
D esign in New York, and w rote th e "H isto ry o f th e A rts of D esign in
A m erica", p u b lis h e d in 1834.
R obert P u lto n was a s u c c e s s fu l p a i n t e r o f p o r t r a i t s and la n d sc a p e s.
A f te r
he in v e n te d th e steam b o at, he sto p p ed p a in tin g , b u t was alw ays a
p a tro n of th e A rts .
The b e s t o f a l l th e e a r l i e r a r t i s t s was G ilb e r t S tu a r t , b o m in
N ewport, R. I . in 1755«
He was s e l f i s h , and in c o n s id e ra te o f h i s
f r i e n d s , b u t alw ays fo rg iv e n because o f h is g a ie ty and t a l e n t .
su cc e ss
A fte r h is
in E ngland, he p a in te d h is "Athenaeum" p o r t r a i t , and h i s f u l l
le n g th o a in tin g o f George W ashington, the o n ly two he d id from l i f e .
47
but
he made many c o p ie s o f th e s e .
In s p ite o f the l i m i t a t i o n s o f p a in t­
in g o n ly h e a d s, o r h a l f le n g th p o r t r a i t s in co o l d if f u s e d l i g h t , w ithout
heavy shadows o r backgrounds, and in s p ite o f p la c in g th e h ead s n e a r th e
c e n te r o f th e canvas so t h a t th e f ig u r e s were cramped, h is p o r t r a i t s a re
u n su rp a ssed in America f o r head c o n s tr u c tio n and c h a r a c te r i n s i g h t .
His
c o lo rs were p u re , and h i s h a l f to n e s d e l i c a t e , p a in te d d i r e c t l y w ith no
g la z in g o r v a rn is h in g .
When Benjamin West d ie d in 1820, England was b eg in n in g to lo s e i t s
a r t i s t i c v ig o r and i t s pre-em m inence, a s a c e n te r o f a r t in p a r t i c u l a r .
P o r t r a i t u r e and fig u r e p a in tin g were becoming v e ry i n f e r i o r , though
S tu a r t worked to th e l a s t w ith in c r e a s in g s k i l l .
Next to S tu a r t in e x c e lle n c e o f p o r t r a i t u r e , came Thomas S u lly .
b o n e 's r e p u ta tio n was made on h is charm ing m in ia tu re s .
M al-
John V anderlyn,
Rembrandt P e a le , John Ramage, a m in ia tu re p a i n t e r , S. F. B. Morse who
l a t e r in v e n te d te le g ra p h y , and C h arles R o b ert L e s l i e , a re a
few o f the
p a i n t e r s o f th e tim e, who re tu rn e d from stu d y in Europe e x p e c tin g th a t
America s t i l l o ff e re d g r e a t o p p o r tu n itie s to th e a r t i s t .
They found,
a f t e r the war o f 1812, th a t a lth o u g h American p a in te r s were honored
a b ro a d , and th a t a lth o u g h th e r e was s t i l l a g r e a t, though
d e c lin in g
a r t i s t i c movement in E ngland, in America, th e grow th o f m a te r ia l w ealth
was choking th e a e s th e te .
As a r e s u l t , th e se p ro m isin g men f a i l e d alm ost
c o m p le tely , because t h e i r environm ent was in im ic a l to com m ercial success
in th e f i e l d o f a r t .
In th e n in e te e n th c e n tu ry , th e B oston group of a r t i s t s was formed by
F is h e r , Doughty, A lexander and H arding.
There was a P h ila d e lp h ia group.
48
and a New York group, and many a r t i s t s b e lo n g in g to no s p e c ia l g ro u p ,
s t i l l wandered from c i t y to c i t y .
These p a in te r s were more com petent
t e c h n i c a lly than th e e a r ly c o lo n ia l a r t i s t s , though no t as p a i n f u l l y ao cu r a te a s th e l a t e r ones.
They tu rn e d ou t a v a s t number o f p o r t r a i t s which
ten d ed to make t h e i r a r t b o ld , f a c i l e , and somewhat m e r e tr ic io u s .
T h eir
work, a s a w hole, i s u n i n te r e s t in g , d e t a i l e d , and w ith l i t t l e or no beauty
o f h a n d lin g .
A fte r th e war o f 1812, th e re
was a g r e a t s o c ia l change in America.
There was th e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of th e new form of governm ent, and th e d ev el­
opment o f th e la n d f r o n t i e r .
L ife f o r p o l i t i c a l le a d e r s d id no t have the
d i g n i t i e s and g ra c e s a s b e fo re .
There was th e grow th o f democracy, and a growing d i s t r u s t o f a r i s t o c ­
ra c y .
The m a te r ia l developm ent o f th e c o u n try , and th e p u r s u it o f w ealth
weakened th e g ra c e s o f l i f e .
The h a rd sh ip s o f th e f r o n t i e r l i f e which
were J u s t d e v elo p in g , overcame p r id e o f b i r t h and c u l t u r a l t r a d i t i o n s .
The W esterner lo o k ed to th e f u tu r e .
H is l i f e was h a rsh and s q u a lid , bu t
b e n e a th th e s u r f a c e , he had h is id e a l s o f freedom and dem ocracy, h is p ra c ­
t i c a l wisdom, and h i s abundant e n erg y .
These c u l t u r a l changes had a con­
s id e r a b le e f f e c t on a r t and th e a r t i s t s growing uo in th e new s o c ie ty ,
which was so much h a r s h e r th an t h a t o f t h e i r c o lo n ia l a n c e s to rs .
C h e s te r H arding, who p a in te d most o f th e U n ite s S ta te s p o l i t i c a l
le a d e r s o f h i s day, F ra n c is A lex an d er, A lv in F is h e r , John N eag le, and Henry
Inman were a l l p a in tin g when New York c i t y developed in to th e a r t c e n te r
o f th e c o u n try .
But because o f i t s com m ercialism , i t re c o g n iz e d th e a r t s
much l a t e r than B oston and P h ila d e lp h ia .
With th e developm ent o f the
49
N a tio n a l Academy, a r t i s t s had an a e s t h e t i c and s o c ia l in flu e n c e on New
York c i t y .
P o r t r a i t u r e predom inated in th e e a r ly New York e x h ib itio n s , and
a lth o u g h th e re were o th e r ty p e s o f o a in tin g s , p o r t r a i t u r e was s t i l l in
th e g r e a t e s t demand.
The growth o f w ealthy m erchants in th e c i t i e s , how*-
e v e r , began to c r e a te a demand f o r sm all p i c t u r e s , costume p ie c e s , s t i l l
l i f e and g e n re , and w h ile th e s e p a in tin g s were t r i v i a l and c ru d e , they
were s u ite d to th e t a s t e o f th e p u rc h a s e rs .
In th e t h i r d q u a r te r o f th e n in e te e n th c e n tu r y ,
American p a in tin g
was a t i t s h e ig h t in p ro d u c tio n , i f n o t in a r t i s t i c q u a lity .
a id e d a r t i s t s .
M erchants
The Hudson R iv e r School o f Landscape P a in tin g dev elo p ed ,
and a r t i s t s tu rn e d from p o r t r a i t s to la n d sc a p e s .
P o r t r a i t u r e a t the time
was m ediocre, and p a in tin g had to s a t i s f y th e s e n tim e n ta l demands o f th e
day.
As a lre a d y s t a t e d , th e most im p o rta n t type o f p a in tin g , b o th a s re ­
g ard s q u a lity and q u a n tity , in v ery e a r ly American d a y s, was d e f i n i t e l y
p o r t r a i t u r e , and th e se p o r t r a i t s a re p r a c t i c a l l y th e only rem ain in g ex­
am ples o f c o lo n ia l work t h a t we hav e.
But a f t e r th e middle o f th e n in e ­
te e n th c e n tu ry , la n d sc a p e , and o th e r forms o f fig u r e p a in tin g became more
im p o rta n t.
tim e.
P o r t r a i t u r e i t s e l f has developed l e s s b r i l l i a n t l y sin c e th a t
The reaso n f o r t h i s d e c lin e , i s t h a t in th e e a r ly d a y s, p eo o le
wanted lik e n e s s e s o f them selves and t h e i r f a m ilie s , and a c c e p te d poor
o a in tin g s when th e y co u ld g e t no b e t t e r .
The in tr o d u c tio n of photo­
g raphy, th e d a g u e rre o ty o e , th e t i n - t y p e , th e c ra y o n -fin is h e d enlargem ent
more than re p la c e d th e work o f th e u n s k ille d p a i n t e r s from whose ranks
50
many f i n e ones had developed.
There was a n o th e r in flu e n c e a ls o th a t b ro u g h t economic s u f f e r in g
to th e younger p o r t r a i t p a in te r s o f th e l a t e e ig h te e n hundreds— th e
vogue f o r fo r e ig n a r t i s t s and t h e i r p i c t u r e s .
b u t a ls o th e a r t i s t s were im p o rted .
Not o n ly th e p i c t u r e s ,
These so c a l l e d s o c ie ty p o r t r a i t
p a i n t e r s , who had no h ig h o p in io n o f t h e i r p a tro n s* t a s t e , b u t g r e a t
r e s o e c t f o r t h e i r pock etb o o k s, had g r e a t e r su cc e ss th an t h e i r contem n o r a r ie s whose a r t i s t i c a b i l i t y was sometimes g r e a t e r , bu t who f e l t th a t
th e s a t i s f y i n g o f t h e i r c o n sc ie n c e s was more Im p o rta n t th an th e r e c e ip t
o f a la r g e f e e .
The form er g ro u p , whose draw ing was s k i l l f u l , whose c o lo r
was b r i g h t , and whose te x tu r e s were w o n d erfu l, i n s i s t e d on t r i v i a l d e t a i l
and many s u p e r f i c i a l te c h n ic a l t r i c k s .
These fo r e ig n a r t i s t s were
s k i l l e d in f i t t i n g th e p a in tin g to i t s su rro u n d in g s , and t h e i r s o c ia l
q u a l i t i e s were a ls o in t h e i r fa v o r, in s p ite o f th e sco rn shown them by
th e F rench c r i t i c s .
A lthough t h i s fo r e ig n in v a s io n h u r t n a tiv e a r t i s t s f i n a n c i a l l y ,
a t th e tim e , y e t I n th e lo n g ru n , i t s in flu e n c e was good fo r th e g e n e ra l
developm ent o f p o r t r a i t u r e .
The American p o r t r a i t p a in te r s o f the l a s t
p a r t o f th e n in e te e n th c e n tu ry , and th e e a r ly p a r t o f the tw e n tie th cen­
tu r y , had
n o t th e c o n s is te n c y in th e q u a lity o f t h e i r work, n o r th e
prom ptness o f d e liv e r y o f th e f o r e ig n a r t i s t s .
One m ight do b r i l l i a n t
work and g e t no resem b lan ce, a n o th e r m ight c o n tin u e s i t t i n g s f o r a y e a r
o r two,
and in g e n e r a l, p o r t r a i t u r e o f th e American school was n o t on
a s h ig h a le v e l a s la n d sc a p e and fig u re n a in tln g , a t t h i s tim e .
Most
o f th e American a r t i s t s s tu d ie d in P a r i s , though th e p o r t r a i t p a in te r s
51
derived l i t t l e from th eir training there, with the exception of those
who came under the influence of Oarolus-Duran and Duveneok.
Their
method was to cover the canvas at once with color, and then bring the
painting forward as a whole.
This increases f a c ilit y with the brush,
and does not require long tedious s ittin g s .
John W. Alexander Introduced new elements into portraiture.
He
uses a coarse absorbent canvas, and paints with a turpentine or petro­
leum medium so that the rough, unglazed surface gives texture, and shows
the variation of brush work.
He sim p lifies and excludes non-essen­
t i a l s , yet the e ffe c t i s complete.
Each painting i s a complete color
scheme in I t s e l f and achieves a decorative canvas, with the In terest on
the personality of the s it t e r .
There are a few modern American portrait painters who must be men­
tioned.
nese.
James McNeill Whistler was influenced by Velasquez and the Japa­
Hls aim in painting was to produce harmonies from v a r ie tie s of
tone in very few colors.
He had exquisite ta s te , and perhaps h is best
p ortrait i s "The L ittle White Girl", also ca lled "Symphony in White".
Thomas Eakins believed that an a r tis t should concern him self with
contemporary subjects, and to th is end he cold ly observed such things as
sports, concerts, and operations to acquire precise knowledge of them.
His
best works were p o rtra its, which he painted u n flatterin gly, with s k ill
both in construction and modeling, and with v it a lit y .
They are among the
best in American portraiture.
John Singer Sargent was considered the best portrait painter of the
early twentieth-century.
He was not in terested in character, but per-
52
I
A m erican G o th ic
G ran t W ood, 18 9 2 -, A m erican
A r te x t J u n io r N o 877. A lso p u b lis h e d a s a n A r te x t P r in t. P h o to g ra p h e d in c o lo r fro m th e
o rig in a l p a m tio tr in th e A r t I n s t i t u t e o f C h ic a g o .. . _______ z, ___
Exataples o f P o r tr a itu re
53
t ray ed su p e rb ly
men and women o f h ig h s o c ia l p o s i t i o n , w ith o u t f l a t t e r y ,
and w ith a c o ld o b se rv a n t eye and m a s te rly te c h n iq u e .
Hls s e r i e s o f o o r-
t r a i t s o f th e W ertheim er fam ily a re h i s b e s t works.
George B ellow s was a v ery p o p u la r p a i n t e r .
He p a in te d many th in g s
b e s id e s p o r t r a i t s w ith abounding v i t a l i t y and en th u siasm .
G rant Woods h ig h e s t a tta in m e n ts a re in p o r t r a i t u r e and f ig u r e p a in t­
in g .
He h as c r e a te d a g a lle r y o f American ty p e s , a c h ie v in g a s u b tle
a n a ly s is o f c h a r a c te r .
In e a r l i e r d ay s, each a r t i s t p a in te d a c c o rd in g to f ix e d r u l e s , a s e t
p a l e t t e , u s in g th e same p o se, the same l i g h t and th e same background over
and o v er ag: in .
Today, th a t i s an u n d e s ira b le and im p o ssib le approach.
The e f f e c t s o f o u td o o r l i g h t have been d is c o v e re d and a n a ly z e d .
P o rtra its
a re now p a in te d f o r th e a p p r e c ia tio n and enjoym ent o f b o th a r t i s t and
s itte r.
I t i s p u b lic r e c o g n itio n , r a t h e r th a n th e t a l e n t s o f a r t i s t s , which
f a i l s to d a y .
The a r t o f m in ia tu re h as been re v iv e d .
The b e s t American
p o r t r a i t u r e today has w ith sto o d th e c o m p e titio n o f fo r e ig n a r t i s t s .
Aside
from th e few o u ts ta n d in g a r t i s t s j u s t m entioned, th e re i s a g r e a t number
o f s k i l l e d p o r t r a i t p a i n t e r s p u ttin g th e b e s t q u a l i t i e s o f work in to t h e i r
te c h n iq u e , c o m p o sitio n , and c h a r a c te r o f t h e i r p o r t r a i t s .
American p o r t r a i t u r e a c c u r a te ly r e f l e c t s th e changing s o c ia l and
economic p a tte r n s o f American h i s t o r y , and th e "m e ltin g p o t o f EuropeH
a p p lie s a s a p p r o p r ia te ly to i t s a r t a s i t does to i t s r a c i a l ch aracter* ,
is tic s .
For lo n g enough, th e v a rio u s s t r a i n s and c o rru p tio n s o f European a r t
54
dom inated th e American scen e, d i r e c t l y and i n d i r e c t l y .
I t cannot he
s a id th a t any g r e a t in n o v a tio n s o f te c h n iq u e o r s t y l e , a s id e from more
d i r e c t p a in tin g , have a r is e n in th e U n ited S ta te s .
I t i s tr u e th a t a
n a tiv e movement in p o r t r a i t u r e a ro s e which owed no co n scio u s a lle g ia n c e
to th e European t r a d i t i o n , b u t was n o t m arkedly d i f f e r e n t from i t .
In th e U n ited S ta te s , th e camera q u ic k ly became v e r s a t i l e , u b iq u ito u s ,
in d is p e n s a b le .
The r a p id developm ent o f a d v e r tis i n g and i l l u s t r a t i v e a r t ,
in a d d itio n to th e e a r ly p e r f e c t io n o f th e cam era, has been r e s p o n s ib le ,
l a r g e l y , f o r the v i r t u a l d e ath o f p o r t r a i t p a in tin g in th e l a s t tw enty
y ears.
55
Bxaraplee o f P o r tr a itu re
56
AweticaV) CfoUiic
GratV Wood, ISIi, A^eticah
A nalyele o f a P o r tr a it
57
PAINTING POUR PORTRAITS
My t h e s i s p a in tin g s a re o f f o u r p r o f e s s o r s , two women and two men,
r e c e n tly r e t i r e d from Montana S ta te C o lle g e .
d i f f e r e n t problem .
Each one has p re s e n te d a
With ev ery s i t t e r , how ever, th e re i s a common prob­
lem t h a t h as to be so lv ed im m ediately .
E veiy p e rso n becomes s e lf - c o n s c io u s when f i r s t ask ed to s i t f o r a
p o rtra it.
He f e e l s t h a t i t i s som ething to e n d u re , l i k e a t r i p to the
d e n tis t.
The f i r s t th in g n e c e s s a ry i s to make him r e la x , a s th e a r t i s t
h as to be a b le to ob serv e h is s u b je c t a s he r e a l l y i s .
Through th e
m utual enjoym ent t h a t comes w ith th e d is c u s s io n o f many to p ic s , th e model
r e la x e s .
The a r t i s t i s p erh ap s more nervous th a n h is s u b je c t, g e n e ra lly
g e t t i n g a bad case o f stag e f r i g h t .
G e ttin g a c q u a in te d h e lp s b o th p a r t i e s
and th e s i t t e r f o r g e ts t h a t he i s b e in g c lo s e ly ob serv ed .
My s i t t i n g s
a re about an hour in le n g th , w ith f i f t e e n m inute p o se s, and r e s t s in
betw een.
6
My f i r s t s u b je c t was M iss L eora Hapner .
A fte r g e t t i n g a c q u a in te d ,
and making some p re lim in a ry s k e tc h e s , we d e c id e d what she would w ear, and
where she would s i t , a s th e p a in tin g was done in h e r home.
The l i g h t i n g in th e room p re s e n te d d i f f i c u l t i e s , sin c e i t i s a long
narrow room w ith windows a t b o th en d s, and none on th e s id e s .
No m a tte r
how I p la c e d h e r , th e r e was l i g h t coming from two d i r e c tio n s .
I wanted
h e r in f r o n t o f one o f th e windows, b u t l i g h t d i r e c t l y b e h in d a p erso n
makes t h e i r sk in a p p ea r v ery d a rk , and in t h i s p o s itio n , I c o u ld n 't show
th e d e lic a c y o f h e r com plexion, o r th e f in e m odeling in h e r f e a tu r e s .
So
she s a t i n the m iddle o f the room where I c o u ld see h e r n a tu r a l c o lo rin g ,
and was so p la c e d t h a t most o f th e l i g h t came from th e l e f t , w ith a
th r e e q u a r te r view o f th e head.
I f e l t t h a t I could p a in t h e r th e r e , re a d in g , a n a tu r a l p o s itio n f o r
Miss H apner, and s t i l l
p a in t in th e window b ehind h e r , w ith h e r f a v o u rite
v i o l e t p la n t and ta b le b e sid e h e r.
When com pleted, I f e l t t h a t th e window
b eh in d h e r w ith i t s V enetian b lin d s , took a t t e n t i o n away from th e head,
which i s th e most im p o rta n t p a r t o f a p o r t r a i t .
A fte r ex p erim en tin g w ith
s h e e r g la s s c u r t a i n s , in s te a d o f th e b l in d s , I p a in te d i t a l l o u t.
Green
was u sed f o r a background f o r s e v e ra l re a so n s ; because i t i s one of Miss
H a p n er's f a v o u r ite c o lo r s , because i t i s cool and w ill b rin g o u t th e
warmth o f f le s h p a in te d n ext to i t , and b ecau se i t was harm onious w ith th e
navy b lu e o f h e r d re s s .
The p in k bow on h e r d re s s became a problem , to
p a in t i t c o o l enough so t h a t h e r sk in would s t i l l be th e warmest elem ent
in th e p i c t u r e , and y e t n o t l e t th e p in k o f th e bow advance to o much.
t r i e d to s u b o rd in a te th e book, th e v i o l e t s , and the ta b le .
I
59
Miss H apner1s fa c e i s s u b tle , r a p id ly changing in e x p re s s io n .
I t is a
most i n t e r e s t i n g and b e a u ti f u l fa c e t h a t co u ld be p a in te d many tim es, and
th e a r t i s t co u ld g e t som ething d i f f e r e n t each tim e.
She h a s a complex
p e r s o n a lit y , a jo y and i n t e r e s t in l i f e , and a deep s e n s itiv e s e rio u s n e s s .
I r e g r e t th a t I am n o t a b e t t e r a r t i s t , so t h a t I co u ld b r in g o u t on the
canvas a l l t h a t I saw and f e l t o f h e r charm ing p e r s o n a lity .
6o
Mlee Leora Hapner
6l
The p o r t r a i t o f Mrs. B e a tr ic e Freeman D avis was my second t h e s i s
p a in tin g .
A gain, I p a in te d in th e home.
n a tu r a l in f a m i l i a r s u rro u n d in g s.
The s i t t e r alw ays f e e l s more
She too i s a r e s t l e s s p e rs o n , and I
knew I had a problem in k e ep in g h e r s t i l l f o r even a s h o rt tim e .
Since she
i s one o f th e o ld e s t o f Bozeman Montana r e s i d e n t s , she h as c o n sid e ra b le
sen tim en t f o r h e r home, and f o r c e r ta in a n tiq u e s in h e r p o s s e s s io n , p a r ­
t i c u l a r l y th e m elodeon.
I c o u ld so lv e s e v e ra l
f o r h a ts .
I f e l t th a t in p a in tin g h e r p la y in g th e melodeon,
problem s.
She wore th e h a t , because o f h e r love
Her home b e in g so much a p a r t o f h e r , I f e l t j u s t i f i e d in
a tte m p tin g a p r o f i l e , f u l l le n g th p o r t r a i t o f Mrs. D avis, showing p a r t o f
th e room.
The many o b je c ts around h e r had to be s u b o rd in a te d e i t h e r by
com plete e lim in a tio n , o r by the use o f c o lo r.
The a l i z a r i n crim son o f th e
h a t fought w ith th e o r ig i n a l m ustard y ello w w a lls , th u s a g ra y is h brown
was u sed , t h a t a ls o b ro u g h t o u t h e r o r o f i l e .
I f e e l I succeeded in p a in t­
in g th e window, sin c e i t s p o s itio n and th e c o lo r
a l t e r the l i g h t i n g o f h e r f a c e .
o f th e d ra o e ry d id not
There was a p e rs p e c tiv e problem in the
f u r n itu r e to o , t h a t p roved i n t e r e s t i n g to work o u t.
I t was most enjoy­
a b le p a in tin g to m usic, and g e t t i n g a c q u a in te d w ith a v e ry i n t e r e s t i n g and
k in d ly p e r s o n a lit y .
I fe e l
en jo y th e se moments sh ared .
t h a t b o th th e a r t i s t and the s i t t e r should
62
Mrs. B e a tr ic e Zreeman Davis
6?
Of a l l my t h e s i s p a in tin g s , I en jo y ed p a in tin g Mr. L o u is Howard
th e m ost, f o r th e sim ple reaso n th a t I f e l t he en jo y ed i t more th an the
o th e r s .
Here was a man who p e r s o n if ie s f r i e n d l i n e s s , and th e s p i r i t of
fu n .
The n a tu r a l way to p a in t him i s sm ilin g .
B ut a sm ile , u n le s s spon­
ta n e o u s, and u n le s s a tte m p te d by a m a ste r l i k e F ran s H als, can become a
fro z e n d i s t o r t i o n .
I d e cid e d n o t to in c lu d e m isc e lla n e o u s o b je c ts in the
c o m p o sitio n , and to p a i n t Mr. Howard in a s t r a i g h t fo rw ard , f r ie n d ly
m anner, w ith a tw in k le i n h i s ey e.
I d id n o t
make any p re lim in a ry
s k e tc h e s , b u t a f t e r - h e was s u f f i c i e n t l y a t e a s e , and was c h a t t i n g to me
in h is l i v e l y way, I p a in te d him d i r e c t l y .
H is complexion i s v e ry warm
and ruddy, so I used a b lu e background, much d e ep e r in v a lu e , to b rin g i t
o u t.
64
»
4
Mr. L o u is Howard
65
The p o r t r a i t o f Mr. W illiam C ohleigh was my f o u r th p a in tin g .
to ok p la c e in h i s o f f i c e in th e E n g in e e rin g B u ild in g .
sm all i n s t a t u r e , b u t g r e a t in m ental c a p a c itie s .
This
I met a man very
I f e l t th a t in p a in tin g
him I should show h i s m ental s i z e , and no t a c c e n tu a te the p h y s ic a l, f o r a
p e rso n i s la r g e o n ly in the developm ent o f th e mind.
The background and fig u r e were p a in te d in to n e s and v a lu e s o f brown,
which k e p t th e com position from b e in g to o cu t up.
L ig h t was p a in te d on
th e f i g u r e , and the edges o f h is sh o u ld ers fa d e d in to the background to
in c re a s e h i s s iz e .
T his p ro c e d u re a ls o bro u g h t o u t th e
im p o rtan ce o f
h i s head.
S ince Mr. C obleigh i s d e a f, and e x tre m ely s e lf - c o n s c io u s , he was p u t
a t e ase by p o s in g him in an a t t i t u d e o f stu d y and w r itin g .
In t h i s p o se,
h i s fa c e re la x e d in to a n a tu r a l e x p re s s io n o f p re o c c u p a tio n .
He was a most c o o p e ra tiv e m odel.
I f e e l t h a t I succeeded n o t only
in g e t t i n g a n a tu r a l p o se , b u t in p o rtr a y in g d ig n ity and s e r io u s s tu d io u s­
n e s s , m ajor q u a l i t i e s in Mr. C o b le ig h 1s p e r s o n a lit y .
Mr. W illiam C obleigh
67
DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
ABSTRACT o r ABSTRACTIONS. In p a in tin g , a com position o f a b s t r a c t e le ­
m ents, a s g e o m e tric a l o r amorphous sh ap es; no dependence upon n a tu r a l
form s; a t h e o r e t i c a l c o n c e p tio n o f an a r t i s t which may o r may not
h e a r any resem blance to th e w orld o f everyday e x p e rie n c e .
ACADEMIC.
The te a c h in g s o f an o rg a n iz e d sch o o l o f a r t ; c o n v e n tio n a l
AESTHETIC. The meaning o f b e a u ty ; th e p h ilo so p h y o f th e b e a u t i f u l ;
a p p r e c ia tiv e o f th e b e a u ti f u l in a r t and n a tu re ; p e r ta in in g to th e
b e a u t i f u l a s d is tin g u is h e d from the m o ra l, o r u s e f u l.
ASYMMETRIC.
In fo rm a l b a la n c e .
CENTER OF INTEREST. The p a r t o f th e p ic tu r e th a t re c e iv e s s p e c ia l
a t t e n t i o n , and to which a l l o th e r elem en ts a re su b o rd in a te d .
CHIAROSCURO.
The tre a tm e n t o f l i g h t and d a rk .
CLASSIC. R e fe rs to th e a r t o f the C reeks and Romans; a ls o a system
b ased on d e f i n i t e p la n s .
COLOR, ADVANCING.
and y ello w .
Seeming to come n e a r , such a s warm c o lo r s , re d , orange
COLOR, RECEDING. C olor t h a t seems f a r t h e r away th an o th e r s ; co o l c o lo rs
re c e d e , a s g re e n , b lu e .
COMPOSITION. In p a in tin g , th e a rra n g em en t, p la n o r o rg a n iz a tio n o f the
p a in tin g .
CONTOUR. The shape o f a s u rfa c e , in p la n e s and u n d u la tio n s ; o r th e l in e
o r l i n e s r e p r e s e n tin g th e o u tlin e o f a f i g u r e , body o r m ass.
CONVENTIONAL. Formal tre a tm e n t; r u le s o r c o n v en tio n s used i n d e sig n ,
c o n c e p tio n , o r te c h n iq u e .
CUBISM. A movement i n p a in tin g founded by th e S panish p o s t im p r e s s io n is t
Pablo P ic a s s o . The f i r s t c u b is t p a in tin g s were th re e -d im e n s io n a l in
c o n s tr u c tio n , and sought to a n aly z e n a tu re in term s o f "th e cube,
cone and s p h e re " . Then i t developed in to tw o -d im en sio n al, f l a t ,
l i n e a r , a b s t r a c t form , and s im p lif ie d g eo m etric sh ap es. I t i s r e ­
sea rc h in a r t .
DELINEATION. Act o f r e p r e s e n ta tio n by means o f l i n e s , r a t h e r th a n by
v alu e and c o lo r .
DESIGN.
P lanned arrangem ent o f a given sp a c e , or f o r a g iv e n u se .
68
DISTORTION. The d e lib e r a t e a l t e r a t i o n o f an o b je c t from i t s norm al o r
custom ary a p p earan ce.
DIMENSIONS.
The m easure o f h e ig h t, w idth and d e p th .
DECORATIVE. Elem ents a rra n g e d to ornam ent, a d o rn , and g iv e p le a s in g
harmony.
DYNAMIC,
g iv in g movement, f o r c e , v i t a l i t y .
DEPTH. The th ird -d im e n s io n , i n p a in tin g , i s su g g ested by p la c in g o b je c ts
in f r o n t o f o r on to p o f a n o th e r, g iv in g a f l a t e f f e c t ; a ls o by c o lo r,
s c a le , sp ac e , a c c e n t, e t c . ; an i l l u s i o n o f dep th g iv e s th e th i r d —dimen­
sio n ; th e use o f shadow, o r v a lu e s p ro d u ces d ep th .
DIRECT PAINTING. In o i l s , th e co m p o sitio n i s sk etch ed l i g h t l y on canvas,
o r n o t a t a l l , and c o lo r i s p a in te d d i r e c t l y , n o t added o v e r u n d erp a in tin g . B rush s tro k e s im p o rta n t. P a in t can be th ic k o r th in , o r
p u t on t h ic k ly w ith p a l e t t e k n if e .
EMPHASIS.
The a c c e n te d p a r t o f a co m p o sitio n .
EXPRESSIONISM. Em phasis i s on th e id e a o r em otion r a th e r th a n th e
a p p earan ce.
ENCAUSTIC.
Wax p a in tin g , and b u rn in g in w ith a p o in te d in s tru m e n t.
T1ORM. The shape and s tr u c tu r e ; a l l th o se th in g s th a t work to g e th e r in
o rg a n iz in g a u n if i e d whole f o r th e o b je c tiv e r e a l i z a t i o n o f an imag­
in a tiv e c o n cep t; p a t t e r n .
FRESCO. P a in tin g on wet p l a s t e r w ith c o lo r mixed w ith w a te r, which s ta y s
n e a r th e s u rfa c e and m ixes w ith th e wet p l a s t e r . Used i n I t a l y .
Tl AT.
W ithout dep th ; tw o -d im en sio n al.
OENRE.
P a in tin g o f everyday scen es o f th e l i f e o f common n e o p le .
GLAZES. T ra n sp a re n t la y e r s o f p a in t p u t
g iv e s r a d ia n t e f f e c t .
over s o lid p a in tin g i n o i l s ,
GOUACHE. Opaque w a te rc o lo r mixed w ith honey and gum a r a b l e , form ing a
p a s te .
ORAPHIC.
D e sc rib in g c l e a r l y and v iv id ly .
GRAPHIC ARTS. P e r ta in in g to draw ing, p a in tin g , e n g ra v in g , lith o g ra p h y ;
any a r t s which e x p re ss id e a s by means o f l i n e s , marks o r c h a r a c te r s .
HARMONY.
The com bination o f th e p a r t s g iv e a f e e lin g o f u n ity o r oneness.
69
HIGH-KEY.
P a le , d e l i c a t e c o lo r s , above m iddle v a lu e .
HIGH-LIGHT. The l i g h t e s t l i g h t , o r th e h ig h e s t v a lu e on an o b je c t pro­
duced by a r e f l e c t i o n o f l i g h t .
HUE.
Name o f a c o lo r.
INFOEMAL.
N a tu ra l a rran g em en t; asym m etric.
INTENSITY OF COLOR.
B rig h tn e s s .
IMAGINATION. M ental c r e a tio n ; p o e tic I d e a l i z a t i o n ; th e power o f th e mind
to decompose i t s c o n c e p tio n s , and to recom bine th e e lem en ts o f them a t
i t s p le a s u r e .
IMPRESSIONISM. In g e n e r a l, th e a r t i s t ' s f i r s t im p ressio n s sim ply and
b o ld ly e x p re s s e d , in p a i n t , w ith l i t t l e d e t a i l ; a type o f r e a lis m , th e
aim o f which i s to re n d e r th e immediate sen se im p ressio n o f th e a r t i s t ,
a p a r t from any elem ent o f in fe re n c e o r stu d y o f d e t a i l . S p e c if ic a l ly ,
th e th e o ry and p r a c t i c e o f a sch o o l o f p a in tin g which had i t s immediate
o r ig in in F rance in th e work o f Claude Monet. From 1870-1890, S is le y ,
P i s s a r r o , Degas, R a f f a e l l i and R en o ir were a f f i l i a t e d w ith th e sch o o l.
S in c e , w ith a l l th e se men, th e stu d y and r e p r e s e n ta tio n o f l i g h t be­
came th e c h ie f aim , and d i v i s i o n ! sm, th e u s u a l method o f p a in tin g ,
th e y have a ls o been c a lle d lu m in is ts .
INDIRECT PAINTING. In o i l s , p a in tin g done i n v a lu e s in an u n d e rp a in tin g ;
o r th e f i r s t p a in tin g p u t on th e can v as, u s u a lly i n one c o lo r and l a t e r
p a in te d o v er and g la z e d in c o lo r .
LOW-KEY.
V alues below m iddle v a lu e on th e s c a le from l i g h t e s t to d a rk e s t.
LINE. Linet creates^ form ; many k in d s o f l i n e , a s c a l l i g r a p h i c , d e l i c a t e ,
s tro n g , broken," cu rv ed , a n g u la r, fir m , s t r a i g h t , v e r t i c a l , h o r iz o n ta l,
d ia g o n a l.
*
MEDIUM. I . The m a te r ia l u sed i n p a in tin g , draw ing, m odeling.
2. The l i q u i d used to mix p a i n t , a s w a te r, tu r p e n tin e , lin s e e d
o i l , e tc .
MODELING. C re a tin g th e im p ressio n of s o l i d fo rm s, in p a in tin g , w ith c o lo r s ,
and w ith h ig h to low v a lu e s .
MASS. A b u lk ; a q u a n tity o f elem en ts c o h e rin g to g e th e r in one body; in
p a in tin g , m ass, o r tw o-dim ension al a re a i s o fte n th e o p p o s ite cf
volume, o r th re e -d im e n s io n a l form.
PALETTE.
A p ie c e o f wood, g la s s o r m etal on which c o lo rs a re mixed.
PALETTE KNIFE. K nife to mix o i l c o lo r s , o r to p a in t w ith .
70
PERSPECTIVE. An a r b i t r a r y te c h n ic a l system o f showing s p a t i a l d ep th .
L in e a r p e r s p e c tiv e , p a r a l l e l l i n e s c o n v erg in g to a p o i n t , and
o b je c ts in th e d is ta n c e a p p e a rin g s m a lle r. A e ria l p e r s p e c tiv e , h u es,
v a lu e s and edges s o fte n e d , a s th e d is ta n c e betw een them an d o b serv er
w idens. T his type o f p e rs p e c tiv e i s a ls o used in p a in tin g .
PLASTIC, a d j. G iving form o r fa s h io n to a m ass; c r e a tiv e ; p l a s t i c a r t
i s an a r t in which m odeling i s used; d e v e lo p in g , form ing, grow ing;
im p re s sio n a b le , p l i a b l e , s c u lp tu r a l i n form o r e f f e c t ; cap a b le o f
b e in g worked o r formed.
PIGMENT. M a te ria l mixed w ith l i q u i d to make n a i n t ; dry e a r t h , m in eral
o r v e g e ta b le compound, o r a chem ical; b la c k from carbon such as
burned wood, bone, f a t ; r e d s , y e llo w s, brow ns, from th e ir o n in the
e a r th ; some b lu e s and g re e n s , from cooper; s c a r l e t and v e rm illlo n ,
from an o r e , c in n e b a r, e tc .
PORTRAITURE. R e p re s e n tin g a p e rso n in p a in t o r s c u lp tu re ; to u n d e rstan d
th e p e r s o n a lit y o f th e s i t t e r in th e p o se , costum e, c o lo r . The r e ­
l a t i o n o f l i g h t s and d a rk s w ith in a g iv e n sp ac e , and th e r e l a t i o n o f
th e f ig u r e to th e background, in p a in tin g , g iv e s a u n if i e d lm n ressio n
o f th e model.
PLANES. A f l a t o r le v e l m a te r ia l s u rfa c e ; in a f a c e , th e a n g le s and
d ir e c tio n s o f th e c o n to u rs o f th e fa c e .
PROPORTION.
PRIMING.
The r e la tio n s h ip o f p a r ts to each o th e r , and to th e whole.
C overing wood o r canvas w ith a la y e r o f ground o r s iz in g .
REALISM. R e p re se n tin g th in g s a s they a r e , o r as th ey a p p e a r to th e eye;
f i d e l i t y to n a tu re o r to r e a l l i f e .
RHYTHM. R e p i t i t i o n , c o n tin u ity o r movement marked by a r e g u la r re c u r­
rence o f elem en ts.
STILL-LIFE. The p a in tin g o f o b je c t s , in a n im a te , as f r u i t , e t c .
SYMMETRY.
The b a la n c e o f p a r t s b e in g th e same on both s id e s o f a c e n te r
lin e .
TEMP "-RA. Opaque n a i n t , w ith w hite o f egg u sed a s a m ixing medium in s te a d
o f o i l , and u s u a lly p a in te d on wooden p a n e ls , o r on p a n e ls w ith lin e n
g lu e d on and covered w ith gesso ( P l a s t e r o f P a r is mixed w ith g lu e ,
and p o lis h e d to a smooth iv o ry f i n i s h ) .
TECHNIQUE.
UNITY.
A method o f p a in tin g , o r doing som ething.
A ll th e elem en ts c o n tr ib u tin g tow ards a s in g le p u rp o se .
71
VALUE.
VOLUME.
The range from l i g h t e s t l i g h t to d a rk e s t d a rk .
Space o ccu p ied ; th r e e d im e n sio n a l, h u lk .
72
LITERATURE CONSULTED
The A rt F o u n d atio n I n c . , ART OF THE AMERICAS, ART NEWS ANNUAL XVIII.
The A rt F o undation I n c . , New York.
B e l l , C liv e , 1931 ART.
C h atto and Windus, London.
The Phoenix L ib ra r y , r e p r in te d 1931.
C raven, Thomas, 1939 A TREASURY OF ART MASTERPIECES.
Simon and S c h u s te r, New York.
F a u lk n e r, Z ie g f ie ld , H i l l , 1945 ART TODAY.
Henry H o lt and C o., New York.
F ry , R oger, 1929 VISION AND DESIGN.
C hatto and Windus, London.
The Phoenix L ib r a r y , r e p r in te d I 929.
G a lle ry P r e s s , THE CHILD THROUGH FOUR CENTURIES.
G a lle ry P r e s s , New York.
Gordan, J a n , 1936 MODERN FRENCH PAINTERS.
Dodd, Mead and C o ., New York, re v is e d e d itio n .
G o tsh alk , D. W., 1947 ART AND THE SOCIAL ORDER.
U n iv e rs ity o f Chicago P r e s s , Chicago.
G oodrich, L loyd, 1933 THOMAS EAKINS, HIS LIFE AND WORK.
W hitney Museum o f American A rt, New York.
I sham, Samuel, and C o r tis s o z , R oyal, 1936 THE HISTORY OF
AMERICAN PAINTING.
The M acm illan C o ., New York, new e d itio n .
L ee, C u th b e rt, 1929 CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN PORTRAIT PAINTERS.
W. W. N orton and C o ., I n c . , New York.
M acF all, H aldane, A HISTORY OF PAINTING, BRITISH GENIUS.
Dane E s te s and C o., B oston.
M o rris, E. G ., 1930 100,000 YEARS OF ART.
The S tr a t f o r d C o ., B oston.
1939
MASTERPIECES OF EUROPEAN PAINTING IN AMERICA.
Oxford U n iv e rs ity P r e s s , New York.
P ach , W alter, 1929 THE MASTERS OF MODERN ART.
V iking P r e s s , New York.
73
Read, H e rb e rt, 1936. THE MEANING OF ART.
F a b e r and F a b e r L im ite d , London, second e d itio n .
Spinden, H e rb e rt J . , ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS OF MEXICO.
S w in d ler, Mary H am ilton, 1931 ANCIENT PAINTING.
Yale U n iv e rs ity P r e s s , New Haven, C onn., second p r i n t i n g .
V a i l l a n t , G eorge, INDIAN ARTS IN NORTH AMERICA.
V lle n s k i, R. H ., 1933 ENGLISH PAINTING.
H ale, Cushman and F l i n t , I n c . , B oston
W ile n sk i, R. H ., 1936 FRENCH PAINTING.
H ale, Cushman and F l i n t , I n c . , B o sto n , second e d i t i o n .
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