t h e a rt o f
Ja m e s C . C h ri st e n s e n

t h e a rt o f
Ja m e s C . C h ri st e n s e n with Kate Horowitz
Greenwich workshop press
Seymour, Connecticut

JAMes c. chrisTensen
A Greenwich workshop press Book www.greenwichworkshop.com/books
©2008 The Greenwich workshop press
All artwork ©2008 James c. christensen
All rights reserved. no part of this book may be reproduced, altered, trimmed, laminated, mounted or combined with any text or image to produce any form of derivative work. nor may any part of this book be transmitted in any form or by any means, digital, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The author, artist, and publisher have made every effort to secure proper copyright information. in the event of inadvertent error, the publisher will make corrections in subsequent printings. published by The Greenwich workshop, inc. 151 Main st., seymour, cT 06483 (203) 881-3336 or
(800) 243-4246 isBn–13: 978-0-86713-102-4
The art of James c. christensen is published in fine art limited editions by The Greenwich workshop, inc. Visit our website to find the authorized dealer closest to you: www.
greenwichworkshop.com.
Jacket front: Men and Angels (detail), 2004, 8 x 10
Jacket back: The Perils of Painting , 2005, 9 x 12
This page: Faery Seeking Equilibrium (detail), 1999, 10 x 8 ¾
Book design by Vivian Ghazarian and Matthew Bouloutian
Greenwich workshop studio photography by Bob hixon production assistance by nicole cerretani, chris hubbard printed in china by oceanic Graphic printing
First printing 2008
1 2 3 4 5 12 11 10 09 08 aCknowledgements
My thanks, as always, to my wonderful friends at the Greenwich workshop. More than friends, they are family. i also want to thank all the models that have made this book possible and who continually inspire me. i started to list them by name, but realized that, at my age, i was bound to leave out someone important.
You know who you are; your faces and hands and wrinkles and folds are all through this book. A special thanks to kate, who has acted as muse, translator, amanuensis, taskmaster, librarian, and pal through the whole painful process of creating a book. And, of course, wendy wentworth and scott Usher, who make artists believe that all things are possible, and who bring out the best in all of us. J.c.c.
Many thanks to my friends and family for their endless love and support, to wendy wentworth for her guidance and patience, and to James, who always assumed i knew what i was doing. k.h.
The skeTches ThroUGhoUT This Book were selecTed FroM The ArTisT’s JoUrnAls, which spAn oVer ThirTY YeArs.
C o n t e n t s i.
pAGe 6 ii.
pAGe 60 iii.
pAGe 102 iV.
pAGe 144
V.
pAGe 194
Vi.
pAGe 230
pAGe 256

men and angels c h A p t e r 1
M any years ago, I was drawing shapes in my sketchbook.
The shapes resolved into a cluster of shapes, and as I erased some lines and drew in others, the pile of shapes became a little man in a very complicated costume. I enjoyed this process so much that the concept of the little over-dressed man began to reappear in my work. The more I got to know him, the more selfimportant he seemed in all his layers, until I recognized him for what he was.
From the late 1600s to the early 1900s there lived a bizarre and unnatural creature: the dandy. These were men, often young, with an abundance of ego and all the time in the world to spend on their dress. They cared for nothing but their appearance,
Thomas Carlyle, SArtor rESArtuS often to the detriment of their livelihood and relationships, and were generally considered ridiculous by their fellow countrymen.
I love the sartorial extremes to which these dandies would go, and I recognized their misplaced priorities in my “poofy guys,” as these characters in my paintings later came to be called. These characters are silly little men rendered nearly spherical by their layers and layers of clothing.
If you are quick enough to catch them in their undergarments as in
Getting it right , (p. 8), they’re not so imposing, but it is quite rare to see them without their rich fabrics and shiny ornaments. after painting the poofy guys for several years, I began to consider the physical consequences of dressing so ostentatiously. The layers of fancy clothing, the yardstick by which these characters measure themselves, add up to a suit of cloth armor that restricts their movement and prevents them from learning from their mistakes. others, like the man in
Platform Shoes , (p.40), have developed rather ingenious crutches to avoid facing the real problem. In addition to their literal layers, the clothes of these poofy guys became a metaphor for human baggage, all the things we take on that make us feel both important and protected. The poofy guys became my clowns, little mascots of human failings and foibles. We all relate to their unfortunate situations, and even as we laugh we understand that we really aren’t much better.
The paintings in this chapter are about being human and about the responsibility we have for one another. sharing our trials is part of all that.
These characters are us: their clothing, the absurdity of their situations, and their humanity. They’ll make you chuckle and maybe find the poofy guy in yourself. a well-dressed man

1 men and angels the pAper chAse 2004, 12 x 16, mixed media
I did a series of collaged paintings that had the word
“paper” in the titles. The figures’ jackets are cut and arranged pieces of paper varnished onto the panel.
BoAtloAd oF pUFFins 1992, 9 x 12 a well-dressed man 1

1 men and angels
FoUr Monks in A BoAt 1984
Monk with iGUAnA sUrprise 2005, 6¾ x 6¾ a well-dressed man 1

20 men and angels the Golden peAr 1999, 12 x 7¾ how MAny AnGels cAn dAnce on the heAd oF A pin? 1992, 15 x 11½ a well-dressed man 21

22 men and angels
BUBo 2002, 16 x 12
This piece is a celebration of the grand size and infinite possibility of the universe. Bubo is the latin name of a genus of owls, conventional representations of wisdom. The wise fool is surrounded by a kaleidoscope of positive symbols, from the candles (faith) at his feet to the key (knowledge) on his staff.
pilGriM AnGel
1988, 9 x 12 t his ragged little angel is following his fish on a lengthy journey. his belief is so firm and resolute that it leads him past the beautiful castle, a shining palace where a lesser pilgrim might have called it quits. The angel knows that his truth, his end, lies beyond the attractive and polished architecture of the castle, and he will not rest until he finds it. The exquisite castle in the background was taken from a page in the très riches Heures du Duc de Berry , a richly decorated book of hours from the fifteenth century. The book contained all the hourly prayers, as well as some of the most important and beautiful paintings and illuminations of that century.
a well-dressed man 23

Symbols and Metaphors o ne of art’s greatest qualities is that it communicates those things that would otherwise be incommunicable, particularly concepts like love and grief. The most effective way to indicate these invisible things is through the use of symbols. symbols have been an integral part of visual art since the first man learned how to draw on the wall of his cave. easily recognized symbols were used as teaching tools and as quick maps to the meaning of an image. each of the
Christian saints had his or her own set of attributes and symbols with which he or she was associated, so that the illiterate public of the time could identify Jesus or saint Peter without having to read his name.
During Victorian times, symbols had a special place in society. In the days when it was considered inappropriate for a gentleman and his lady love to speak directly without a chaperone, floriography (or the language of flowers) was developed. each flower in a bouquet sent by a besotted man to his beloved had a very specific meaning, from ivy
(fidelity) to lavender (mistrust). The flower meanings were circulated via small, illustrated books, so that everyone could speak the same secret language.
That common language is the key to the success of symbols. a symbol is worth nothing if its meaning cannot be understood. The ubiquity of skulls and hearts made them perfect, instantly identifiable symbols of love and death.
I use symbols frequently in my work, and while many of them (like the skull and the heart) are universal, others (like the hunchback and the checkerboard) are more personal. some of my favorites include the hunchback
(the everyman), floating fish (magic, wisdom), the checkerboard (life’s playing field, the extremes of life and death and good and evil), layers of clothing (selfimportance, earthly baggage) and the boat (the journey of life).
wAlkinG the hedGehoG By
ArtiFiciAl MoonliGht 1986, 12 x 16
24 men and angels a well-dressed man 25

conversAtion AroUnd Fish
1990, 16½ x 25¼ o p p o s i t e pag e , c l o c k w i s e f r o m t o p l e f t conversAtion AroUnd Fish 1 1991, 5¾ x 7½ conversAtion AroUnd Fish 2 1991, 4 7 ⁄
8
x 7¾ conversAtion AroUnd Fish 3 1991, 5¾ x 7½ conversAtion AroUnd Fish 4 1991, 4 7 ⁄
8
x 7¾
FPO print PMS 875
2 men and angels
t he process of creating a painting is just that: a process. It’s very rare that an image springs, fully formed, onto the canvas. more often it’s a matter of searching for just the right combination of elements. sometimes my starting point is visual, and other times it’s a verbal cue like “conversations around fish.” I was caught by this phrase because it implies several things at once: the men are speaking about the fish or organizing their conversation around them, and they are literally standing around a group of fish as they talk.
The trial and error process is about development of a theme or idea, so the details, as well as the overall look of the painting, change with every incarnation.
In Conversation Around Fish 1 I experimented with color and palette to create a warm, rich scene. Conversation Around Fish 2 was inspired by a Pieter Bruegel sketch I saw at the Frick Collection in New york
City. I was so impressed with Bruegel’s use of color that I tried out the palette on my conversation idea once I got home. Unfortunately, what worked so well for Bruegel was not quite right for this painting.
a change of lighting ( Conversation
Around Fish 3 ) can make all the difference between a painting that succeeds and one that fails. This version was not quite right either.
I also tried some design elements from medieval tapestries ( Conversation
Around Fish 4 ). here you can see how much color and texture affect the tone of an image. While the composition is nearly identical to the previous version, this one seems much more formal, and the result was still not quite right.
Finally I arrived at the answer
( Conversation Around Fish ). every painting requires this level of planning, but I usually go through most of the process in my mind.
a well-dressed man 2

2 men and angels celeBrAtinG with My pUrple doG 1999, 10 x 8 everyone experiences joy differently. This fellow maintains a rather cool and understated sort of elation.
FrUits de Mer 2004, 12 x 9 he loves seafood—just loves it—but it doesn’t appear to be a mutual attraction.
JellyFish on A stick 2005, 7 15 ⁄
16 x 5 5 ⁄
8
If you’ve ever spent anytime around jellyfish you know how this guy is feeling. Jellyfish are dangerous, weird and unpleasant—but they’re also beautiful and mesmerizing, and you can’t help wondering if maybe you shouldn’t lick them.
a well-dressed man 2

30 men and angels the GoldFinch in the pAlAce oF wisdoM
2006, 12 x 9
In my paintings fish usually represent enlightenment or magic. In this palatial painting they stand for the magic of learning. I believe that learning and magic are inextricably linked—the more I discover about the world, from biology to art history, the more enthralled I am with the magic that is human existence.
a well-dressed man 31

BlUe BUtterFly 1991, 6¼ x 5½
32 men and angels chAMeleon with his pet hUnchBAck 1981, 12 x 12
Chameleons love to have hunchbacks for pets because they find it easy to look them in the eye—they have long since learned the value of relationships with like-minded souls.
iF piGs coUld Fly
2005, 9 x 12
The hunchback is following his dream. The light of his belief is strong and unwavering, and he steadfastly follows it into the future, unaware that his convictions are already making the impossible, possible.
a well-dressed man 33

FishinG 1992, 16 x 12 the oBserver 2000
34 men and angels dezliso coM cerdo
1985 d ezliso com cerdo is Portuguese for “floating along with a pig.” This happy fellow, who could be seen as a precursor to the Poof y Guy on a Short
Leash (p. 87), hasn’t a care in the world, nor is he bothering to look where he’s going. his careless progress across the sky is guided by the men behind the wall. When I painted this early egg tempera painting I was feeling both fettered by and grateful for my accountants. a well-dressed man 35

Grito 1986, 12 x 9 my paintings could generally be described as happy, but every once in a while I need to take a break and paint the pointy feelings. Grito is spanish for “scream” and I felt a lot better when I finished it.
3 men and angels cAve pisceM 1994, 12 x 9
Cave piscem is latin for “beware of the fish,” a little reminder that not all fish are sweet and helpful. a fish like this makes you wonder, “how does that even work? his mouth runs nearly the entire length of his body.” he looks very dangerous–at least until you find out he’s about three inches long. a well-dressed man 3

wAitinG in the winGs 1986, 12 x 24 i have warm feelings for this character who’s been waiting a while, and his time is finally about to come. he’s practiced his role for ages now and is ready to leap up at a moment’s notice to give the performance of his life.
3 men and angels
QUeen BeA 2007, 20 x 16 like Lady Lavender Violetta and Her Heliotrope Hedgehog
(p. 55), Queen Bea began as a color-teaching character for grandchildren. I was also inspired by my daughters, Cassandra and emily, who were both painting bees aplenty at the time. Bees symbolize some wonderful things: hard work, community and family.
a well-dressed man 3

60 men and angels
C h a p T e r 2
C. S. LewiS
i once read that the things that seem the most personal are the most universal. After many years as a professor, father, husband and neighbor
I can confirm that this is absolutely true. Our most secret and embarrassing issues are hardly unique, and the more we communicate with one another the more our similarities become apparent.
One of my strongest artistic motivators is this need to connect, this need to say, “You too?”
The paintings in this chapter are about universal human experiences.
When I painted The Burden of the
Responsible Man (p. 63), I was caught up in my own feelings, and the pressure and seemingly thankless nature of trying to be a father, husband, artist, and breadwinner. As it turned out,
I wasn’t the only one. When The
Greenwich Workshop published the painting as a limited edition print, it immediately sold out. There’s something about the downtrodden and put-upon man resolutely following the carrot that appeals to the working man in all of us. The paintings with the broadest reach, that touch the common experience, give me the most satisfaction.
At first glance, many of the paintings in this chapter might be easy to pigeonhole or dismiss: the characters, costumes and situations depicted are often improbable, impossible or even silly. But when an image delivers a message or the story has a moral, I think classification becomes more difficult. The paintings in this chapter are like many facets of the human condition. The characters reach, strive, communicate, and sometimes fail to do all of these things.
They try to get their lives in order ( The
Balancing Act , p. 62); they ignore obvious issues ( Lawrence Pretended Not to Notice
That a Bear Had Become Attached to His Coattail , p. 79); and they track mud into the freshly washed kitchen ( Madonna with Guys , p. 66).
Working through a process in two dimensions is a great way to examine a problem and discuss it with myself.
Painting The Burden of the Responsible Man was a cathartic experience. After I finished it I thought, “I nailed it!”
The next morning, after a good night’s sleep, I took another look at it, and saw something very different: I realized that the man was not chained to any of his burdens—he was holding on to them. “That man can take the boat off any time he likes,” I thought. It wasn’t stapled to his head, and I was not carrying any burdens that I didn’t choose. But what did that mean for the future? He wasn’t going to drop his hedgehog handbag, rip his boat hat off and yell, “I’m free!” He would keep walking, because that’s what a responsible man does. After I realized all this, I could see that I had been feeling sorry for myself, and that through the painting and contemplation about the painting, I had made myself a little better. the human condition 61

62 men and angels
BalanCing aCT
1995, 24 x 18 T his was painted at a time when I just didn’t know how I could balance another thing in my life. The objects we juggle may vary, but the dilemma is universal. Of course, some of us make it a little more complicated by resting all our weight on the back of a turtle. The statuette of the king represents the omnipresence of politics and government, and the skull is a classic memento mori. The owl and the pussycat symbolize marriage (a balancing act unto itself) and the Latin inscription on the arch reads “Equilibrium is to be desired”—in other words, as long as you remain upright, you’re doing fine.
The Burden of The responsiBle man
1986, 15 x 11½
When I painted this I was overwhelmed by everyone’s expectations. I felt as if life took everything I had, and gave me back a dangling carrot to keep me going. Even this man’s pet, a hedgehog that needs to be fed and taken for walks, is too prickly to offer warm “cuddlies” in return. But the man is responsible so he just keeps plodding along. I just kept plodding along, too, and discovered that my burdens were really blessings and challenges necessary for my growth.
The responsiBle Woman 1992, 18 x 24
After the success of the limited edition of The Burden of the Responsible Man , Dave
Usher of The Greenwich Workshop asked me to create a sequel. I sat in my studio one day, staring at the canvas, and called to my wife Carole, who was rushing out the door. “Honey, tell me about your burdens.” She stuck her head back in the door and gave me a breathless rundown of her tasks for the day that ended with, “I don’t have time to be burdened.” That was all the inspiration I needed.
the human condition 63

even as he sTopped WoBBling, Wendall realized he had a dilemma 1994, 9 x 12
The problem with having an inflated sense of yourself is that once you falter, it’s very difficult to get back up again. Wendall’s glassy-eyed stare asks,
“What do I do now?” We can laugh at him because we’ve all been there. We know that if Wendall really wanted to get up, he could start to remove his layers, but he may not be willing to let go of those fine clothes just yet.
simon’s soluTion 2003, 12 x 16
Sometimes, if we are very clever, we can find ways to address the symptoms without acknowledging the larger problem. Maybe Simon has seen what happened to Wendall and is better prepared, although you’ll notice he never considered wearing less ostentatious clothing.
The lisTener
1998, 30 x 30
As citizens of the digital age, we have a wealth of information readily available, but we pay the price of noise, both literal and figurative. This young man is centering himself, taking a moment to stop and listen to the calm voice within.
64 men and angels the human condition 65

66 men and angels madonna WiTh guys
2007, 11 x 8½
This is about the long-suffering wives and mothers of the world who stand patiently, eyes cast imploringly heavenward, while the guys roughhouse in the dining room of life. They might have more fun if they joined in, but we all need clean socks, and unfortunately the task often falls to them.
Tempus fugiT 2002, 12 x 12
This is the look on my face when I glance up from painting and realize an entire afternoon has passed.
the human condition 67

a man and his dog 1998, 18 x 15
The lion, too old for the circus and too tired for the zoo, may not like wearing a sock, but he’d much rather spend time with his friend than end up in the old lions’ home. The blind man has fastened his tie with an olive and seems oblivious to his dog’s unusual pedigree—but if that’s the case, why has he got lion treats in his pocket? We overlook our friends’ frailties and unusual behaviors because in the end, the relationship is often more important than the truth.
68 men and angels vaniTy 1988, 18 x 24
This painting is full of symbols of vanity and pride, and the uglier truths that accompany self-importance: a coldblooded frog, cracked egg, dead flowers, flies, a rat and the skull atop the staff.
The crumbling foundations of the cathedral, castle and village suggest that the structures we depend upon are just as susceptible to weakness as we are.
The naTural philosopher
2003, 24 x 30
The man who commissioned this painting was an orthopedic surgeon and long-time collector of my work. I met him at a gallery show where we discovered how many interests we shared. In addition to my art, he also collects insects, skulls and all sorts of biological and artistic objects, and we would get together to compare specimens. One day he showed me a room in his house filled to the brim with interesting things, and it was there he told me he wanted to commission a painting. I was about to refuse when I looked around the room and saw the piles of crystals and stuffed animals, and I just couldn’t say no. Nearly every object in the painting is from his collection, although in a few instances I had a nicer alligator skull or geode than him and I used mine instead. The ceramic owl lamp on the left came from Charles Darwin’s study, and that’s a portrait of the man himself beside it.
Darwin, along with Isaac Newton and Francis Bacon, was known in his time not as a scientist but as a
“natural philosopher,” someone who collected and observed the natural world.
the human condition 69

a laWyer more Than adequaTely aTTired in fine prinT
1998, 24 x 18
In a world of black and white, this attorney is more comfortable in the gray area. As he studies a grain of truth, his assistant provides just enough rope for his clients to hang themselves.
The scruffy stuffed owl is sewn onto his jacket for the impression of wisdom, he displays an adequate supply of loopholes on his jacket and he has a mason jar full of apple peels (a quart of a. peels…get it?) One thing I learned from this painting is that, blessedly, most lawyers can take a joke.
70 men and angels
The oaTh
1999, 24 x 18
I tackled this subject from a historical perspective, beginning with the Oath of Hippocrates, a pledge doctors have honored for nearly 2,400 years. Since then, medicine has taken strange and interesting directions that Hippocrates could never have imagined.
Some archaic ideas and treatments have deservedly fallen by the wayside and would surely elicit a chuckle—or shudder—from modern physicians and patients. On the other hand, some formerly abandoned treatments have been revived with surprising new applications. Leeches, for example, are no longer used to remedy bad humors or gout, yet there are physicians today who will use them to improve the circulation of burn victims.
I’m also sure Hippocrates could never have foreseen what upholding the Oath means for doctors now; the mountains of paperwork, the overwhelming choices in pharmacopoeia and school loans that last from graduation until retirement.
It all makes me glad I’m on the other end of the stethoscope!
the human condition 71

72 men and angels faery and fish
2004, 14½ x 9
This painting is about that blissful moment when you meet your magic, whatever that may be.
gerome spenT his free Time daydreaming of
Being reinCarnaTed as a snake 1991, 4 15 ⁄
16
x 16 5 ⁄
8
This piece was motivated by what artist Rod
Frederick calls a “goofy-shaped canvas”—basically a long, skinny leftover. The idea and title evolved from the shape of the Masonite, but the more I look at Gerome the more he speaks to me. I think it’s true that the things we devote our time and energy to are what shape us.
feeding The fish 2002, 12 x 9
Fish symbolize magic, creativity, and wisdom to me. I’m a teacher at heart so I think the best way to feed your fish is with knowledge. the human condition 73

Trying To fly 1998
These two aviators display very different and nuanced approaches to the same situation. Where Icarus Bound appears capable, yet restrained, the figure in Trying to Fly seems woefully unprepared to face the realities of flight.
On the other hand, closer inspection of Icarus reveals that the key to his freedom rests with him, and that the only limitations are those he places on himself in his fear. When we turn again to Trying to Fly , we see with fresh eyes that, although the hunchback’s wings may be meager and homemade his passion is real, and for him the sky is literally the limit.
iCarus Bound
1998, 15 x 12½
74 men and angels the human condition 75

102 men and angels c h a p t e r 3
Chinese Proverb
o f all the reasons people enjoy art, perhaps the most obvious and enduring is that it is beautiful.
The human soul craves beauty, and its importance to a happy and balanced life cannot be overerestimated. Beauty has quite a hold on the imagination, and for recorded history it has been inextricably linked with the female form.
Some would argue that to paint a woman’s body is to objectify her.
And with some art that is the case. The reason I paint women, however, and the reason I believe many other artists do, is that the true poetry of human form is best expressed in a woman’s soft curves, in the gentle lines of her face and in her long hair. We paint to extol the beauty of the subject.
People often ask me why it is that
I paint beautiful, flawless women and poofy, flawed men. I ask them, “Do you really want flawed, poofy women?”
The truth is that it is easier for me to relate to the poofy guys, to use them as avatars to reflect my own faults and those I observe in my fellow human beings. I have found that, with very few exceptions, men and women alike relate to the foibles of the poofy guys and enjoy the grace and loveliness of beautiful women. (Of course my
Everyman stands for all people, male and female, adult and child.)
Because the female form is such a classic subject, there is less need to explain or create a narrative within the art, which in turn enables an artist to really work to perfect the elements of their craft. I think of some of the paintings in this chapter as experiments. Without the need to define a storyline, I can focus more on how to perfectly capture the folds in a gown or study how the light above a figure’s head affected the shadows around her feet. These opportunities to hone particular skills and techniques often produce an artist’s most moving and beloved works.
Each painting in this chapter is a tribute: to its subject, to the capability of the human mind and hands, and to the work of art that is the human body. We are God’s most perfect creation, and painting lovely women is a joyful way for me to celebrate that miracle. feminine forms 103

104 men and angels isobel in checkered sheet 1985, 24 x 18 checkerboard sheet 1984
White dress study 2004, 24 x 12
Woman in checkered sheet feminine forms 105

the english Woman in the alhambra 2006, 11 x 14 the english Woman revealed
2006, 12 x 16
106 men and angels
The palace known as the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, is an exquisite example of Moorish architecture. Every surface shows the labors of thousands of artists and craftsmen. It is a place of mystery that makes a gorgeous setting for a painting.
When I painted The English Woman in the Alhambra , it was partly an excuse to paint the detailed wall behind her. I love the juxtaposition of a pale, blue-eyed English woman in Arab costume with the Arabic flavor of the building’s design. Later,
I painted The English Woman Revealed , which doesn’t really reveal all that much. Madeline in Granada is the newest of the three.
I had begun painting the tile motif years ago, and my studio assistant at the time, who was a stickler for detail, painted in the geometric shapes. After she finished I put it on a shelf and didn’t find it again until last year. I wanted to fill in the center of the intricate frame with a scene worthy of the romance and mystery of the palace itself.
madeline in granada
2007, 12 x 12 feminine forms 107

Julée 2004, 7½ x 5½
108 men and angels yelloW roses 2004, 10½ x 6½ red head 2004, 11 x 12
Painters from Gustav Klimt to Dante Gabriel
Rosetti have understood that nothing adds drama to a painting like a redhead. I was very fortunate to discover Julée and her beautiful red hair.
Unfortunately, I discovered her two weeks before she moved away forever.
feminine forms 109

autumn portrait
2003, 9½ x 9
Artist Gary Ernest Smith’s daughter was the model and inspiration for these two paintings.
110 men and angels
Julia
2006, 16 x 16 feminine forms 111

red Jumper
2002, 4 x 3½ gold bird
2002, 8 x 10
112 men and angels charlotte in red hat 2002, 7 x 5 hermione With Fish
2002, 10 x 8 rose 2002 feminine forms 113

The Madonna Next Door h ave you ever seen a painting where the characters looked like regular people in costumes?
This is an especially common problem in religious art. I once saw a painting of Jesus that looked suspiciously like the bearded handyman who lived down the street from the painter. A good painting can draw us into another world and immerse us in a realm of fantasy, history or biblical story, but if something seems wrong in an image, we have more trouble suspending disbelief.
I want my work to be both timeless and transparent, so some of the first things
I need to erase or work around are the obvious hints that locate a model in place or time. If you watch costume dramas made in the first half of the twentieth century, for example, you can date the time of their production to within a decade just by looking at the women’s hairstyles.
Choosing a model is more complicated. I look for someone who suits both the painting I have designed and my general aesthetic. These people don’t always have the most beautiful faces, but when I find the right face it can become perfect in the context of the image. On the flip side, beautiful faces are not necessarily easier or better to work with. If a model cannot produce the desired expression or be morphed into a
“Christensen” character, it doesn’t matter what she looks like—I can’t use her.
The last step in creating believable figures is to step away from the reference material. If I have a painting of my neighbor that looks like a painting of my neighbor, I know it’s time to put the photographs away and let my mind and brush do the work. That’s when the girl next door truly becomes a Madonna.
114 men and angels sophia 1997, 6 x 10¾
I used a subtractive technique in Sophia . First, I covered the canvas with yellow, and then removed certain areas of paint. I repeated the process with other colors. It’s these composite layers of paint that give the finished work a very unique and earthy appearance.
feminine forms 115

christine 2004, 7 x 5½
116 men and angels nikola 2002, 11 3 ⁄
8
x 9 the bridesmaid 2003, 8 x 16
This painting came out of my ruminations on the difficulty of being a single woman and about the phrase
“always a bridesmaid, never a bride.” That’s what the painting is about, but it was inspired by a particularly stunning bouquet of roses from my garden.
feminine forms 117

144 men and angels c h a p t e r 4
Oscar Wilde
t he evolution of painting is neither as compartmentalized nor as linear as art historians would have you believe.
Michelangelo did not turn to Raphael one summer afternoon and say, “By the way, tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. the High
Renaissance is going to begin. Mark your calendar.” The progress from artistic movement to movement is much stealthier and more nebulous than that, although these artificial divisions often make communication easier. I am often called a fantasy painter, and while a large part of my body of work has nothing to do with faeries or dragons, the label does help expedite discussions.
Until the early twentieth century every artist, regardless of his creative persona, had a great deal of respect for those who came before and what they produced. Even Paul Cézanne, that bad boy of Post-Impressionism, spent his lunch hours at the Louvre, copying the work of the Masters.
For centuries, art students have been directed to copy the Masters.
By examining and recreating a work of art on nearly a cellular level we learn exactly how much pressure on a pencil tip is too much, why drawing an eye on an angle can look more
“right” than drawing it straight, and exactly how tedious it was to create
Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande
Jatte.
While breaking a masterpiece down in order to reproduce it may theoretically reduce its sense of epic mystery, I believe that what we stand to gain—a deeper human and artistic understanding—is much greater.
In addition to the obvious technical skills we develop by studying the art of the past, there’s another element, which to me is the most valuable of all: inspiration. Many an artist can remember the moment he or she saw it—the painting, sculpture or photograph that kindled a new kind of flame, a need to create and express.
As a young artist, I often found it illuminating to incorporate the work of the Masters into my own paintings.
These days, when I’ve run aground (p.
146), it’s often looking through a book of Albrecht Dürer’s drawings or John
William Waterhouse’s paintings that gets the creative winds blowing again.
When art students ask me how to find their creative voices I always answer: Explore. Look through art books; page through the Internet. Find the artists and images that speak to you and save them. After collecting this way for a while, you may begin to see patterns emerge. If not, just keep at it.
The media, style and subject matter that speak to you will show through.
Once you have a handle on what matters to you, all that remains is to translate it into your own work. Look closely at something that inspires you.
It may be a painting, or a family member, or an old shoe in a garbage can. Try to extract the quality, color or emotion that excites you the most, and go from there. The most important thing is to love what you’re doing.
As a young art student, my ambition was to be as good as the person next to me—that was it. Then
I met a guy who said, “I want to draw as well as Albrecht Dürer,” and he meant it. That changed everything for me.
I realized, “I need to paint as well as the
Masters. If I aspire to do what they do,
I need to apply the technical quality to my work that they did,” and I’m still working on it. art about art 145

artist run aground in a Flemish landscape
1998, 23 x 22
After looking over a number of my paintings, my friend and fellow professor Martha Peacock once said, “You were born at the wrong time—you belong in the fifteenth century!” It often feels that way, as though my head were stuck in the Northern
Renaissance.
The idea of being run aground raises more questions for me than it answers—is my boat stuck?
Has the sea of inspiration suddenly drained away, leaving me high and dry? Or has this vessel calmly come to rest in the place where it belongs?
146 men and angels albrecht dÜrer and der ZauberpilZ
1981
One of my first studios was in a basement room with a little window. I had a number of objects stacked on the sill—a book of fish photographs, a book of
Dürer’s engravings, and a handful of old mushrooms that had dried into bizarre, brain-like shapes. card game at la tour’s 1981, 10 x 15
I loved Georges de la Tour’s Cheat with the Ace of
Diamonds , and really just wanted to see if I could do it. The original is a little lighter on the beaks and fish-headed men, but that poor rube on the right is no better off.
art about art 147

lady with poppies
2004, 12 x 8
Loosely based on Leonardo DaVinci’s Lady with an
Ermine , this painting was also inspired by poppies.
Behind our house we have the scary part of the garden, where the slightly eldritch flowers grow.
When the poppies have bloomed and the petals have fallen, what remains are these alien pods. They lurk about the back steps and are a little disquieting. madame papier 2004, 16 x 12 mixed media
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres painted tight, neoclassical portraits. I became inspired by his attention to detail.
Around that time, my wife got a new bracelet that the jeweler had wrapped in elaborately printed paper. I quickly appropriated the paper for both the painting and the title. The painting is a collage—I cut and constructed her dress out of that paper.
148 men and angels art about art 149

this is not a Fish 1996, 9 x 12
I thought this was a clever and obvious tribute to René Magritte’s painting The Treachery of Images
(This is Not a Pipe) , but nobody got it.
wyeth hunchback 1992, 12 x 12
When I appropriate from another artist, I acknowledge my source so the viewer can recognize the influence.
The reference here is more in the technique and palette than it is in subject matter.
150 men and angels two angels discussing botticelli 1991, 18 x 24
Rather than paying homage to one specific painting,
I included references from Sandro Botticelli’s entire body of work. It all started with the red hair of his Portrait of a Young Woman and went on to include hands, feet, clothing and backgrounds from many of Botticelli’s other works.
art about art 151

all the world’s a stage
2000, 36 x 48
( p r e v i o u s pag e )
The Utah Shakespearean Festival commissioned this painting to honor their fortieth anniversary in
2001. I wanted to include a reference to every play in Shakespeare’s canon, but in an interesting and organized way. The challenge for me was to become familiar enough with the material to design a scene that had an interior logic. I watched the BBC collection of Shakespeare videos, took copious notes, and those notes became the painting.
Creating the visual relationships between various characters taught me a great deal about the plays. For example, I was surprised by the rather high percentage of characters in this scene who are women posing as men. Audiences in Shakespeare’s day evidently found a young boy (the actor) dressed as a woman (the character) dressed as a man (her alter ego) absolutely hilarious.
Theatre, especially Shakespeare, blurs the line between reality and fiction. To capture theatre’s shifting nature of truth there are many layers of action in the painting: some of the figures, like Othello smearing on his blackface, are obviously actors; others, like Romeo and Juliet, may be mid-scene (although Juliet looks a little distracted); and still others, like the faeries, could only exist within a story. Growing up in Culver
City, California, my friends and I would walk around the back lots of the major studios, where it was not uncommon to see a Roman soldier with a sword stuck through him sitting and eating a ham sandwich. Those peeks behind the curtain were a major creative influence for me. shakespearean Fantasy
1986
This painting, commissioned by the Utah
Shakespearean Festival, is long and thin because the festival program was long and thin. People ask me, “Why are there only half of Shakespeare’s plays represented here?” My answer is always the same:
“The other plays are on the back of the island, just go around.” The truth is that I only included the plays I was most familiar with at the time.
156 men and angels superstitions 1997, 48 x 35
When I considered superstition, I realized that the less control we have, the more superstitions we invent and perpetuate, to give us the illusion of control over our fates. With that in mind, I made the city of Superstitions a Venetian island, dangerously stacked in the middle of the open ocean. The inhabitants of this island know that their existence is precarious, and that they must do everything they can in order to be safe.
The superstitions included came from all over the world.
art about art 157

158 men and angels rhymes and reasons 1989, 31 x 41½, center panel
I thought I would make a painting with twenty or thirty nursery rhymes. By the time I finished I had closer to seventy. The triptych starts with morning in the country and ends with evening by the water, which allowed me to include rhymes about the farm, the moon, and everything in between.
Faery tales
2001, 36 x 46
These stories come from many sources—Charles
Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian
Andersen. Some of them are obvious, but there are others I guarantee you’ve never heard of. art about art 159

man who came down From the moon 1990
The man in the moon
Came down too soon
And asked his way to Norwich
He went by the south
And burned his mouth
With supping cold pease porridge.
I found this character while creating Rhymes and
Reasons , and liked him so much I decided to give him his own painting. You will notice that the rhyme makes no reference to a small, anxious white dog. That’s our Ollie (short for Oliver Wendell
Puppy), who knows he shouldn’t be up there.
160 men and angels the man who minds the moon
1988, 21¾ x 18
I was studying lunar symbols and myths while working on this painting. The zodiac sign Cancer, here represented by a golden crab, is said to be heavily influenced by the moon. In China and
Japan people see a hare instead of a man in the moon, and the nocturnal owl lives by the light of the moon. Of course, Shakespeare’s lantern, bush and dog are here, and Ollie is once again wondering what he has gotten himself into. There are sixteen lunar symbols in all.
the man in the moon (midsummer) 1983
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream , as the Rude
Mechanicals are planning their play-within-aplay, the man playing Moonshine decides that to properly represent the moon, he needs a lantern, a thorn-bush, and a dog, and nobody contradicts him. The dog was our schnauzer at the time,
Winslow Homer, named for his superb mustache.
art about art 161

194 men and angels c h a p T e r 5
Henry DaviD THoreau
W hen I think of spirituality
I don’t think of how often people go to church but rather how they live their beliefs, how the morals and guidelines prescribed by their faith are reflected in their daily lives, from obeying the Commandments to being more charitable people. My spiritual life impacts my work as an artist, from the subjects I choose to paint, to the message of the work, to the responsibility I feel to the viewers. My art isn’t exploitative, confrontational or negative; there is enough darkness in the world, and I want my art to serve a more constructive purpose.
I believe that we are eternal beings, that the spirits that inhabit our bodies never die. I believe that the purpose of our time here on Earth is to experience mortality, to aspire to holiness by learning to be better, kinder people.
I’m not talking about great, showy miracles or a life of fasting and penance.
We don’t have to be perfect—yet. What’s important for now is that we do the best we can with what we are given: bodies, minds and hearts. The importance of self-improvement, introspection and communication, therefore, are major themes in my art.
While the mindful way I try to live my life means that all my art has a spiritual component, some of the paintings in this chapter illustrate themes that are considered traditionally spiritual: faith in the face of hardship ( Sometimes the
Spirit Touches Us Through Our Weaknesses, p. 212), the importance of community
( Angels of My Village , p. 213) and our individual responsibility to combat negativity and darkness ( Michael the
Archangel Battles the Dragon While Hardly
Anyone Pays Any Attention , p. 214).
Other paintings in this chapter take their inspiration from Scripture.
I’m a very visual thinker so when I read
Scripture I see the stories in my mind like movies, and from time to time an image will stand out. These images are not illustrations of scenes—there‘s no description in Scripture of the rich young ruler or the Annunciation as I have painted them. I’m more interested in the emotions and thoughts the stories provoke rather than the literal action. As I read the story of the widow’s mite, for example, I envisioned her as a young woman, aglow with the light of her virtue. The powerful feelings these stories stir in me can only be described as spiritual. the spiritual realm 195

196 men and angels parables
1999, 36 x 48
I worked closely with my friend Robert Millet, Dean of Religious Studies at
Brigham Young University, in selecting the twelve parables that we thought exemplified this style of
Jesus’ teachings. the spiritual realm 197

a nd a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments…And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him…sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful, for he was very rich.
LUke 18:18-23
I was touched by the story of the rich young ruler and his difficult choice, and I imagined his moment of decision taking place in his finely appointed home as Jesus paused in the doorway, ready to offer him another chance.
The rich young ruler
2007, 24 x 30
198 men and angels mary 1985
The annunciaTion
1981, 24 x 30
And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent…to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary...And the angel said unto her,Fear not, Mary, for thou has found favor with
God…And Mary said, behold the handmaiden of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
LUke 1: 26-38
The line in the scripture that struck me was
“And the angel departed from her.” I wondered what it must have been like in the room when the angel had gone, when Mary was suddenly left alone in the room with the news that she was to bear the
Son of God.
the spiritual realm 199

Ten lepers 2002, 21 x 48
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a
Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
LUke 17:15-19
200 men and angels the spiritual realm 201

ISAIAH 1:18
Though your sins be as scarleT 2006, 7 x 24
202 men and angels angel of JudgmenT 1982, 8 x 10
This angel is gathering strength, waiting and listening for the call to lift the sword to do God’s work. Doing difficult and unpleasant things for the greater good takes reflection for angels as well as humans.
the spiritual realm 203

204 men and angels ciTy on a hill
2006, 24½ x 18
You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on acandlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. MATTHeW 5:14-16
I took the train from Rome to Umbria one year. As the sun set across the countryside tiny lights began to twinkle, and I realized they were the little hill towns, each shining in the darkness.
The blind leading The blind 2006, 12 x 24
The Parable of the Blind Men is from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It reads, “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?” Jesus used the metaphor of the blind man to suggest to his followers that they examine their own hearts and souls before calling attention to the flaws of others.
I see these four blind men as archetypal figures that embody the ways people deal with difficult situations. All four men are lost, but their expressions reveal their attitudes.
Touching The hem of god 2003, 24 x 36
( f o l l ow i n g pag e )
When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, if I may touch his clothes,
I shall be whole.
MArk 5: 27-28
So powerful is this woman’s faith that the frenzy of a pressing crowd dissolves before the touch of a devoted human spirit and the virtue of Christ. the spiritual realm 205

206 men and angels the spiritual realm 207

geThsemane (early)
1974
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto
Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? MATTHeW 26: 40
I was a young man when I painted this, still new to my spiritual journey, and I could not even conceive of painting
Jesus in the garden. I could identify with the disciples who slept at the foot of the tree with willing spirits and weak flesh, but it would be years before I attempted to paint
Gethsemane again.
silo gold frame geThsemane 1984, 40 x 30 1 ⁄
8
And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the Mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him…And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
LUke 22: 39, 41-43
Most depictions of Christ in
Gethsemane show him either ringed with angels or laying like a child in the lap of a comforting angel. I don’t think the angel was there to soothe him or to force him to accept his fate, but to truly strengthen him. Jesus and mary magdalene
2006, 14 x 13
208 men and angels the spiritual realm 209

The WidoW’s miTe
1986, 24 x 30
And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had. LUke 21:14
Woman Taken in adulTery 1981
And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act... He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.... And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man,
Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
JOHN 7:35-8:11
210 men and angels t he Book of Judith in the Apocrypha tells the story of one of the Bible’s fiercest heroines. Judith, a brave and comely widow, was frustrated with her Jewish countrymen for their reluctance to engage their Assyrian conquerors so she decided to take the matter into her own hands.
Judith seduced General Holofernes to gain his trust and access to his tent. One night, after plying Holofernes with enough wine to induce a deep sleep, Judith decapitated him and brought his head home. The Assyrians, terrified by how easily Judith had overcome their leader, dispersed, and Israel was saved.
JudiTh & holofernes 2005, 12 x 9 the spiritual realm 211

someTimes The spiriT Touches us Through our Weaknesses
1992, 15½ x 11½ afTer clouds, sun
1999, 11 5 ⁄
16
x 16
The Latin on the box in the first painting reads post nubila phoebus : after clouds, sun. It’s a reminder that adversity has its purpose, and that every cloud does have a silver lining. In After Clouds, Sun we see that the hunchback’s ordeal truly was temporary.
212 men and angels angels of my Village
2006, 13½ x 14¼
While traveling in Umbria I was enchanted by the architecture of the hill towns. I filled my sketchbook as fast as I could with Italian landscapes and cityscapes.
This is a thank-you painting to the angels in my life, and for the feeling that I am not alone.
We all have angels watching over us—even people in cities are part of a village. We are there for one another, and we are the angels of our villages.
the spiritual realm 213

T he confrontation between the archangel Michael and the
Dragon (Satan, in one of his many forms) is an epic conflict between good and evil where the fate of Heaven and Earth hang in the balance—yet most of those affected by the outcome are blithely unaware. This piece is a wake-up call to each of us to be good and righteous in confronting the evil of the world. These skirmishes happen daily in our own cities, towns and neighborhoods.
Paying attention has little to do with one’s social or economic status but rather our awareness of the conflict and what we are willing to do about it. michael The archangel baTTles The dragon While almosT nobody pays any aTTenTion 2005, 30 x 40 hold To The rod, The iron rod 2007, 12 x 12
Hold to the rod, the iron rod;
’Tis strong, and bright, and true.
The iron rod is the word of God;
’Twill safely guide us through.
JOSePH L. TOWNSeND, THe IrON rOD,
LDS HYMNS, NO. 274
We tend to collect things that make us feel safer and more sure of ourselves.
These may be material possessions, titles or responsibilities, but in the end they amount to the same thing: a fleeting and superficial sense of security. It is only by holding fast to our beliefs that we can navigate life with any confidence.
This character finds himself so burdened with the mundane objects he has collected that, while he hopefully eyes the rod, he cannot reach up to hold it for fear of losing something else. The man has become little more than a vehicle for his adornments. He demonstrates that what is truly important is keeping sight of our true belief and faith, and that they alone will guide us through.
epiphany 2004, 24 x 17 the spiritual realm 215 214 men and angels

230 men and angels c h a p t e r 6

RobeRt HenRi
t
The Northern
Renaissance painters Johannes
Vermeer, Jan van
Eyck and Pieter
Breugel created works of enduring power and skill that have inspired me since my youth. From time to time I’ve attempted to emulate these painters, which is a very rewarding, yet humbling exercise.
In 2003, the Brigham Young
University Art Museum invited myself and five other artists to present a group show. We were three generations of
Brigham Young University painters: my teacher Frank Magleby; myself and contemporaries Gary Ernest Smith and Robert Marshall; and our students
Chris Young and Doug Fryer. We had six areas of the museum to divide between us: five straight, paintingfriendly walls and one curved wall that looked like it would sooner spit out a normal-sized piece than allow it to hang. The other painters were landscape and still life painters, and all were accustomed to working in large scale. I looked long and hard at that curved wall and realized that while a big painting wouldn’t work, a lot of little paintings would. I drew up a sketch of how I wanted my wall to look and then realized that the paintings
I had sketched in their little frames looked like household devotionals.
Who painted household devotionals, I thought? The Masters of the Northern
Renaissance! What if I were to create an entire character, a fictional Flemish painter? And thus The Master of the
Enoch Altarpiece was born.
As I built the framework for the installation, I consulted frequently with art historian Martha Peacock, an indispensable resource. She could look at the work on my easel and say,
“This hat would make sense, you know, because at that time the wool trade was flourishing in that area.” Working as The Master, I created an entire collection of small paintings, from portraits of noblewomen to fragments of imaginary altarpieces. I also devised a backstory, explaining through
“artifacts” how these centuries-old works came to be at the Brigham Young
University Museum.
The collection itself was the result of a great deal of research, work, and love. I created these paintings for the same reasons I paint everything else: to entertain, to observe, to examine, and to connect with my fellow human beings. It was a joy, too, to have the freedom to examine and commit to memory the palettes and motifs of the
Old Masters and to incorporate them into my own paintings.
Part of the fun of creating the work for the show was writing the painting captions, which provided both historical basis and context for each image. The captions maintained the fantasy of the Master’s persona and his lost (and rediscovered) paintings. So take a moment to suspend disbelief, and journey with me to the lost collection of the Master of the Enoch Altarpiece. saints and angels 231

t his major piece from the church at Tongerlo is one of the
Master’s most exquisite altarpieces, and the work for which he is best known. Commissioned by Cornelius van Leyden, the
Master’s foremost patron, the altarpiece resided in the chapel until 1653, when it was removed and hidden during the Iconoclast
Riots. When the political and religious atmosphere became more stable the altarpiece was removed from hiding to be returned to the church. It was only then it was discovered that the center panel, which featured the city of
Enoch, had been taken, and sadly it remains lost to this day. The angels on the wings of the altarpiece bless the scene, and the symbols at their feet describe the divine plan. At the feet of the angel in the left panel are symbols of the Garden of Eden, a reminder of the Fall of Man. On the right, the items at the angel’s feet symbolize the triumph of Christ over death.
232 men and angels

the enoch altarpiece 2003, 29 x 17½ saints and angels 233

But What Was his name? t he renaissance was the first time artists in Europe began to regularly take credit for their work. Through the Middle Ages, only the Church and the nobility had enough money to commission and purchase art. Murals, stained glass panels and devotional pieces remained unsigned, as the artists who created them were considered craftsmen rather than fine artists. A signature on a cathedral painting, it was thought, would draw focus to the art itself and away from worship, and showed a lack of humility in the artist. As the middle class emerged, however, private citizens could for the first time afford art for their homes, and secular art flourished.
Unfortunately, at this time it was still uncommon for an artist to sign his work, and the origins of many works remain unknown to this day.
When private collectors or museums have assembled a collection of unattributed works with enough similarities, they call in art historians to do some detective work. The paintings are scoured for historical information such as regional costume and recognizable figures within the painting, as well as the chemical composition of the paint itself, to determine if the same artist produced them all and the artist’s identity. If the artist can’t be determined, he is often referred to by his most prominent or representative work, for example, the Master of the Saint Bartholomew
Altarpiece, the Master of the
Trebon Altarpiece or the Master of the Enoch Altarpiece. madonna with two angels 2003, 6½ x 22½ ave (with red wing)
2003, 8 x 8
234 men and angels

tan angel
2003 angel with epaulet
2003, 7½ x 8 saints and angels 235

saint gertrude of nivelles 2003, 7 x 5½
Gertrude was raised in a religious household: her parents were dedicated Christians and her sister Begga is also a saint. After her father Bepin’s death in 640 Gertrude’s mother founded a monastery at Nivelles, now in Belgium. Gertrude prayed most ardently for sinners in Purgatory, and for this reason is often portrayed with mice, the Christian symbol for souls in Purgatory. She is also invoked against rats and other vermin.
236 men and angels

saint gereon 2003, 8 x 4½
Gereon was martyred at Cologne in the early fourth century. He is often represented in art as a Roman soldier or medieval knight. The legend of his martyrdom by decapitation led to his role as the patron saint of migraine headaches. magdalene with pink Jar 2003, 8 x 6
This portrait depicts Mary Magdalene with her pot of precious ointment, which she carried to the tomb of the crucified Christ.
saints and angels 237

saint apollonia
2003, 7½ x 4
When the heathen population of Alexandria revolted against the Christians in the year
249, Apollonia was beaten and her teeth were extracted with tongs. Her assailants threatened her with death by fire if she would not recant, but Apollonia, “being kindled within by a greater fire of the Holy Spirit,” walked into the fire of her own accord. She is the patron saint of dentists and those suffering toothaches.
Young girl as angel
2003
238 men and angels saint Justina of lombardY 2003, 6¾ x 5
Justina was martyred with a dagger in her throat at the command of, according to competing accounts, either Nero or Diocletian. She is venerated at Venice and at Padua where splendid churches have been built in her honor. Justina is often portrayed with a unicorn (a symbol of maidenly purity) and less often with the fatal dagger through her neck.

portrait of gurtruYdt van leYden
2003, 8 x 5½
Gurtruydt was the eldest daughter of patrician
Cornelius van Leyden.
small madonna 2003, 3¾ x 3¾ portrait of caterina van leYden with small angels 2003, 7½ x 4½ saints and angels 239