tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post6613387273503210410..comments2024-03-28T16:36:12.581-04:00Comments on Gurney Journey: HoudingJames Gurneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01870848001990898499noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-822047076489945452023-05-22T11:36:59.887-04:002023-05-22T11:36:59.887-04:00Très intéressant. Merci pour votre explication de ...Très intéressant. Merci pour votre explication de "houding" dans l'Histoire de la peinture.<br />Cordialement.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17496653726266498402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-14896686593946497272012-12-19T23:19:13.652-05:002012-12-19T23:19:13.652-05:00This reminds me of another similarly obscure techn...This reminds me of another similarly obscure technical art term: ‘Doodie.’<br />Doodiing has to do with the "pleasing and effective evocation of objects in time.” Another translation renders it as "the temporal and objective organization of the picture as a whole." It combines several factors, including local-color, chrono-scuro, and temporal perspective, all working together to achieve an illusion of tense (past, present or future).<br />The word stems from the root 'dood-' (with the verb 'doodle', which can mean almost anything, depending on the context). An English cognate would be 'doodling'.<br />Putting these two concepts together creates a believable rendering of a scene in both time and space. ;) -RQ<br /><br />http://www.google.com/search?q=howdy+doody&hlRobertohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01751501281929627657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-44307262158416432802012-12-19T21:35:29.733-05:002012-12-19T21:35:29.733-05:00I am only vaguely familar with it, but I remember ...I am only vaguely familar with it, but I remember reading that in French, the term "effet" was once used to refer to the disposition of light and dark masses in a composition. Like "houding," this usage seems to have vanished from contemporary usage of the language, but I'd love to know more, if you should happen to come across it.Craig Banholzernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-35182662332588289242012-12-18T22:20:56.381-05:002012-12-18T22:20:56.381-05:00reallly nice post, i like it reallly nice post, i like it ace maxshttp://goo.gl/PmJiKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-41897821870004060682012-12-18T12:39:50.926-05:002012-12-18T12:39:50.926-05:00Unfortunately, I won't be able to look into it...Unfortunately, I won't be able to look into it for now, as the article is not available online, and I will not have time to visit a library over the next months...Izak van Langeveldehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05012096078196849399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-64477433690282540842012-12-18T00:58:10.751-05:002012-12-18T00:58:10.751-05:00@James
That's true about words changing from ...@James<br /><br />That's true about words changing from generations to another: I am a native Dutch speaker but seeing the term in an art context is completely new for me. The word houding with its current meaning (attitude/posture) is a very common, everyday word; which makes association with a concept in art even harder - while at the same time, precisely because of its modern meaning, it makes the artistic meaning easier to grasp (doesn't it essentially just mean the "attitude" or even physical posture of a painting?) - unless of course I understood the artistic meaning wrongly in the first place beacause of the association with the word's current usage!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-28339473535827743062012-12-17T22:55:31.434-05:002012-12-17T22:55:31.434-05:00I will look into it!I will look into it!Izak van Langeveldehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05012096078196849399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-44096114197250296512012-12-17T22:01:22.246-05:002012-12-17T22:01:22.246-05:00Izak, I would recommend reading Paul Taylor's ...Izak, I would recommend reading Paul Taylor's paper, which is 43 pages long and very thoroughly documented. It's not surprising that an art term used more than two hundred years ago is not familiar to modern speakers, even practicing artists. So, too, in English, a common 19th century art word such as "breadth" is not commonly known today.James Gurneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870848001990898499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-19505571266604212032012-12-17T21:30:25.626-05:002012-12-17T21:30:25.626-05:00""Houding" is a term from the art t...""Houding" is a term from the art theory of the Dutch Golden Age which has no equivalent in English. " Well, it doesn't seem to have an equivalent in Dutch, either. That is, it seems to have been a very specific artistic notion, which never made it into the common Dutch dictionary. I am a little wary about the fact that hardly any source on this seems to be Dutch...Izak van Langeveldehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05012096078196849399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-25766018144053641212012-12-17T14:32:20.427-05:002012-12-17T14:32:20.427-05:00First time commenter here, be gentle please!
I l...First time commenter here, be gentle please!<br /><br /> I love the concept of houding and it is a fascinating subject. Perhaps one of the best passages of writing on houding can be found in the book "Rembrandt: The Painter at Work" by Ernst Van De Weterling. By far one of the best books I've read on the technical process of Rembrandt's studio. <br /><br />In the book he touches on something called "Dutch Houding" which seems silly considering the idea of houding (at least the term maybe not the idea) is singularly Dutch in nature. Anyways, he separates regular houding from Dutch houding by way of texture. The idea that objects close to us contain more texture and should they be rendered with "heavier paint" and as such they would appear to advance into the foreground. For example, imagine a lovely afternoon scene of a couple at a picnic on a clear sunlit day. The sky is forever out of reach, seemingly infinity far away with no texture, any texture in the sugary sweet blue purple of the sky stands to possibly impede the illusion of the sky being what it is. Where as the red and white hatched blanket on which the couple shares (if significantly close enough in the composition) would be rendered with an impasto texture, perhaps indicating the fibers that make up the blanket. The balance of the texture versus the smoothness adds to the sense of space within the picture plane. See the links at the end of this overly long diatribe for an example.<br /><br />I seriously do De Weterling a huge disservice and will leave my rudimentary description at that, but note that he describes it much more eloquently. None-the-less, interesting topic and Mr. Gurney, as an artist I wish to thank you for such a wonderful resource. it does not go unnoticed in the artistic community and it is a cherished treasure!<br /><br /><br />Links:<br />The sleeves on the man in the Jewsih Bride are indicative of the concept of Dutch houding as I've come to understand it. The same can be seen in the second link as well.<br /><br />http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6Oeb8qUBboU/TbO5DnyKBrI/AAAAAAAAAZA/C9o59TvhabI/s1600/jewish.jpg<br /><br /><br />http://arthistoryrembrandt.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/belshazzar.jpg<br /><br />Thank you for your time.<br /><br />S.<br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-87124471704829038312012-12-17T10:08:25.753-05:002012-12-17T10:08:25.753-05:00I think something similar, maybe a subset of "...I think something similar, maybe a subset of "houding", is what is sometimes called "tonal painting". The word "tonal", of course, is used in many different meanings, but here it means that every part of the painting has a particular color and value which is determined by its position in space and by the objects surrounding it. Light and soft shadows link every object to its environment. This is different from the traditional chiaroscuro of, say, the early florentine painting, where every object was shaded with a light and a dark side, regardless of its position in space. I was taught (but my teachers were possibly "Italy-centric") that tonal painting was invented by venetian artists, in particular by Giorgione in this painting:<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castelfranco_Madonna<br /><br />here a different photo:<br /><br />http://bur.regione.veneto.it/resourcegallery/photos/518_Castelfranco%20Veneto_tv_Giorgione_Pala%20di%20Castelfranco.jpgMariohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04477403806364388132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-48898631098652787952012-12-17T09:56:32.444-05:002012-12-17T09:56:32.444-05:00Kevin, yes, "spacing" would seem to be a...Kevin, yes, "spacing" would seem to be a good synonym. "Houding" would be a really useful word for stereoscopic 3D in films, where things have to be held in their proper place.<br /><br />Anonymous 1, I think you could achieve good houding in a variety of ways, which may or may not include scumbling or glazing. I usually try to hit the mixtures opaquely and then adjust with those techniques.<br /><br />Thanks, Andrei for explaining the root derivation.<br /><br />Anon 2, yes, if hoodooing means "Magic healing and control, especially in African-based folk medicine in the United States and the Caribbean" then I guess good houding could hoodoo a painting with depth problems.James Gurneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870848001990898499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-49802350864328795172012-12-17T08:49:49.242-05:002012-12-17T08:49:49.242-05:00Great post. I too, have never heard that word, bu...Great post. I too, have never heard that word, but I think of it as "spacing". More than the effective use of perspective, but arranging objects in a composition so that one feels the air around them. I personally struggle mightily with this in my paintings, so I really admire the artists that accomplish it. Thanks!Kevin Miznerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07365547679276432694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-1089522928787398572012-12-17T02:16:11.493-05:002012-12-17T02:16:11.493-05:00Houding. Awesome! This term will join the "w...Houding. Awesome! This term will join the "windmill principle" in the lexicon I share with my students. Deepest thanks!Craig Banholzernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-44256135848747219312012-12-17T00:38:34.916-05:002012-12-17T00:38:34.916-05:00Is this as opposed to "hoo-doo-ing," in ...Is this as opposed to "hoo-doo-ing," in the form of the great American master, R. Crumb?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-21340534716741029072012-12-16T15:09:45.792-05:002012-12-16T15:09:45.792-05:00Would you say most of the delicate 'houding...Would you say most of the delicate 'houding' effects of positioning and atmosphere were achieved by glazing/scumbling? - mpAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-37454112018731064862012-12-16T11:04:30.230-05:002012-12-16T11:04:30.230-05:00Very interesting James, I wasn't familiar with...Very interesting James, I wasn't familiar with this usage of the term. <br /><br />Today, the word 'houding' in Dutch literally means 'attitude' or 'posture'.<br /><br />The word stems from the root 'houd-' (with the verb 'houden', which can mean anything from 'to hold' and 'to keep' to 'to love', depending on the context). <br /><br />An English cognate would be 'holding'.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com