Saturday, November 19, 2011

A natural position

"Never paint a portrait as though the person were posing. A natural position can only be kept for a few seconds, it is like a flash of lightning. You must just put down a few large marks for the chosen position of head, hands, feet, etc., and keep fitting the sitter into them."


Quote from Charles Lasar, Practical Hints for Art Students, (Duffield & Company, New York, 1923
Drawing by John Singer Sargent.
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4 comments:

  1. UnknownNovember 19, 2011 at 9:37 AM

    I always wondered how painters around the Renaissance managed to capture fleeting expressions. There is this painting of a middle-aged man laughing, done around the late Renaissance I think (the artist eludes me), where the expression is as spontaneous as a candid photograph. I remember reading a book about the use of camera obscura, but if I remember correctly that claim was hotly disputed.

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  2. James GurneyNovember 19, 2011 at 10:25 AM

    I'm wondering if you mean Frans Hals, who did the great painting of a "Laughing Cavalier"
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laughing_Cavalier

    He did it around 1624. Not exactly laughing, but if that's the one you mean, it certainly seems candid. I doubt if he relied on a camera obscura, which would be far more tedious than just sketching.

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  3. wandamarieNovember 20, 2011 at 4:23 PM

    I guess one must just learn to sketch really, really FAST!

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  4. James GurneyNovember 21, 2011 at 11:16 AM

    Yes, sketch fast to capture the big truth of the pose, but then you can take your time on the final painting. I think Sargent had Madame X for something like 90 sessions, but he fit her into a pose he saw out of the corner of his eye.

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