A new exhibition called ‘Winslow Homer and the Camera: Photography and the Art of Painting’ opens this Saturday at Bowdoin College in Maine.
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| "Winslow Homer, Charles S. Homer, Sr., and Sam at Prout’s Neck," ca. 1884, albumen silver print, by Simon Towle. Bowdoin College Museum of Art. |
I had always assumed that Homer was camera shy and there are few photos of him, but recent scholarship has turned up new discoveries, many of which are included in the exhibition.
Homer’s interest in photographs gained momentum during his time as a sketch artist covering the Civil War. He collected photographs that were taken by others, which helped him visualize the scenes he portrayed for the popular magazines.
Though he never wrote about his use of photographs as reference, the authors explore the various ways his art was shaped by the camera, a tool that could simultaneously capture accurate information and deceive the viewer.
His painting of a fish in mid-leap was his painterly response to the ability of the camera to freeze action. Though probably not based directly on a photo, the very idea of painting a moment from fast action was unusual in the nineteenth century, when most other artists would have painted a fish as a still life object.
The exhibition and book contain other insights into Homer's process, including doll-size mannikins with simple costumes, which he used for reference when drawing and painting working-class women.
The exhibit ‘Winslow Homer and the Camera: Photography and the Art of Painting’ is the product of years of study by Bowdoin art historian Dana E. Byrd and museum co-director Frank H. Goodyear III. Bowdoin College hosts the first showing of the exhibition, which travels in November 2018 to the Brandywine River Museum.
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Other books that explore the relationship between painting and photography:
Art and Photography by Aaron Scharf, 1968. Covers the influence of photography on portraiture, landscape, realism, and impressionism.
Shared Intelligence: American Painting and the Photograph, Edited by Barbara Buhler Lynes, 2011. Chapters on Eakins, Remington, Steiglitz, O'Keeffe, and Bechtle. In this book the main emphasis is on modern painters.
Painting and Photography, 1839-1914. by Dominique de Font-Réaulx, 2012. Textbook-style coverage of the intersection between realist painters and the photographic image, with chapters on genre photography, photographing the nude, portraiture, and painters who were also photographers.
The Artist and the Camera: Degas to Picasso. Oversize book with features on key artists who used photography.
Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera. Shows Rockwell's reference photos compared to his finished illustrations, as well as information about how he took photos and how he changed them to suit his purposes.
Previously on GurneyJourney
Using Photo Reference
Art and Photography by Aaron Scharf, 1968. Covers the influence of photography on portraiture, landscape, realism, and impressionism.Shared Intelligence: American Painting and the Photograph, Edited by Barbara Buhler Lynes, 2011. Chapters on Eakins, Remington, Steiglitz, O'Keeffe, and Bechtle. In this book the main emphasis is on modern painters.
Painting and Photography, 1839-1914. by Dominique de Font-Réaulx, 2012. Textbook-style coverage of the intersection between realist painters and the photographic image, with chapters on genre photography, photographing the nude, portraiture, and painters who were also photographers.
The Artist and the Camera: Degas to Picasso. Oversize book with features on key artists who used photography.
Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera. Shows Rockwell's reference photos compared to his finished illustrations, as well as information about how he took photos and how he changed them to suit his purposes.
Previously on GurneyJourney
Using Photo Reference
So fascinating!!! and thanks for the list of books on the subject as well. I paint from photos often and feel like less of an artist --but photos have helped me to keep painting when otherwise I would(and could not) not have been able to paint. I guess in the end it all depends on the skill and vision of the artist :)
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. We as artists, and human beings in general, are dealing with some new developments nowadays, some aspects of which could be frightening. But hasn't it always been so? What a game-changer photography was, with its ability to quickly capture an image in many ways beyond what even the most practiced and intelligent artist could achieve. But art is by humans, for humans, so it must communicate something that is of interest to us, for it to have value as art. We must keep that in mind, so that we can use whatever new developments that come along as tools, and expand upon them, without foolishly losing our individuality and our humanity.
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