'After the Bath'
Painting and Photograph by Edgar Degas, 1896
'Ballerinas'
Edgar Degas
Of course Degas was a photographer as well as a painter, draughtsman, sculptor and printer. So it is no surprise that he used his painterly insight to inform his photographic decision making.
Conversely, it is obvious that his paintings are influenced by his photographs. Each of the various media that he worked in were integral to all the others; in that, for example, the speed of his execution in clay and three dimensions affected the speed and vibrancy of his coloured pastel work; his drawings were crucial for the fluidity of his mono-prints, and so on. He was the perfect example of a great artist working across a range of media and allowing his work in each area to affect his work in all the other areas.
I always find it strange that while the majority of such Degas-like inter-disciplinary creativity is universally applauded, one very minor part of this whole activity, (ie, using photographs to assist the painting process), is often adjudged to be 'cheating'.
The 'using photos is cheating' argument......
It is amazing that this argument is still heard, particularly when we think of the ubiquity of the practice. (Artists who used photographs as part of the painting process included Delacroix, the Impressionists, all the Post Impressionists, and pretty well any modern painter even tangentially involved in art based on the real world.)
The argument itself seems to derive from the idea that the worth of a work of art hinges on the difficulty of it's execution.
The argument goes something like this; that which is very difficult is good, that which is easy is not good, and therefore anything which eases the difficult creative process is somehow naughty. (I've heard this argument over the years used in connection with tracing paper, the Camera Obscura, the Camera Lucida, Photographs, erasers, rulers, and so on).
Needless to say, I don't think the argument holds up. If simply using photographs to help the memory, or to save a little time sketching out a composition could make someone a great artist, then there would be hordes of painters out there of the standard of Vermeer, Carravagio, Delacroix, Degas, etc.
Here are a few more painters who use photographs as a creative and time-saving part of the painting process......
Alphonse Mucha
Frida Khalo
Paul Cezanne
Paul Gauguin
Pablo Picasso
Toulouse Lautrec
Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh
Alphonse Mucha
How to use photos well, and how to use photos badly......
The first principle re successful use of photographs, is to make sure that you are in charge at all times. Never simply accept what is on a photo and copy it.
As with producing any painting the process may require constant adjustment of the subject, regarding tone, colour, composition, placement, and so on. This is done so as to achieve the specific artistic ends that an artist sets herself.
Look at this Picasso painting of Olga Koklova for instance. It's obvious that he has taken the main elements of the photograph, such as the likeness and the pose........
...........yet, even though the photograph is one of his own, (and therefore he would have arranged the composition, the pose and the setting even before the photograph was taken) nevertheless he has changed the image in many subtle ways, such as the angle of both arms, the tilt of the head, the rhythms of the neckline, the changes of tone across the torso and the chair so as to emphasize the decorative qualities, and so on.
And here, in this Lautrec painting, there are innumerable small differences between it and the photograph. (The addition of colour, the importance of the invented texturing, the introduction of other objects, the changes of tone (e.g., the man's trousers), the angle of his head, her chair, and so on).
The photo was largely used to prompt the visual memory of the artist, and to suggest the overall placement of the composition, but it does not act as a visual straightjacket.
Lautrec, was great with line and was also keen on the textures that he introduced.
Mucha, on the other hand, leant towards line and decoration. In his painting above, the modelling of the sitter is simplified and the elegance of the drawn line is emphasized. He has moved the figure slightly, straightening the angle of the arm for compositional purposes, the face is more full-frontal, the dress is darkened to make a stronger contrast with the flesh of the model. He has also introduced the plant (to create a sense of foreground) plus his trademark mandala-style decorative halo as a background.
It is always interesting to see the similarities of the painting and the photograph, but it is even more instructive to search for the differences, and try to work out why the artist made the changes.
Of course there are lots of painters who use photographs in a non-creative way. They may, for example, use photographs taken by other people, which means that they are working not from their own take on the world around us, but from an image of nature already filtered through the eyes and vision of someone else.
And nowadays, I'm afraid to say, many photographers are prone to produce a slick and romanticised take on nature and figures; with photoshopped, pumped-up hues and contrast; filters on the sky which make a landscape look slick and un-natural; faces which are 'air-brushed' to add glamour but which also suck away the character, and so on.
All these, and many more tricks of the current photographic trade produce images which are obviously very popular and commercial, but which should be avoided at all costs by any painter who wants to produce paintings which reflect his or her own personality.
quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz “details, details............” quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz
Any idea who painted this bloke, and where he is?
(The answer will be in the next posting.)
And here's the answer from the last posting -
'Portrait of Pablo Picasso'
by Juan Gris. 1912
quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz “details, details............” quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz
"Nothing is said that has not been said before."
Terence
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