December 16, 2024

Post 9: Impressionists painting each other

Portraits of Modern Painters by Modern Painters


       A bit about the history of portraiture: we can find portraits in the traces of ancient civilizations 5000 years old. None from the prehistoric period, though, and there is still speculation whether it is because the pigment for the faces was more fragile, or perhaps they didn't want to be "trapped' on the wall. From the 13th century portraits were established to preserve the image and the likeness of the rich and powerful. They became very popular in the 15th century during the Renaissance when painters would paint people around them not just the rich. From the mid-XIX century with the invention of photography, portraits lost the sole purpose of preserving the image of a person. For the Impressionists, the goal (in addition to presenting the 'inner' qualities of the subject), was to do it in their individual style. 


  As he was first in everything in his generation, I will start with Manet's masterpiece, a portrait of his favorite (and regular from 1868) model, painter Berth Morisot. Manet, influenced by one of the best portraitists of all time - Velasquez, uses black paint abundantly, but, looking closer, there is so much to see in it - each stroke has its purpose. Manet and Morisot were close friends, Manet was already married, and Morisot married his brother. In 2012 a TV movie was made in France dramatizing Manet and Morisot's relationship as a romantic one. Berth Morisot French TV movie




Berth Morisot au bouquet de violettes, 1872
Eduard Manet (1832-1883)
55.5 x 40.5 cm, oil on canvas
Morisot pour Manet Musee d'Orsay



      Here is Edgar Degas' (1834-1917) portrait of painter Mary Cassatt (1844-1926). Cassatt was one of the few international painters who participated in the Impressionist Exhibitions in Paris. Fed up with the lack of opportunities for women in the art world in the States, she moved to Paris. To better understand the innovation in portraying people brought by the Impressionists, we can see the similarities in these two portraits of female Impressionists: the background is blurred and undetermined, and the focus is on the eyes and the indication of a smile.




Mary Cassatt, 1880-84
Edgar Degas (1834-1917)
73.3 x 60 cm, oil on canvas
Degas paints Cassat National Portrait Gallery DC


     Unlike women, we rarely find men smiling in portraits, even today.  The other choice for the portraitist is whether the seater looks at the viewer. Portraits of women looking at the viewer were not a novelty, think of the Mona Lisa and even the angelic nudes. Impressionists introduced nudes daring the viewer and returning their gaze, even though it was clear they were real-life courtesans (again the first one to do it was Manet in Olympia and Breakfast in the Grass).


Alfred Sisley, 1876
Pierre-August Renoir (1841-1919)
66.2 x 54.8 cm, oil on canvas
Sisley by Renoir Art Institute Chicago


     Camille Pissarro's portrait of Cezanne stays on the Impressionist track of not beautifying its subjects. Pissarro was among the first to develop the Impressionist loose brush technique and to contribute to Impressionist theory. His work was present in all 8 Impressionist exhibitions, and he was on friendly terms with all other Impressionists until the Dreyfus affair, which split the group as it did French society. Among Pissarro's many portraits of his friend Cezanne, this is the first one he painted. He cherished their friendship, during which they both learned from each other, as Pissarro was the first to take Cezanne out of his studio to paint in the plein air. 



Portrait of Cezanne, 1874
Camille Pissarro (1830-1903)
73 x 59.7 cm, oil on canvas
Pissarro's portrait of Cezanne National Gallery London


Frédéric Bazille was another Impressionist from a rich family, like Caillebotte, who helped his less fortunate peer painters by providing material and space to work. He, again similarly to Caillebotte, died young, much younger even, at 28 in the Franco-Prussian war. Great talent, too early gone. Here is his portrait of his friend Renoir.  Renoir is in a relaxed boyish position but has a serious look pointed away from us. 


Pierre Auguste Renoir, 1867
Frederic Bazille (1841-1870)
61.2 x 50 cm, oil on canvas
Renoir's portrait by Bazille Musee d'Orsay



Frédéric Bazille, 1867
Pierre August Renoir (1841-1919)
105 x 73.5 cm, huile sur toile
Bazille's portrait by Renoir Musee d'Orsay



Renoir did the most portraits of all the Impressionists, and famously took the longest to finish one (he would insist on over 100 sittings). He also did the most work by commissions, since his coloration was particularly vibrant and joyous to people. Although he didn't "beautify" Monet here, he did portray him with a hat and in his outdoor suit, which is not what Monet would look like while painting. In Renoir's opus of 5000 paintings, 2000 are the portraits of  women looking beautifully . 

Claude Monet, 1875
Pierre-August Renoir (1841-1919)
84 x 60.5 cm, oil on canvas
Monet by Renoir Musee d'Orsay


We can find Impressionists outside of France too, in Nordic countries, Germany, the UK, and the USA. Often, they rejected the label Impressionist, but they are classified as such mainly for their rebellion against conventions, unique styles, and loose brushwork. Olga Boznanska is one of the strongest portraitists in the Impressionist style. She was born in Poland but worked in Paris until the end of her life. 


Portrait of Paul Nauen, 1893
Olga Boznanska (1865-1940)
121 x 91 cm, oil on canvas
Paul Nauen by Olga Boznanska Krakow Museum


Making a connection to the modern art of the 20th century, my recommendation would be to see the movie "Final Portrait" by Stanley Tucci. It is about the tormenting process of genius artist Giacometti working on a portrait. The portrait in question is one of American critic James Lord who wrote among others, the book Giacometti Portrait.



James Lord, 1964
Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966)
45.66 x 31.69 cm, oil on canvas
J.Lord by Giacometti, private collection


To highlight one contemporary portraitist, a friend reminded me of Amy Sherald (who became famous by painting Michel Obama's portrait), looking at her paintings, it seems that she is rebuilding history one portrait at a time. 


Posted by

December 2, 2024

Post 8: Impressionists painting themselves

 

Mirror Mirror


  
The precursors to the first self-portraits would be the prehistorical handprints on cave walls, the first time an artist marked its presence. We can find self-portraits in ancient Egypt, Greece, and the Middle Ages, but they were usually incorporated into bigger paintings and were anonymous. Self-portraiture became popular in the Renaissance when Humanism redirected art towards individuality. It picked up even more popularity with the invention of mirrors, which were, at first convex (and self-portraits incorporated its effect). To dive into the history of self-portraits, a place to visit in Florence is the Uffizi Gallery, and within it is the Vasari Corridor, with the biggest collection of painters' self-portraits—1600 paintings. 

Trying to balance the injustice done to female painters throughout history, here is the self-portrait by Artemisia Gentileschi, an Italian Baroque painter, one of the first women  presenting themselves as painters:


Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, 1638
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1656)
98.6 x 75.2 cm, oil on canvas
Self-Portrait as and Allegory Royal Collection






The history of portraiture radically changed in the mid-XIX century with the invention of photography. Artists focused on what features they wanted to reveal about others and themselves while prioritizing their painting method. For this post on Impressionists, I chose only self-portraits in which Impressionists portray themselves as painters.



Auto portrait, 1885
Berthe Morisot (1841-1895)
61 x 50 cm, oil on canvas
Self portrait Morisot Musée Marmottan

   


     Berthe Morisot presents herself as confident and content. Looking straight at us, she takes the classic (bust 3/4 towards us) pose, but she paints it with a shockingly brave and modern style for her time. It looks like her message to us is: this is my painting and it is finished to my liking, not for critics nor for viewers. 




Autoportrait à la Palette, 1878,79
Edouard Manet (1832-1883)
83 x 67 cm, oil on canvas
Manet, Self-portrait private collection


Manet painted only two self-portraits during his lifetime. The first one, Self-Portrait with a Palette depicting him as a painter, was sold by Sotheby's to a private collector for 30 million dollars in 2020, making it the most expensive Impressionist portrait ever. The second, The Self-portrait with a Cap, of his full figure posing in a suit, is in the Artizon Museum in Japan. Manet was not left-handed which tells us that this self-portrait is a painting of his reflection in a mirror. At this point in his life, Manet was recognized as a master painter and a member of the social elite, which is how he wanted to be remembered.




                                                                                       

Self-Portrait, 1876 

 August Pierre Renoir (1841-1919)

 73.3 x 57.3 cm, oil on canvas

                                                                                            

                                                                             Self-portrait

                                                 August Pierre Renoir (1841-1919)

                                                                          Private Collection

    

  These are the first and last of Renoir's self-portraits and the only ones where he presents himself as a painter. He was 25 years old in the first one and was already, after two Impressionist exhibitions, aware of the effect his paintings have on people. 





Self-Portrait with a Beret, 1886
Claude Monet (1840-1926)
46 x 56 cm, oil on canvas
Monet Self-Portrait Private Collection


     What is it about artists and berets? Rembrandt is the one who made them famous, as he wears them in most of his nearly 100 self-portraits. Berets were especially popular in the XIX century among different branches of artists, writers, sculptors, and painters. Berets represent the struggling, but also, independent and nonconventional artist. For Monet, the beret checks all previous boxes plus this flat wool hat would come in handy since he was painting mostly outdoors (en plein air) during all seasons. 





Self-Portrait, 1880
Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)
32.7 x 24.6 cm, gouache watercolour grafite on paper
Selfportrait Mary Cassatt National Portrait Gallery DC


Mary Cassatt was a strong and independent woman who was also fierce in her artistic expression. Her work is mostly based on portraits of women and children in the domestic context. She inspired women artists to defy the social norms and follow their path. Invited to join the Impressionists by Degas, she was strongly influenced by him in terms of methodology and mediums. 



Portrait de l'artiste or Degas holding charcoal,1855
Edgar Degas (1834-1917)
81.5 x 65 cm, oil on paper glued on canvas
Degas Self-portrait Orsay

Speaking of Degas, here is his self-portrait from a young age when his idols were Ingres and Delacroix. He was loyal to the Impressionist group, participating in and helping around all their exhibitions. Nevertheless, he preferred to be called a "realist," although his colors were more expressive than naturalistic. He experimented with many techniques and materials (over 70 sculptures were found in his atelier) and instead of light, he focused more on movement, moment, and composition. 

The painter who painted most self-portraits, from that generation, is Vincent Van Gogh (although he belongs to the Post-Impressionists) - 43!

Among contemporary artists, I would like to mention Cindy Sherman, although she is not a painter and does not really portray herself. Still, she creates unforgettable art. Sherman manipulates photography of herself to explore the idea of a female identity and feminism. I was standing in front of her life-size series "Untitled" at the Venice Biennale 2011 remembering still the fascinating effect of her being masked but vulnerable and honest in front of the audience. 



Untitled, 2010
Cindy Sherman (1954-)
Series exhibited at Venice Biennale 2011



Sources: 

The Vasari Corridor reopening | Uffizi Galleries

List of self-portraits in the Uffizi Gallery - Wikipedia

10 Most Famous Self-Portraits - Artst

Self-Portrait with Palette (Manet) - Wikipedia

Mirror Mirror: Self-portraits by women artists - National Portrait Gallery London

Impressionists autoportraits - Search - autoportraits

Self-Portrait Renoir's portrait in The Clark Art Institute Massachsetts

10 Important Impressionist Painters Who Shaped the Iconic Movement

Paul Cezanne | Self Portrait | NG4135 | National Gallery, London

F. Bazille self portrait

Self-portraiture - Wikipedia

Mary Cassatt | Portrait of the Artist | American | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Portrait painting - Wikipedia

File:Olga Boznańska 1893 Autoportret 1893.jpg - Wikipedia

Portrait | Tate - selfportraits




Posted by
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)