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. 


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