In my last post I shared Auerbach’s study of ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’. This is another post about artists studying other artists. Did you know that Picasso did a series of studies in Velasquez’s Las Meninas?
When we did modern studies of masterwork compositions in class, many students did one little study of a painting and figured they were about done, but they were only getting started. These creative iterations grow with time, and multiple of opportunities. Even if you don’t have any amazing ideas, think of each replication as a DNA copy. Eventually you’re going to get a variant by accident, and that could lead to an evolution.
Picasso, for example, made a series of 45 interpretations of Velasquez’s painting. You can watch as his first sketch is a stylized copy, then his ideas emerge, turning and shifting with each iteration.
It’s a common misconception that an artist needs lots of ideas. Really, I think we just need one or two per season, per year, or per even lifetime that we can work and rework into layers of discovery.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”14919,14918,14917,14916,14915,14910,14911,14912,14913,14914,14909,14908,14907,14906,14905″ layout=”3″ gallery_style=”1″ load_in_animation=”none”][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”14928,14929,14930,14931,14936,14935,14934,14933,14932,14937,14939,14940″ layout=”3″ gallery_style=”1″ load_in_animation=”none”][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”14941,14942,14943,14944,14945,14946,14951,14950,14949,14948,14947,14952,14953,14954,14955,14956″ layout=”3″ gallery_style=”1″ load_in_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”14957″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]So – what’s a work of art you’d like to play with?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Cezanne painted 29 portraits and made countless drawings of Hortense Fiquet. He drew and painted his mistress in graphite, watercolor, and oil. The first painting exists only in a photograph, and the second was of Fiquet nursing their baby. Fiquet and Cezanne met in Paris sometime around 1869. Cezanne was a 30 year old painter …
[vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]This show at MoMA was brought to my attention by a League member. (Thanks Chris!) He had been there to see it and said it was impactful to see works in context not by culture, but by timeline. What was happening while Matisse painted his ladies? What …
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”7962″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text] Michele Yanow In January we sent out 30 days of Creative Challenges. I heard that many of you were doing the challenges at home, and a few of you were outgoing enough to …
Last Tuesday for our observational drawing I posted a challenge to draw your unmade beds. In return you posted exceptionally beautiful drawings, proof that lack of housekeeping makes for good art. Your drawings were so personal and beautifully rendered that decided to propose a similar measure of housekeeping for today’s challenge: laundry. Artist’s choice materials. …
Picasso’s studies of Las Meninas
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
Picasso’s first sketch of Las Meninas
In my last post I shared Auerbach’s study of ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’. This is another post about artists studying other artists. Did you know that Picasso did a series of studies in Velasquez’s Las Meninas?
When we did modern studies of masterwork compositions in class, many students did one little study of a painting and figured they were about done, but they were only getting started. These creative iterations grow with time, and multiple of opportunities. Even if you don’t have any amazing ideas, think of each replication as a DNA copy. Eventually you’re going to get a variant by accident, and that could lead to an evolution.
Picasso, for example, made a series of 45 interpretations of Velasquez’s painting. You can watch as his first sketch is a stylized copy, then his ideas emerge, turning and shifting with each iteration.
It’s a common misconception that an artist needs lots of ideas. Really, I think we just need one or two per season, per year, or per even lifetime that we can work and rework into layers of discovery.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”14919,14918,14917,14916,14915,14910,14911,14912,14913,14914,14909,14908,14907,14906,14905″ layout=”3″ gallery_style=”1″ load_in_animation=”none”][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”14928,14929,14930,14931,14936,14935,14934,14933,14932,14937,14939,14940″ layout=”3″ gallery_style=”1″ load_in_animation=”none”][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”14941,14942,14943,14944,14945,14946,14951,14950,14949,14948,14947,14952,14953,14954,14955,14956″ layout=”3″ gallery_style=”1″ load_in_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”14957″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]So – what’s a work of art you’d like to play with?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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Cezanne painted 29 portraits and made countless drawings of Hortense Fiquet. He drew and painted his mistress in graphite, watercolor, and oil. The first painting exists only in a photograph, and the second was of Fiquet nursing their baby. Fiquet and Cezanne met in Paris sometime around 1869. Cezanne was a 30 year old painter …
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[vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]This show at MoMA was brought to my attention by a League member. (Thanks Chris!) He had been there to see it and said it was impactful to see works in context not by culture, but by timeline. What was happening while Matisse painted his ladies? What …
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