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Sunday, January 6, 2013

10 Noteworthy Portraits of Men


My blogging friend Yvette of In So Many Words recently posted on 10 male portraits she'd like to own, and now it's my turn. Actually, the following aren't necessarily all-time favorites, but I like to study each of them for one reason or another. I'll share them with you in the order they were created:

Holbein   |   Phaidon

This is a detail of Hans Holbein's famous painting, The Ambassadors, painted in 1533. Here is the French ambassador to the court of King Henry VIII, Jean de Dinteville. Holbein was famous for painting very truthful portraits, so much so that he was sent to paint the king's prospective brides (Henry was nonetheless surprised upon meeting Anne of Cleves!).

There is a tremendous sensuousness to Holbein's portraits, and I believe that's due in part to the exquisite and sensitive modeling of lips and eyes. Look at a hundred portraits throughout the history of painting, and you'll be hard-pressed to find eyelids — yes, eyelids — painted with such definition.


wikimedia.org

By contrast, Rembrandt Peale obscured his brother Rubens' eyes in this 1801 portrait, and that only adds in conveying the brother's personality. The reflections from the glasses are a wonderful touch, and the depiction of the geranium is worthy of the best botanical painting. Rembrandt Peale painted this when he was 23 years old.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Jean-Léon Gérôme painted Bashi-Bazouk in Paris, in 1869. In his own time, Gérôme was well known for his exotic paintings of the Near East, and he returned from an expedition there with many costumes and props. I've found another painting with the same headdress at artsunlight.com. (Both sitters are models.)

artsunlight.com

While the painting on the right is a handsome piece, it's interesting to see how much stronger and more effective the painting on the left is — it's a far better painting in terms of composition, color, lighting, even the pose and attitude of the sitter.

fineartamerica.com

One of the best White House portraits is this 1919 sketch of President Woodrow Wilson by the British artist Sir William Orpen. This was done at the same time that Orpen documented the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, probably his most famous painting. I've seen Orpen's work in person, and looking at reproductions doesn't do justice to his rich brushwork.

Speaking of White House portraits,  I've been disappointed with the more recent ones, which are formulaic, predictable and dull. Their backgrounds are usually unimaginative White House backdrops.

americangallery.wordpress.com

And that's why I like this portrait, not of a president, but of an Iowa pioneer named John B. Turner. Grant Wood painted this in 1929. He took an elderly gentleman whose fame probably never extended far beyond Rotary Club meetings, and placed a distinctive antique map of Iowa behind him. Suddenly there's an extra depth to the sitter's countenance, and we wonder, just what did Mr. Turner do? This portrait was one of the first paintings to gain attention for Grant Wood.

pdfcast.net

I mentioned Pietro Annigoni in my presentation of 10 noteworthy paintings of women. He painted this image of Conti Giancarlo Bossi Pucci c. 1950. I love this painting's golden glow, and again, the unique background. It's an interesting composition — note how the opening in the ceiling complements, mirrors and accentuates the forehead.

artoftheprint.com

I'm not limiting this selection to paintings. I've always admired the very distinctive wood engravings of Leonard Baskin (1922-2000). He cut this portrait of Gustave Courbet in 1969. It was one of a series of portraits he did of 19th-century painters.

aotw.com

This young Sioux was painted by James Bama in 1988 or before. Bama started as a commercial artist and then had a second career solely devoted to Native Americans and cowboys of the American West.

tfaoi.com
I discovered Will Wilson rather recently, and I particularly enjoy this self-portrait, which he did in 2005. It reminds me of that classic self-portrait of the young Parmigiano, which was also painted as a trompe l'oeil convex mirror.

galeriemax.com

My final choice is this self-portrait by Chuck Close, done in 2012. I love the fact that Close establishes such a tight grid, and then breaks out of it. I also appreciate how Close's unique style has evolved in a very natural progression:


32 comments:

  1. I like this game! Grant Wood's talent is extraordinary, and is well known in his more famous American Gothic. So I'm drawn to that, but I think the one I like the most in your selection is Jean-Léon Gérôme's Bashi-Bazouk. The depiction of the folds in the tunic are exquisite.

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    1. Dear Columnist - I would be very happy to live with Jean-Léon Gérôme's Bashi-Bazouk, both exotic and exquisite. Here again, those dark neutrals make that tunic sing.

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  2. Hi, Mark - Happy New Year! A very interesting and diverse selection here. The painting by James Bama....I thought it was a photo!! The creases in the tee-shirt and texture of the stucco wall....so realistic. The only painting I'm familiar with is the R. Peale. I just now noticed the second pair of eyeglasses.

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    1. Happy New Year, Loi! I was in an antique store this past week and saw eyeglasses like Rubens', and it made me wonder - as I have before - how it was that the lens of that period were always so small.

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  3. Agree with your comments about "official" presidential portraiture. FYI, here's a link to recent California governor portraits: 2 official, 1 not.

    http://www.artslant.com/la/articles/show/14888

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    1. Thanks for the link. I had actually gone to it earlier because I'm interested in official portraits, and how artists might satisfy officaldom in a creative way. By the way, Will Wilson, whom I include in this posting, painted the governor of Maryland. You can see it here:

      http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdstatehouse/html/receptionrm_rlehrlich.html

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  4. Dear Mark, You keep surprising us with ever more fascinating posts. The hand sketched, by Sir William Orpen, in the President Wilson Portrait is the most beautiful hand I have seen in a painting.

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    1. Dear Gina, I've looked at that likeness many times because I used to collect Woodrow Wilson memorabilia — it's a great portrait. And hands are not easy to paint. I believe it was Gilbert Stuart who would charge sitters extra if a hand was included.

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  5. Hello Mark, Somehow one thinks of artists going more to town on female portraits, but you have given a good selection from many periods. One very remarkable portrait you can add to the list is the silicified sandstone bust of Djedefre from the Louvre:
    http://www.ancient-egypt.org/kings/04/0403_djedefre/statue_head.jpg
    http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/portraiture/4d/djedefre.jpg

    I saw this in person and the photos do not do justice to the power and psychological penetration exhibited in this sculpture.
    --Road to Parnassus

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    1. Hello, Jim,

      Thanks for the link to another superb likeness. St. Petersburg, Florida hosted an Egyptian exhibit several years back, and I was impressed with the sculptures on many levels — and not least of all because they were so modern in their timelessness.

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  6. I love this game! so much so-I've taken up the exercise-and it's not so easy-MY ladies appear tomorrow-and I will present the gentlemen later this week. I love your selections and though they are not in my picks-I could easily adjust to include Annigoni and the Peale in my list. PGT

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    1. Hi, Gaye — While I would not include all of these picks in my all-time favorites, I would love to have my own portrait created by any one of them, especially Holbein. I'm looking forward to seeing your own picks!

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  7. Oh, let me count the ways I loved this post--with Holbein and the Peale, it had me from the beginning, but as we left the familiar, it was exciting to see new things.

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    1. Dear DED - One of the great things about blogging is that I am continually being exposed to new art and ideas — and points of view — and learning new things!

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  8. Hello,

    I love these post, Its one of the best!

    Greetings
    Jérôme

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    1. Merci, Jérôme! Every time I go to an art gallery, I fantasize which piece I will take home with me.

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  9. I love your choices, one of my favorites is Gérome and Will Wilson is a genius!

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    1. Thanks, Theresa. The portrait by Gérome is a recent acquisition by the Metropolitan Museum of Art — I look forward to visiting it the next time I'm in New York.

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  10. Nice post Mark.

    Btw

    Did you happen to read recent biography on Grant Wood. Pretty interesting.

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    1. Hi, Scott – I wasn't aware of a new Grant Wood biography. Thanks for mentioning it — I'll take a look!

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  11. Dear Mark,
    I loved this post! There's something so wonderful about looking at portraits, and the ones you've chosen are fantastic. My favorites (if it's even possible to choose!): the Holbein is superbly beautiful-- I could never get enough of him! Also, the Orpen portrait of Wilson is amazing. I love the confident quality of his marks. Lastly, I have to agree with you on Chuck Close, an absolute treasure. Did you ever see the documentary film about him? As he's confined to a wheelchair, his giant canvases are mounted on a spinning frame, so he can reach any segment with long-handled brushes. And his sense of color is so masterful... Thank you for sharing these pieces-- it was such a pleasure to see them!
    Warm regards,
    Erika

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    1. Dear Erika,

      I did happen to see that documentary. Though I don't own a television, a friend recorded it and treated me to a Chuck Close evening. I also own a recent book on Close and keep up with his current work through the Internet. If you're ever in Washington, D. C., the new wing of the National Gallery has an amazing portrait by Chuck Close, done entirely with thumb prints. He's quite an inspiration.

      Best wishes,

      Mark

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  12. FABULOUS post, Mark. I love your choices. That Rembrandt Peale, especially, is so SO wonderful. (I meant to add it to my own list but simply forgot. I did add the portrait Peale did of his sister to my Female Portraits list.) After viewing this post I am perfectly intimidated and thinking I should never post another art post exhibiting favorites again.

    Blog of the Year - very well-deserved.

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    1. Dear Yvette,

      Thank you for this comment and for your generous award — more on that in the next posting!

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  13. Dear Mark,

    A very nice post and a nice distraction while preparing my own one!

    I am with Loi: I thought that the James Bama portrait was a photograph. Fancy being able to paint that realistically!

    I really like the Will Wilson piece as well as the bashi bazouk. Holbein is of course a master, but my favourite of your ten is the painting of Reuben Peale - a lovely and very sympathetic work. I would happily have this hanging on our wall!

    Bye for now

    Kirk

    PS
    I think I might also take part in this game!

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    1. Dear Kirk,

      It's good to have you back and to know that your computer is again in working order. Peale and Holbein seem to be running away with the popular votes.

      I would love to see 10 choices from you — the more the merrier, and I'll bet you'd introduce me to a couple of artists new to me.

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  14. Brilliant post. Thank you for pointing out the things one might easily miss...the eyelids, the forehead, the lighting. You are a such a highly original oasis of culture in the blogosphere; I am so glad I found you.

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    1. Oh, my goodness! It's only mid-morning and you've already made my day! Thanks for that nice comment.

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  15. I've come back a few times just to study each of the paintings. Your attention to the details of each one is amazing and very enlightening.

    I'm not sure what was in the documentary about Chuck Close but I did recently see a 60 Minutes piece about his facial blindness. It was fascinting to see how he's work through that disability in his work.

    With his local connections, Leonard Baskin is also a favorite.

    I really enjoyed this post!

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    1. Hi, Steve,

      Thank you for that comment. I often look at paintings from the perspective of the painter, rather than the viewer, trying to get into the painter's mind — at least enough to glean some insight that might someday aid in one of my own paintings. I'm sure you go through a similar process looking through home magazines and reimagining your house, which is also a work of art.

      Long ago I had the chance to buy a Leonard Baskin print at a relatively low price, but just didn't have the wherewithal to make it happen — one of life's little regrets . . .

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  16. Dear Mark, A very diverse selection of excellent paintings, the Peale, The Holbein, I could go on. This is what I so love about art!

    Love and Hugs
    Karena

    Art by Karena

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  17. Dear Karena, I'm glad you enjoyed the selection! Perhaps like I, you visit national galleries and decide which painting would come to your own house.

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