Pompeii No.49: "Assembing" the Left Ignudi

Charles Dempsey, George Braziller

As I mentioned in the last posting, the two ignudi of my Carracci wall will both be loosely based on figures by Carracci. Just how loosely, you'll see momentarily!

Charles Dempsey, George Braziller

I begin by finding a figure that has possibilities, and then flipping it 180°. My choice is informed in part by the realization that there is a wall directly behind where my left ignudi will go, and therefore the figure needs to either sit erectly, or lean forward, as this one does. But now I have a couple of problems:

• Because this figure is at the left edge of the living room mural, it will be staring up at nothing, so I'll need to reposition the head.
• Because the original Carracci fresco is so elevated, the ignudi feet appear to be cut off, so I'll need to add feet, or better yet, reposition new legs.
• For all the beauty of Carracci's painting, the limbs of this figure are quite exaggerated. Can a body really be this muscular and still have such a big stomach? I'll need to put this fellow on a strict diet. No more pasta!

Here's a real Frankenstein for you! For reference, I've pasted a new Carracci head on the painted figure, then added a photograph of legs and the left arm. A special thanks to my friend Dave for being a good sport and modeling for the sake of art.

click to enlarge

Here's my version of the ignudi. The colors are true for the most part, though the purple of the base and the green below it are neither as dark nor as saturated.

Here you can see that the wall is rather textured in areas, and so I have simplified my job by smoothing out the surface in critical, more detailed areas.

Another ignudi is yet to come, and he'll be facing the one I've just revealed. I hope you'll join me for that reveal, too!

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