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| Gli Amori Degli Dei |
In Pompeii No. 49, I created an ignudi loosely based on ones by Annibale Carracci. Now it's time to create a companion piece to sit on the right side of the mural.
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| Gli Amori Degli Dei |
I've chosen to use this fellow as my basis; like the
first figure, he's from the ceiling of the famous Farnese Gallery. My friend Sandy said, "You're not going to use
that hair, are you!?" Oh, is it that bad? Well, perhaps he does have a bit of a bed-head.
As in my last ignudi, I will be adding new legs for a new posture.
Originally, I had thought of painting the draperies a different color from the last ignudi's, but because the two figures are somewhat unbalanced, I decided to have blue draperies on both sides of the mural.
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Sometimes I have trouble capturing the right colors in a room that does not have a lot of natural light, but the colors in this shot are very true to the painting.
I've stylized the hair, and Sandy should be happy that it's not quite so windblown. I had fun painting the eye's reflection to match Carracci's image.
Notice that I have a different light source than the Carracci original. Mine conforms to my own mural.
The outlining was not typical of Carracci, but it was typical of Michelangelo. It's logical that I reference Michelangelo for this work, because Carracci himself did.
This image is a bit on the orange side, but I'm including the hand (at approximately 150% its actual size) to show that it's rather loosely painted.
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In this image of the living room wall, you can see how I've endeavoured to balance the figures by balancing the draperies, particularly as they extend out to the center of the wall to exactly the same length. The drapery on the right is also gathered at the end to balance the crossed feet on the left.
There will eventually be a neoclassic design element between the two ignudi, but the next stage of the mural will be to faithfully render a wonderful Carracci detail in the upper panel. That's coming up in the next posting.
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Dear Mark, Your work is breathtaking, so masterfully done. I have enjoyed coming along on this journey with you very much!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena
Artist Nathaniel Galka
Dear Karena,
DeleteThank you for such a lovely comment, and for being so supportive! But I have to say that the Pompeian journey is nearing its end . . .
Hello Mark, Wow, the 50th entry in the Pompeii Series! You have shown us what a lot of work, research, and creativity goes into a project of this magnitude. And that's not even mentioning all the behind-the-scenes trials and decisions that don't make it into this chronicle. I can't wait to see the detail that the ignudi will be supporting.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Hello, Jim,
DeleteI can honestly say that the research and decision-making has been the greater part of the pleasure in this project for me. Usually I sit and study the mural in the evening, imagining and reimaging possible details. Another person doubtlessly would have completed the project more quickly, but I have really enjoyed savoring the planning and watching a gradual evolution in design.
What an endeavor this has been....and it keeps getting better and better! I am waiting patiently for more Carracci references.
ReplyDeleteHello, Theresa,
DeleteYou will see one more Carracci reference, one more Farnese reference, and a reference to Piranesi. And a couple of fun elements beyond that.
Dear Mark, How interesting it is to see your close up shots. It is with outlining that I proceed when I paint ceramics. When I was in Montelupo last Summer, taking a lesson from Maestro Mari, he painted without lines at the beginning and added them later and towards the end of the project.
ReplyDeleteHow do you use outlines?
Dear Gina,
DeleteMy preference is to use bold outlines sparingly (I might not use them at all in a still life, for example), but I think they're very appropriate for something viewed at a distance, or in the case of your ceramics, for designs of a more graphic nature. In the case of this mural, I've used outlines where overlapping elements or planes are of the same tonality, and no outlines where there is a natural contrast. So the ignudi's hand is outlined because the flesh and the blue cloth are of equal value, but where the legs meet dark backgrounds, there is no need for an outline. I would be establishing the outline towards the end of the rendering, and sometimes it makes more sense optically to have the outline in the background color. You might notice that the ignudi's leg is outlined in blue where it is in front of the drapery.
In a similar vein, I read relatively recently that Paul Cézanne said that shadows should be omitted where they do not add to the composition, and I've taken that to heart. In the case of this ignudi, for example, one could argue that there should be a shadow of his head on that pinkish column, but the effect of dimension would be negligible, as opposed to the shadow from the lower hand against the cloth.
You are so talented, Mark! What an artist. Seeing the closeup of the hand, I can really appreciate the details, highlights, shadows, etc. The blue drapes flow beautifully.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Loi, for that nice comment. I've repainted hands many times because while they can be graceful, in certain gestures they can be rather claw-like!
DeleteFrom your whimsical animated plow (or forklift) announcing your new project it has been with wonderful reading your ideas, interpretations and research. Perhaps as archeology is next or an island vacation. Best wishes, BarbaraG
ReplyDeleteThank you, Barbara, for following the project from the very beginning. We've still got a few more posts about the Pompeian Room and its Carracci extension to go!
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