Portraits from the Past

Of all of the genres in art, portraiture was traditionally considered one of the most important. The artists of the past provided images that became family treasures--without photography it was the only way to remember what someone looked like. Of course, skills varied widely and the ends of portrait painting weren't always remembrance. For example, many were executed for the purposes of public display, as the Romans did to propagandize their emperors. Furthermore, portraits have generally only been made of people (or organizations and governments) who could afford them, people with sufficient wealth and power. Formal portraits of common folk were made less often.

Although achieving a good representation of a person's features is most important in our culture, it hasn't always been so. In ancient times the image of a person was idealized and was not necessarily an exact likeness. (The emperor busts mentioned are a good example.) My goal in making these is to produce an image that's not only a good likeness but also provides insight into the individual, as the best portraitists have managed in the past.

For many years I've done portraits of family and friends, sometimes from life but also from reference photos, a practice that's common among painters because these days (well, until the pandemic anyway) people have less time to spend sitting still for artists. Some insist that using a camera is "cheating" but virtually all portrait painters today use photo references in addition to life sittings, and I'm no exception. Older works can be instructive because they trigger memories and provide a timeline of my art experiences, so it's useful to review them once in a while.

Portrait of David, oil, 2007

This is David, a dear friend who was kind enough to sit a number of times for a life portrait. Like other works of this period, it was intended primarily as practice. I do this kind of portraiture using friends and family as models and repay their patience by making them a present of the painting. David was a great subject and sat six or seven times for a couple of hours each. Most of this was completed from life, but I did use a few photos to assist with details. Because he's such an interesting conversationalist, the time flew by and this one was finished quickly. 

Linda, oil, 2007

The portrait to the left is one of the earliest in this series. Linda sat around the same time as David. She was a wonderful subject, willing to sit for still for fairly long periods. We worked on this one together for perhaps two months before it reached completion, but even so, some of the work was finished from photos. She was delighted with her portrait, and her husband equally so, which was payment enough.

Terry Branstad, oil, 2008

A final piece from those years is a portrait sketch which was done as a preliminary study for a large formal work. The subject  is Hon. Terry Branstad who was president of Des Moines University at the time. The commissioned work is in the collection of the University and hangs in the Library. At the time Mr. Branstad was not only university president but also a former long-time governor of Iowa. Shortly after I finished this he was again elected governor, serving six more years before being named Ambassador to China. This color sketch was completed alla prima in one sitting and is currently in the ambassador's personal collection.

Portraiture is a challenge but a fascinating one. As time goes by perhaps I'll do another series.

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Related Posts:

Portraits of Family

Painful Portraits