For our first assignment we were told to choose two painting from a Presentation, which we went through in class. The subject of these paintings was aimed at the female body. It was interesting to see the different approaches the artists took and the different techniques to achieve these great pieces of work.
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| Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, La Grande Odalisque, 1814, Oil on canvas, 36" x 63" (91 x 162 cm), |
I've chosen to review this painting done by Jean Auguste-Dominique Ingres. I've chosen this painting because it stood out for me amongst the rest that were shown. The main reason is because of the way the subject is positioned so discreetly from the rest. I first thought that most of the work was focused on the background. I thought this while observing the silk curtain, its one of the most realistic parts of the painting. I got a very orental feel about this painting while looking at it. The anatomy of the lady is all over the place, her spine is too long, her legs are different lengths and her arm is too long. It frustrated me the more I looked at it. But its very skilfully painted none the less, I like paintings where the brushstrokes are hidden and aren't obvious. I think it shows a lot of skill.
The main thing we discussed in class was the proportions and it was hard for everyone to steer away from it. Most artist of today seem a little more fixated on realism it seems. I'm guilty of that in my own work too and I struggle to break free from that.
During my research of this painting I found out that critics from the Salon Exhibition of 1819 didn't like how unrealistic the proportions were and they didn't understand his style. I can see why they would think that but there's no denying that it is a good piece of art.
During my research of this painting I found out that critics from the Salon Exhibition of 1819 didn't like how unrealistic the proportions were and they didn't understand his style. I can see why they would think that but there's no denying that it is a good piece of art.
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| La Dormouse de Naples by Jean Auguste-Dominique Ingres This is a photograph of the lost painting |
After reading into this painting more I found out that this painting was believed to have been part of a set in which he reused the pose from a painting he did in 1815 by the name of La Dormouse de Naples. This translates to The sleeping Woman Of Naples. this was the theory of the curators of the Louvre Museum In Paris. The Royals of Naples requested more work from Ingres on smaller scales during Ingres's time there. I also found out that Ingres wasn't paid for his work on La Grande Odalisque, which is a bit of a shock and I was eager to find out why. I found out that this was due to a lot of drastic events happening during the year 1815 which involved the royal family in Naples. I did more research into this and it turns out that the Neapolitan War started on March 15th 1815. During this time there was a conflict between the Kingdom of Naples and the Australian Empire. I can now see why this would've brought the attention of Royal family away from Ingres's work and resulted in him not getting paid.
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Maja Vestida and Maja Desnuda
Francisco De Goya
oil on Canvas
These paintings stood out for me due to the fact that they are almost identical in every way except the clothing. I found it interesting as my first thought was maybe the clothed one was possibly painted with the aim to cover a wider audience or the artist wanted to give her a little respect and dignity. The tones of the paintings seem quite different. The clothed one seems to have a cooler almost earthy tone to it, while the nude one has a sense of warmth especially with the background tone. I like the brush work in these paintings, it gives it a small sense of energy about them and texture, as apposed to the previous painting I review which has a flatter texture to it.
When we saw this in class I noticed a few comments about the skin tone and the proportions of the body which I started to realise also.The nude painting seems to have a paler complexion to the face and the other is has a more radiant look about her. This was probably unintentional as it would be quite hard to recreate the exact same tones used in each.
We also notoced that this was one of the few nude paintings that showed the pubic hair. In most nude studies the female is completely shaven to show cleanliness I imagine.
After doing some digging I found out that no one really knows for sure who the sitter is but their are a few speculations. One tall tail was that she was a mistress to a Prime Minister called Manuel de Godoy. It is said that Goya painted the clothed version so that if the Prime Minister came for a surprise visit, Goya could swap the nude one for the clothed one. they say that Goya feared that the prime minister would be furious about him painting his mistress in the nude. These are all theories, but it sounds plausible. I did find out that the Prime minister specifically asked for a nude painting so the theory doesn't hold up. After reading this I didn't know what to believe, but these theories would explain why their are two paintings that resemble each other so closely.
This exercise has been very beneficial for me. It has helped me look at art the way I used to. It feels like my break from art recently has made me rusty and I'm starting to ease back into it thanks to exercises like this.
Research Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrqQJtqQ5UY -Maja Vestida & Maja Desnuda - Goya Art Mystery
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