Good Art

"Good art rarely imitates; it usually only describes or explains…Good art always consists of two things:  First, the observation of fact; secondly, the manifesting of human design and authority in the way that fact is told.  Great and good art must unite the two." 

John Ruskin, The Two Paths

What is Art?

I have been reading The Intellectual Life of the Early Renaissance Artist by Francis Ames-Lewis.  I am not very far into it, but it promises to be interesting.  In it Ames-Lewis gives an account of the evolution of the artist from a craftsman/tradesman to an artist with socially elevated standing during the early Renaissance.  He traces the change of paintings from functional objects (stimuli for devotion or decorations for furniture and interiors) into objects that are ends in themselves, with "no self-evident function [and which] appear to serve in an abstract way as visual stimuli to intellectual activity." (p.3)

I think this is a crucial part of the answer to the question What is Art?  It must be a stimuli to intellectual activity. 

Lady with an Ermine, Leonardo da Vinci, Czartoryski Museum, Kraków

John Ruskin expands on this definition in The Two Paths.  Ruskin was writing in 1859, almost one hundred years after the very infancy of the first industrial revolution and in the middle of the second industrial revolution.  It was a time of great technological advancement and an enormous shift in society from agriculture and local production to large scale mass production of manufactured goods.

"It would be well if all students would keep clearly in their mind the real distinction between those words which we use so often, "Manufacture," "Art," and "Fine Art." "MANUFACTURE" is, according to the etymology and right use of the word, "the making of anything by hands,"--directly or indirectly, with or without the help of instruments or machines. Anything proceeding from the hand of man is manufacture; but it must have proceeded from his hand only, acting mechanically, and uninfluenced at the moment by direct intelligence. Then, secondly, ART is the operation of the hand and the intelligence of man together; there is an art of making machinery; there is an art of building ships; an art of making carriages; and so on. All these, properly called Arts, but not Fine Arts, are pursuits in which the hand of man and his head go together, working at the same instant. Then FINE ART is that in which the hand, the head, and the _heart_ of man go together. Recollect this triple group; it will help you to solve many difficult problems. And remember that though the hand must be at the bottom of everything, it must also go to the top of everything; for Fine Art must be produced by the hand of man in a much greater and clearer sense than manufacture is. Fine Art must always be produced by the subtlest of all machines, which is the human hand. No machine yet contrived, or hereafter contrivable, will ever equal the fine machinery of the human fingers. Thoroughly perfect art is that which proceeds from the heart, which involves all the noble emotions;--associates with these the head, yet as inferior to the heart; and the hand, yet as inferior to the heart and head; and thus brings out the whole man."

John Ruskin, A Dalmatian Pelican

And finally, the Art Renewal Center and Fred Ross further codify the definition of art here and in their whole collection of the philosophy behind art:

"Just because something causes you to have a feeling of aesthetic beauty does not make it a work of art.  A work of art is the selective recreation of reality for the purpose of communicating some aspect of what it means to be human or how we perceive the world."  --Fred Ross

Premier Deuil, William Bouguereau, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

William Holman Hunt

I have been working my way through The Two Paths by John Ruskin.  Ruskin speaks of William Holman Hunt being the greatest colorist.  I recently posted about a Hunt work being sold by the Delaware Art Museum and the scandal that caused.

William Holman Hunt, Isabella and the Pot of Basil, private collection

You can see a collection of William Holman Hunt's works in the ARC Museum here.  I found his use of soft color in his portrait of Miss Gladys M. interesting:

Miss Gladys M., William Holman Hunt, Museo de Arte (Ponce, Puerto Rico)

The pastel colors are soft and appealing, and remind me of something that belongs on a nursery wall.  It speaks of the gentle embrace of a mother.  This painting however is not one of my favorites, as I think the color is a bit too sweet and I think his edges are too universally sharp and that distracts me from the appreciation of his use of color.  I will address his use of edges in an upcoming post.

I do like Hunt's use of color better in Isabella and the Pot of Basil above.  The richness of the blues, golds, and rusts works very well with the subject matter.  That may just be personal preference though, I happen to like that color combination.  Maybe that is what Ruskin is referring too when he says that Hunt is the best colorist, his consistent use of an appropriate color palette matched with the subject?

William Holman Hunt

Masters of Human Expression

I have been listening to John Ruskin's The Two Paths.  He talks about the aim of different schools of art and I was particularly drawn to his description of the Florentine school as that is what I seek in my own work:

Well, there you have the truth of human expression proposed as an aim. That is the way people look when they feel this or that--when they have this or that other mental character: are they devotional, thoughtful, affectionate, indignant, or inspired? are they prophets, saints, priests, or kings? then--whatsoever is truly thoughtful, affectionate, prophetic, priestly, kingly--that the Florentine school tried to discern, and show; that they have discerned and shown; and all their greatness is first fastened in their aim at this central truth--the open expression of the living human soul. 
 
This made me think of a print we got when we visited the Museo del Prado in Madrid.  Antonio Gisbert was the first director of the Prado in 1868 and was part of the Spanish eclectic school of painters.  He finished El fusilamiento de Torrijos y sus compañeros en la playa de Málaga ("The Execution of Torrijos and his companions at Málaga Beach") in 1888.

Antonio Gisbert, El fusilamiento de Torrijos y sus compañeros en la playa de Málaga, Museo del Prado

When I saw this in the Prado (it is huge, it covers an entire wall) it stopped me in my tracks.  It is truly breathtaking.  Each figure is life sized I believe.  In this work Antonio Gisbert achieved a masterpiece of "the open expression of the living human soul."  Look at the painting at full resolution here and examine the varying expressions and attitudes of them all.

Here is another splendid example of human expression:

Walter Langley, Waiting for the Boats, private collection

I first saw this painting on the Art Renewal Center's website.  It is extraordinary and I was quite surprised to learn it was painted in watercolor and pencil.  I was not familiar with Walter Langley (1852-1922) before, and he is now one of my favorite artists.  His work reminds me of David Kassan's.  I was extremely fortunate to see Mr. Kassan work at a Portrait Society conference and view some of his work in person there and in New York City. 

All of them are absolute masters of human expression.

My Motivation for Producing Art

I have been having a bit of a frustrating week.  The struggle to pay bills at the expense of time to do my own work, for which I don't receive immediate financial compensation, is a teeter-totter ride and I too frequently find myself having to come down on the side of paying the bills.  I am not whining (I lie, yes I am), this is the life I have chosen, but it certainly makes me question my choices.  Sometimes the lure of financial security is very strong.  I have been listening to The Two Paths by John Ruskin recently and it has been a welcome relief. 

You can get the e-text of The Two Paths on Project Gutenberg here.
You can listen to The Two Paths on Librivox.org here.

Ask yourselves what is the leading motive which actuates you while you are at work. I do not ask you what your leading motive is for working--that is a different thing; you may have families to support--parents to help--brides to win; you may have all these, or other such sacred and pre-eminent motives, to press the morning's labour and prompt the twilight thought. But when you are fairly at the work, what is the motive then which tells upon every touch of it? If it is the love of that which your work represents--if, being a landscape painter, it is love of hills and trees that moves you--if, being a figure painter, it is love of human beauty and human soul that moves you--if, being a flower or animal painter, it is love, and wonder, and delight in petal and in limb that move you, then the Spirit is upon you, and the earth is yours, and the fulness thereof. But if, on the other hand, it is petty self-complacency in your own skill, trust in precepts and laws, hope for academical or popular approbation, or avarice of wealth,--it is quite possible that by steady industry, or even by fortunate chance, you may win the applause, the position, the fortune, that you desire;-- but one touch of true art you will never lay on canvas or on stone as long as you live. 

Make, then, your choice, boldly and consciously, for one way or other it must be made. On the dark and dangerous side are set, the pride which delights in self-contemplation--the indolence which rests in unquestioned forms--the ignorance that despises what is fairest among God's creatures, and the dulness that denies what is marvellous in His working: there is a life of monotony for your own souls, and of misguiding for those of others. And, on the other side, is open to your choice the life of the crowned spirit, moving as a light in creation-- discovering always--illuminating always, gaining every hour in strength, yet bowed down every hour into deeper humility; sure of being right in its aim, sure of being irresistible in its progress; happy in what it has securely done--happier in what, day by day, it may as securely hope; happiest at the close of life, when the right hand begins to forget its cunning, to remember, that there never was a touch of the chisel or the pencil it wielded, but has added to the knowledge and quickened the happiness of mankind.

--John Ruskin, The Two Paths

Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist Art Auction at Christie's

Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist Art Auction at Christie's

The auction is starting June 17.  I love looking at art auctions to window shop and to get inspiration.  These are a few of my favorites from this auction:

Hercules Brabazon Brabazon, A Coastal Scene

Certainly in the running for coolest name ever is Hercules Brabazon Brabazon (1821-1906).  His A Coastal Scene drew my attention for his use of warm and cool colors.  He used one of my favorite combinations of complementary colors, yellow and purple.  I use this combination quite a bit in my own portraits.  You can see the dawn sunlight starting to break over the cool shadowed water below.

John Ruskin, A Dalmatian Pelican

John Ruskin (1819-1900) was (and is) an extremely influential English art critic of the Victorian era.  He was a prolific writer and social thinker and a big supporter of the Pre-Raphaelites.  He was involved in a scandal when his wife left him for John Everett Millais.  I was attracted to his piece for the fascination of owning something by the hand of such a huge personality.

John William Waterhouse, Day Dreams

John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) also worked in the Pre-Raphaelite syle, although he was working several decades after the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.  I was attracted to this piece because of the beautiful soft color.  I find the evenly balanced blues and greens against the cream background to be very attractive and peaceful.

Frank Holl, Did You Ever Kill Anybody Father?

Frank Holl (1845-1888) is known for the pathos and story telling in his works, which is what attracted me to this piece.  You hardly need the title to figure out what is going on.  The young boy has a look of tremulous fear, curiosity, and a bit of excitement.  He is looking off the canvas with raised eyes, obviously at an adult.  He is gently holding the sword and sitting on a red cloth, which is a well known and often used symbol of blood, war, and the martial spirit.