Bogus Sketches and The Violinist

Degas book, original sketch from life, Degas study of a male violinist, and my working sketch on Bogus Rough paper.

How interesting that the sketch I made at the Yellowstone Lake Hotel remains the best of the bunch, even after I have done several studies now to arrange it into a finished piece.  I will keep at it.

On another note, I have been trying to make my own ground now, off and on, for several years but have finally stumbled onto a workable surface, I think.  It might be a life changing event.  Claret paper.  Not my own formula, but I did deviate from the recipe I was following.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Claret Paper, in light blue and claret hues.  I will credit the original recipe after I test this to see how it works.

Degas at the Foundation Beyeler

Edgar Degas in der Fondation Beyeler. Kurator Martin Schwander zum Konzept der Ausstellung.

Intermedio - Degas - My New Portfolio

Change subjects: Portfolio.

Bronze Figurine, A Drawing

Figurine Drawing #1

18" x 12"

Charcoal, Chalk & Pastel

Casey Klahn

This time I drew the figure from photos I took of one of Degas' bronze ballerinas.  More to come.

Choosing Symmetry

Colossians 2:9

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

You are free to choose symmetry in organizing your compositions, although it is unusual to do so today.  We discussed in the last post, Symmetry Versus Asymmetry - Make Your Choice, how contemporary audiences are visually trained to enjoy some irony in their art, and that bilateral sameness is not readily accepted.  But, this was not always the case in art, and the first examples that come to mind are the early icons of Jesus Christ.


Symmetry is found in the 6th. century Christ Pantocrator icon of Saint Catherine's Monastery of Mount Sinai, shown above.  The figure of Christ is generally centered in the image. When centered in the halo, the inside edge of Christ's left eye is on the center line.  In iconography, centering the image of Christ is a hieratic statement, and signifies the primacy of God and holiness.  Adherence to standard formats also signified orthodoxy, and the center line of the image is key.  Balance continued to be an important tool in western art through the Renaissance.

However, it is interesting to see the exceptions to visual balance in this Pantocrator image.  The eyes are asymmetric, as well as the margin of the halo, which is the same thickness to our right and top, but narrower on the left.  This is the big secret to creating interest within symmetry:  make the two halves unmatched, or asymmetric in nature.  The main subject may split the division line, but comparing the halves will result in balanced, but not mirrored, compositions.  One may include visually balanced masses, yet they could adopt different shapes, such as the triangular tree vs. the higher, irregular tree mass in Wolf Kahn's tree painting in my previous post.


In sacred art, the dual nature of Christ, who is fully God and fully man, is almost invariably illustrated by this compositional trick of overemphasizing the bilateral disparity of the face, and especially of the eyes, which are the mirror of the soul.  See also da Vinci's Salvator Mundi.

Although Christ's face splits the centerline, there are multiple ways da Vinci has satisfied our need to thwart balance, including by varying the spacing and height of the objects and hands.  They provide a visual pathway through the painting.

Fast-forward to Edgar Degas' portrait: The Painter Enrique Melida Y Alinari (1838-1892).  By the time of the Impressionists, realist portraiture involved not historical and sacred subjects, but daily life and contemporaneous subjects.  

Degas' portrait, which looks much like himself, nevertheless is of another painter.   Simplicity here demands more balance than in the far older images of Christ!    The halves of this image, left and right, are uniquely similar as regards shapes, and the two color composition reflects a bilateral unity on a formal level.  The main relief we get from symmetry is the shaded left side of Alinari's face.  More relief is offered by the division of objects top and bottom (head vs. shoulders and suit) and by the slight right turn of the head.

http://experimentaltheology.blogspot.com/2008/03/iconography-of-christ-pantokrator.html

Salvator Mundi.

Wiki/ Christ Pantocrator.

Bible.

Next:  Asymmetry.

Yes, M. Degas Does Walk.

Peter's Paris and Montmartre

Grave of Degas.

If you don't read Peter's Paris, you are missing some great reporting on the Paris of our artist heroes.  Enjoy.


Montmartre in the evening.


Caillebotte-Andre-Jacquemart-Museum.


Photo from Photobucket, scdecaro.

Degas' Late Work and His Studio

Edgar Degas is a master artist whose star rises with time.  If you want to peek into his studio, and perhaps a little of his thinking, I recommend this video series.

Master Copies, Casey Klahn

In The Bath

In The Bath - Degas Copy

@ 3.2" x 3.5"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

pas

Other Degas copies.

Back Profile - Ballerina

Back Profile, Ballerina - After Degas
@12" x 9"
Charcoal & Pastel
Casey Klahn

At The Bar

At The Bar - Copy of Degas

@22" x 17"

Charcoal, Conte & Pastel 

Casey Klahn

pas camera 

Ballerina Sketch

Degas Copy - Ballerina Sketch

12" x 8.25"

Vine Charcoal, Graphite, Compressed White Charcoal and Pastel on Paper

Casey Klahn

These Degas copies are helping me on the path towards my own voice with the figure.  Meanwhile, enjoy these, and keep a good thought for the master, Edgar Degas.

  The Colorist

Degas Copies - Irrelevant; Not Irreverent

Degas Copy - Ballerina 2
15" x 12"
Pastel & Charcoal
Casey Klahn

These Degas copies were done by free-hand copying from Degas' sketches, with some measuring for proportions. The one posted today was then transferred to a La Carte board the old fashioned way by making a charcoal negative and rubbing the backside to leave an outline. The color is added by imagination, and with heavy influence from memories of Degas' style and color choices.

I have decided that he truly was focused on the drawing component of his pictures, and his "candid snapshots" of figures relied on draftsmanship and his realist ideas.

On The Easel

These copies cannot be sold, or submitted for juries, because of their derivative nature. They may be irrelevant, but they are not irreverent.

The Colorist

Ballerina Copy

Degas Copy - Ballerina 1
10.5" x 8"
Pastel & CharcoalCasey Klahn

If I were to quit landscapes and just spend the rest of my days copying Degas, I would still be a happy man. Photos with a point and shoot - better quality ones to follow.

The Colorist Blog.

Articles of Merit

The Cup of Chocolate, 1897
Pastel
28.7" x 21.3"
Mary Cassatt

Two pastel related articles stand out for your consideration this weekend. One was in The Pastel Journal, June, 2008, regarding your plein air kit: "Let's Take it Outside," by Richard McKinley. He covers the big parts of your set-up, from easels to shade umbrellas. For this article, you'll need to get the hardcopy at your magazine stand. We've been ticking off the list of kit in depth with our Plein Air Project posts here at Pastel, too.

Who are the great historic lights of pasteldom? The answer is briefed in Pastel Masters, by Naomi Ekperigin at American Artist Magazine's website. See what the influences of Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, William Merritt Chase and Jean-François Millet were on our contemporary burgeoning medium.

Grab yourself a cup of chocolate, and dig in to these articles!

Best Pastel of All Time

Introducing: The Degas Award for Best Pastel of All Time.

In my considered opinion, the first Best Pastel of All Time Award goes to Edgar Degas for his The Green Singer. Executed in 1884 at the height of his artistic powers, this 60.3 cm x 46.4 cm pastel work represents a high point in Degas' application of color and in his portrayal of the female figure. The turquoise and orange compliments present a stunning motif, and the drama of the low angle (theater) lights on the youthful character please the imagination. The pastel work resides at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

Congratulations, M. Degas. Would you consent to an interview for a future post?

The Green Singer

The inspiration that the cover article from this month's issue of The Pastel Journal gave me was tremendous. The article displays the 8 Wonders of the Pastel World, which amounts to a jurying of individual pastel paintings (well, perhaps one is a drawing) by 8 famous artists in history. Then, the magazine chose 8 noted contemporary pastelists to comment on these great artists.

It doesn't hurt that they had beautiful photos of each artwork, and that the historical artists are known to all pastelists everywhere.

Because I find it rewarding to write critiques, I decided that my own choice for the best pastel work should be included here at Pastel.

La Chanteuse Verte, 1884
23.75 " x 18.25"
The Green Singer
Pastel
Edgar Degas

Degas (1834 - 1917) gets the wave as the artist with the number 1 pastel work of all time. I agree wholeheartedly with the premise, but my pick for the best work that I have seen by Degas is The Green Singer. This virtuoso painting resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. I am kicking myself for not getting in there when I was in town last year, but I now have another reason to return to the big apple.

Considered to be performer, Marie von Goethem, this young subject is possessed of a stage grace that Degas brings out, even in his cropped style, by creating arcing lines that are most notably present in the left hand bent at the wrist, and the cocked head and extended chin. Counter pose the graceful figure with the artist's choice of the gauche colors turquoise, orange, yellow and olive. It seems to me that the colors become the star elements, as the orange and orangey-yellows bloom from the blue paper. And, even our singer is aware of the attraction of her stage attire.

Add to the mix Degas' wonderfully free scribbling marks of the background and the lace at the model's collar. Is the work unfinished, or simply rendered to create freedom of expression? Our hero is known for his attention to detail, and his slavish realism. Yet, his freedom of action as he grew older is noted, both in his usage of different and pioneering media, and in examples of his sketching style. 1884 is hardly his latter era, though. Perhaps the dogma about Edgar Degas must be re-thought. Can we think of him as an early expressionist?

Maybe I'd better step-up my personal goal of returning to the figure in my own art...can you say "Atelier," anyone?

Further Links:

Degas' Unfortunate Model.
Degas' Model in a Fictional Better Light.
Looks like when Degas' eyesight began to fail, he had to turn to pastels. (Link) They require less acuity, apparently. Oh boy, fellow pastelists, we still have work to do in educating the art public about our fantastic medium.