Well said!
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...what I find missing in the Bouguereau and the Paxton portraits is soulfulness. A connection with the subject. An empathy. I know Van Dyck's subjects, I know Rembrandt, I could go on and on....this is why I study the Russians, I know Kramskoi and Repin's subjects. I know their pain, and loss, and joy. I know nothing of Paxton's subjects or Bouguereau except that they are masterfully painted. Not enough for me.
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On the Goodart forum there is currently a discussion going on about the fact that clients don't want deep characterizations or genuine emotion depicted in the portraits they will hang over their sofa. Is this lack of emotion, this surface prettiness that we see so much of in current realism, a function of what clients are asking for, do you think?
Kramskoi's and Rembrandt's breathtaking and riveting portraits would haunt me if they were hanging in my house. I would feel as if a disturbing presence was watching me.