Have you ever painted a fellow Artist?

[Enzie Shahmiri]

While in the pursuit of artistic studies, artists have often formed bonds with fellow artists, sometimes creating their own movements, like the Pre- Raphaelites, other times just offering support and advise to a comrade.

More than once, fellow friends have even gone further and taken up the brush to pay tribute to their artist friends, by either using them as one of their models in a painting or just to paint tribute to them.

Have you painted an artist you know? What was your reason for doing so and how was the experience? Please share a photo of the painting.

Maybe if you have not done so already, you can share who you would love to paint and give your reasons.

[Enzie Shahmiri]

Sargent liked to paint friends as a break from the arduous society portraits. He painted "Paul Helleu Sketching with His Wife" during an outing in 1889 by the banks of a small stream. Their faces are obscured by their large hats, yet the painting would be immediately recognized by the artists circle of friends as that of a fellow artist.

Paul Helleu was a French painter, etcher and illustrator, known best for his stylish, romantic images of women.

[Enzie Shahmiri]

This work is done by Valentin Serov (Russian Portrait Painter 1865-1911). Serov was active in Russia during the Silver Age, a time in Russia when industrialist and investors repleaced the old merchant families. Money and consumption created a new rich middle class that demanded not only imported goods to fill their homes with, but portraits of themselves that rivaled those of the nobility. Serov, a student of Repin, became a popular portrait artist. His style was much looser then that of his master. Most of his mature work concentrates on a psychological aspect of the sitter, with less attention paid to clothing and surroundings.

He shared a studio with Konstantin Korovin (1861-1939) and collaborated on a number of projects. When they painted together, there was even a sort of complementarity to their work. Korovin concentrated on landscapes and color; Serov on figures, faces and draftsmanship.

The portait of Korovin is significant on three levels. First, it is a fine likeness-an easy going bohemian relaxing in his untidy studio. Next, it pays tribute to Korovin's deep attraction to Impressionism in that Serov appropriated from his friend''s practice the luxurious colors, thick layering of paint, broad and free brush strokes, and an off-center composition. The landscape pinned to the studio wall reinerates Korovin's artistic allegiances. And on the conceptual level, Serov has set his subject in a pose that goes beyond a pose: Its thoroughgoing informality is a reconfiguration of the identity of the artist. Serov subverts the conventions observed by the Peredvizhniki in their portraits of colleagues and friends or of themselves-decorum, seriousness and formality, evident dedication to art and their profession. Instead, here is the semirecumbent figure of Korovin in his shirtsleeves, wearing no jacket or tie, not standing at his easel. It is a Silver Age definition of the artist, one that stresses not his professional or public roles but his creative independance and individuality.

(Excerpt from Valentin Serov - Portraits of Russia's Silver Age)

I find this interesting, because Servo has gone a step beyond capturing the likeness of his friend. He has broken with all sorts of portrait convention and obted to make a statement about his friend.

[Enzie Shahmiri]

Now to some contemporary artists. I remembered during one of the Portrait Society's of America conferences famous artists painted each other. After some searching on the net, I found the information along with some great photos, here: http://www.sonia.co.za/events.htm

For demonstration purposes, Raymond Kinstler painted Daniel Greene during the first session and in the second session Daniel Greene painted Burton Silverman. Two famous artist on stage, both confident in their styles, sharing equally in the roles of model and artist. Competition, title of "who's the better one", the most accomplished, etc., non of this mattered. For an evening both were able to share their ideology for a common goal of furthering portraiture through a demonstration.

Reasons why artists paint other artists are varied and the relationship between the self and the other is an interesting subject to further explore. As each participant responds to the other's viewpoints, both are capable to share and grow artistically. But more importantly, this collective collaboration, is often absent in today's art circles and made me search for an answer.

In today's artistic environment , the artist of today is engaged in a tremendous individualistic struggle. A struggle to discover and to assert and to express himself. To gain access to such collaboration, social contact among artists is needed. Many of the artists of the past have either worked together or have met regularly. They may have shared or acknowledged common aesthetics commitments and beliefs and have striven to exhibit together. They might have shared similar style and/or subject matter, similarities not necessarily recognized by the artists themselves. Third, ideological congruences may be the grounds of a perceived unity, even if those congruences are largely a matter of what the artists agreed on opposing (an academy for instance, or a prevailing set of beliefs and theories).

Excerpt from Re-framing Abstract Expressionism
Subjectivity and Painting in the 1940s by Michael Leja

Something to think about and to pursue....

[Mike McCarty]

Enzie,

I've not done a fellow artist. I think that would have it's own particular set of challenges knowing that the subject was capable of critique.

Here are a few artists painted by Everett Raymond Kinstler:

Wm. Draper 2002
Peter Cox 54 x 60 1983
Chin Chi double
Paul Resika

And these are just the painters, he has done many famous actors which you can see on his web site:

http://www.everettraymondkinstler.com/index.html

[Enzie Shahmiri]

These are nice Mike.

I think that would have it's own particular set of challenges knowing that the subject was capable of critique.

You are absolutely right, that's probably why most artist stick to painting friends and relatives over fellow artists, unless of course they have years of experience behind them. It is interesting to see though, that the generations before us, did not shy away from this intimidating task for some of the various reasons I have listed before.

Well, I decided to take the plunge and have asked a fellow artist friend, who has received her art education at Julliard and is a portrait artist herself, to pose for me. Due to her schooling, I am sure I will hear critique, but that is welcomed and it will create a collaborative work environment. I have always wanted to paint her, because she has such a chiseled, classical look about her and I just love her speckled green eyes. It will be interesting to see what setting she wants me to portray her in, as the artist or the socialite. Since she loves to chat non stop, concentrating on capturing her while chatting will be the biggest challenge and learning curve to overcome.