vince’s ear

The copy of David With Goliath’s Head is complete (except for the sword). There are minor differences between my copy and the original, but that is to be expected. Overall I think got the mood of the painting just right, though I need a little work on light and shadow before I tackle Sacrifice of Isaac.

Who Was Caravaggio?

* Michelangelo Merisi was born in the town of Caravaggio, trained in Milan, and moved to Rome in the 1590s. He is considered the first major artist of the Baroque period following the Renaissance and the greatest Italian painter of the 17th century.

* As part of the Baroque period, which began from the Counter-Reformation, the majority of his later works were religious in nature. However, much of his work was criticized for a lack of decorum and idealization in portraying holy subjects- figures such as the Mother of God as well as saints all resembled the common street people he used as models.

* Caravaggio is probably the first important painter to use tenebrism, a strong contrast between light and shadow, or chiaroscuro, attained by using artificial lighting which was borderline theatrical. Much of his works were composed of strongly lit figures set against a dark background.

* Prone to violence and fits of rage, the artist was often in trouble with the law. He regularly scorned his contemporaries who he saw as below him, and frequently got into fist fights and brawls with everybody from the rough and tumble crowd he hung out with, and the serving boys of taverns.

* Some of the documented complaints received from his victims help to shine light on Caravaggio’s character- His belongings were forfeit to his landlady so as retaliation he smashed her window; when ordering artichokes he asked which were cooked in oil and which in butter and when he didn’t get the answer he wanted he threw a fit, as well as the plate at the waiter; ultimately his rage would lead to the murdering of a tennis opponent and fleeing for his life- the last four years of his life he was on the run, sinking in despair, and losing his health (his downward spiral and his anxiety are evident in the last paintings).

* In Port Ercole, while loaded up on a small ship carrying several paintings intended to seek a patron’s good graces, and to ask for asylum for his crime, he fell ill with fever. When he lost his ship along with all his belongings, he wandered angrily along the coast of the port city in the July sun until he came upon a village where he became bedridden. Alone and abandoned, he died in 1610.

If you can’t see the video, click here.

Caravaggio included musical sheets as well as various instruments in several paintings. The music for the video above is a madrigal by Jacques Arcadelt, whose music was included in some of the musical pieces, particularly Lute Player.

The torso is almost complete. Hopefully I’ll have more to say (and show) tomorrow. I don’t want to rush on any part, no matter how seemingly insignificant. The maestro wouldn’t stand for that!

This is the second installment of the David With Goliath’s Head reproduction. I actually painted David’s face yesterday after Goliath’s head, but the hand I painted today. I also painted the rough draft of the torso, but I’m not done with it yet so I’ve excluded it.

I’m happy with David’s face and I think it resembles the original well. The face is a little weird looking but I think the same is true of the original. We know that Caravaggio used average looking street people for models, and this one is no exception. This particular one was possibly the artist’s assistant and friend. David’s expression differs here from the two earlier ones. The first shows a child David almost giddy having just felled the giant. The second shows a confident adolescent, chin up and celebrating his victory. The third and final one (possibly the final painting) shows an expression of compassion for his victim.

The next post should show a completed painting, done in oil on a 36″ x 24″ canvas, with the composition slightly cropped from the original, to fit in these dimensions.

Normally I wouldn’t have shown you this until its completion but I am so pleased with it I must share. I always show unfinished paintings to friends and family as long as I am happy with the progress, so why not here? Two hours have passed and I didn’t really want to stop but I need to grab a bite to eat and another iced coffee.

So here is the result of the first session for recreating David With Goliath’s Head (1610) by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. I have recently been commissioned to paint Sacrifice of Isaac on a huge canvas, and I haven’t painted in over six months. So, I need to get back into the art, as well as practice my skills with the strong tenebrism characteristic of Caravaggio, of which Sacrifice is a particularly strong example. David and Goliath is not so bad, so will make good practice.

A little background: Caravaggio revisited the theme of David and Goliath several times. This particular one is thought to be the last. In fact this is regarded as the artist’s last painting executed before he died. He had made the trip on a small boat loaded up with several canvases, including this one, to seek a final pardon and gain the support of patrons. He had been on the run for several years, convicted of murder. As the years progress toward the end of his life in 1610, Caravaggio’s anxiety showed more and more. For instance, his fear of decapitation and persecution are evident in this painting: he has painted himself as the slain giant.

As the head was taking shape I realized I had accidentally made the head look out directly at the viewer. While it differs from the original (as I’m sure many parts will- it’s never perfect), I am thrilled with the result. It’s what Bob Ross would call a “happy accident.” Though I doubt Bob painted many decapitated heads in his career.

I’ll keep you posted on the progress.

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. One common thing about many budding artists is their desire to emulate those who have gone before them, who have succeeded and mastered their art, or have gone down in history. This is also true for the masters themselves. If you study the works of many great painters you see their own versions of a famous or contemporary artist’s work. Vincent van Gogh had his Jean-Francois Millet, who in turn had his Honore Daumier.

These painters act as silent mentors, teaching from the grave through their immortal styles and art. It’s a very good idea for novice painters to study famous paintings and attempt to copy them. The result is usually different from the original, with a style belonging to the “Student.” You are left with your own versions, learning your own style and techniques along the way.

Even if you think can’t paint, I highly recommend trying to copy a famous painting. It’s a very rewarding activity, and challenging. If you have to you can lightly sketch a little grid on the canvas and make a grid on a photo you want to copy. This has been done before by some of the greatest painters that ever lived.I tend to do this copying exercise primarily as a practice. It’s only been a few years on and off since I started seriously painting (Being a “Sunday painter” hasn’t helped this much, but what can I do when I just don’t find the time?) so I am stilled considered a beginner, or novice at best. The main idea is obtain more skill and to challenge yourself, so each subsequent reproduction is most often more difficult than the last. I might pick a painting that’s harder to depict, that has more subjects in it, or maybe has different textures and colors I’m not used to.

Take the example above. This is my version of the Winslow Homer masterpiece, “Breezing Up.” I chose this canvas for one because I like the painting a lot (you have to be interested in what you paint), and two because I would have had to paint it on a larger canvas than I was used to, and lastly it contained two things I wasn’t well-practiced with: sky and ocean. I like this painting because it looks as if its a snapshot right out of reality, the catboat being off-center and pointing off-canvas. It’s so realistic you can feel the breeze and smell the sea air as you gaze. My favorite Homers have the main subject looking away, not showing the facial expression, making you wonder what they’re thinking like the boy in the back of the boat.

The same might even be said about the below example, “The Foxhunt” with the fox about to be attacked by the crows, once again looking away. It gives it a certain psychological mystery. This painting was executed in one sitting and was a lot of fun to do. It was fun mixing and painting all the colors of the fox. This one was painted in the same weekend as “Breezing Up” and also contains a little bit of ocean.

I plan on doing many more Homer replicas for my own benefit. When I first started painting I looked to my favorite artist Vincent van Gogh to supply me with practice exercises. I chose these so early because his expressionistic style made it easy for a painter just starting out with the vivid brush strokes and colors. In fact the copy of “The Bedroom” was the second painting I completed after coming back from a several year hiatus starting while I was in high school. It’s a tiny canvas, 5″ x 7″, which at the time was a good size to start out with.

Click on the thumbnails for larger versions:

When you get better at being able to reproduce what you see, it gets to be a lot of fun choosing stuff you want to paint. Sometimes I just like the painting and would like a copy of it on my wall. I promised myself I would never buy an art poster, painting, print, or reproduction. I would simply copy it myself.

The example below is one I really loved and had to have. Every time I look at it still to this day makes me happy. It is called “The Laughing Cavalier” by seventeenth century Dutch painter Frans Hals. Currently [12/07] there is a special exhibit at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art on Dutch painters. The Met already has a decent Hals collection and I hope there’s plenty of the artist’s canvases on view when I get to see it. You just can’t help but get in a better mood after looking at a bunch of Hals paintings.

I wasn’t the best at painting backgrounds at this time, but hey that’s the purpose of doing this, to get better. One fundamental rule about backgrounds which I broke here is to paint the back first. That way when your subject is painted on top it looks as if he/she is indeed in the foreground. Here it looks like the background was painted on and was very thinly and sloppily applied. You live, you learn and I know for a fact my background skills have come leaps and bounds since this time, which was painted several years ago.

There have been two religious paintings I’ve done for family members. One of them, Leonardo’s “Last Supper” unfortunately I do not have an image of. The other resides at my family’s house with an image below. It is a replica of the Raphael Sanzio painting “Madonna of the Chair.” I like it because it shows Mary in plain clothes looking like a simple young mother holding a baby, who is barely deified save the thin halo showing above his head.

So I also have here some others I have copied. Here is “Girls With Pearl Earring” by Vermeer, which I think on the whole turned out very well except for the mouth and nose area. Included is a fun little copy of the Jethro Tull album art for “Aqualung.” I also have a 16″ x 20″ replica of the Goya painting “Saturn Devouring One of His Sons.” This is actually a study for a future painting with the same theme, very grotesque. Below is an unfinished portrait of my landlord posing as King Henry VIII the English Tudor monarch.

And finally below is a whimsical self-portrait as Bacchus, as originally painted by one of my favorite artists Michelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio. Bacchus is known to some as the patron of painters. It was a bold move for Caravaggio to paint his likeness as Bacchus and it is a bold move for me to do so also. This concludes my post about my replicas but I’m sure after I have made some more I will post them. As any aspiring artist I am always trying to learn, and every painting is practice. Until then, take care.

To view all my paintings, be sure to visit the Paintings Gallery.

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