Workmanship: Two Sides of the Same Coin (Part 2)

Workmanship n. 2. Evidence of such skill.

In the previous post we see Vermeer’s porcelain-like rendering of a beautiful young woman, whose face is painted in such a way as to leave no visible trace of brushwork. She is a vision of idealized, youthful beauty that transcends brush, paint and canvas.

Rembrandt                                                           Self Portrait  @ 1660

Rembrandt's self portrait stares back at us from the other end of the artistic spectrum. Looking at the careworn face we can almost hear the bristle brushes being dragged across the canvas.

Here Rembrandt makes no effort to hide his workmanship, allowing the individual strokes to stand out from one another, rich in variation and texture. He is as honest about the years that show on his face as he is about his brushwork; we see here a man whose youth and optimism have left him, a man worn and resigned and altogether changed from the young, playful artist of years before. 

Rembrandt                     Self Portrait with Saskia 1635

 What has happened to this man in the 25 years between the execution of these two paintings? If Rembrandt is so worn and resigned, why does he still paint? Why would someone paint such a picture of himself? Unlike Vermeer, much is known of Rembrandt’s life and a brief account of his family and career sheds a great deal of light on the mood of the later self portrait. 

Workmanship: Two Sides of the Same Coin (Part 1)

Workmanship n. 1. Skill as a workman; craftsmanship.

Here we have two examples of workmanship from two well known painters. I have chosen these examples for three reasons: 1) they are well crafted but very different in execution, 2) the artists were contemporaries and 3) they were both Dutch painters. The first similarity is the most important while the second two make for a more apt comparison.

Johannes Vermeer, The Girl With the Pearl Earring @ 1665  Collection of the Mauritshuis, the Hague

It is said that Vermeer is more representative of the Dutch tradition of painting with his carefully composed and exquisitely rendered genre scenes. A close up of the painting shows the carefully blended brushwork in the face of the sitter while the turban is done in much broader and defined brushstrokes. 

The painting is a beautiful example of the deceptive simplicity I enjoy in some minor works as its subject has been the cause of great speculation. Who is the Girl With the Pearl Earring? Why did he paint her? What is meant by the juxtaposition of  the modestly covered hair and the sensuality of her mouth? That little is known of Vermeer's life and work adds fuel to the fire. (Having seen several Vermeers in person I can testify that they are definitely worth all the fuss.)  Of course, it is a great pleasure simply to look at the painting, but the mystery of it adds depth to its beauty. 

Part 2, a Rembrandt self portrait: the other end of the spectrum. 

A Few Words About What I Do (part 2)

A portrait, still life or a landscape can suggest stories in a quiet way, inviting a viewer to fill in what comes before and after. 

Paintings or drawings like these are relaxing because they can be read at face value, as only what they immediately depict, and so are less demanding on the viewer as well as the artist. Their narrative value is optional.  

They can be pleasing to the eye and nothing more, but there is 

always the possibility to consider why the subject was so arranged 

and what might be the meaning of such an arrangement. 

In this way a still life can be "read" just as any work of art should be read: with the assumption that anything included by the artist has been put there for a purpose. The question then becomes "What is its purpose?" and that is where the fun begins because that is where art comes alive!