Showing posts with label lucy lewis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lucy lewis. Show all posts

Monday, February 10, 2014

AMERICAN PORTRAITURE: THOMAS EAKINS


This past summer I had the chance to work on a research project I created. My topic was Class in American Portraiture in a Historic context and Contemporary.  During this project I was able to travel around to different museums to get a better understanding of portraiture.

The first place we went was the Philadelphia Museum of Art, home of a collection of Thomas Eakins paintings and sculptures. When we walked into the section that had a group of Eakins portraits gridded on the wall we just saw people. I had no idea why these would be so important to my research. Well, Thomas Eakins portraits were very different from most portraits during this time. They were humble, some considered them ugly, and they were hardly ever liked. One portrait he did of a school teacher we dissected:
Thomas Eakins, Portrait of Lucy Lewis, oil on canvas, 1896, Philadelphia Museum of Art
 (http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/thomas-eakins/portrait-of-lucy-lewis-1896)

Even though this is one of the only portraits that he painted someone with delicate beauty, she still fit the group in which he painted: middle class, educated, and active in her career. He painted all his portraits as if the person was sitting right next to you. There is no separation between the viewer and the sitter. Think to when you see a portrait of a President, there is this separation where they are more important than you, in this other world. This is very different than Eakins, and why he rarely received commissions for portraits. Moving on: 
Thomas Eakins, Portrait of Mary Adeline Williams, oil on canvas, 1900, Philadelphia Museum of Art
 (http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/thomas-eakins/portrait-of-mary-adeline-williams)

This portrait of Mary Adeline Williams. Comparing the two portraits, you can see how he paints them very raw and only hints at their money or success. For instance, in this portrait her energetic blouse shows she isn’t poor and represents her mood. In the Portrait of Lucy Lewis, she is wearing a tiny gold necklace which Eakins just slightly makes glimmer. 
In the next post I will do a comparison to the National Portraits of the Presidents!