A Treatise on Portrait Painting


Book Description

Learning to paint is an exploration, a journey and an adventure! In this book I will show you a number of ways to paint a portrait, from a historical approach to contemporary application. Portraits are the most exciting challenge in painting. Think about it; when you look down at those creamy globs of paint that are sitting on your palette...you are going to create a three dimensional illusion of a human being! That to me is awesome magic. Painting takes time and practice, but mostly patience. Confidence will come once you understand your materials and you have explored a number of styles to find the best fit for you and/or your subject. Turn off the voice that judges and criticizes, and allow yourself to explore and discover...you are on an adventure!







The Dramatic Portrait


Book Description

Without light, there is no photograph. As almost every photographer knows, the word “photograph” has its roots in two Greek words that, together, mean “drawing with light.” But what is less commonly acknowledged and understood is the role that shadow plays in creating striking, expressive imagery, especially in portraiture. It is through deft, nuanced use of both light and shadow that you can move beyond shooting simply ordinary, competent headshots into the realm of creating dramatic portraiture that can so powerfully convey a subject’s inner essence, communicate a personal narrative, and express your photographic vision.

In The Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Crafting Light and Shadow, Chris Knight addresses portraiture with a unique approach to both light and shadow that allows you to improve and elevate your own portraiture. He begins with the history of portraiture, from the early work of Egyptians and Greeks to the sublime treatment of light and subject by artists such as Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. Chris then dives into a deep, hands-on exploration of light, shadow, and portraiture, offering numerous lessons and takeaways. He covers:

    • The qualities of light: hard, soft, and the spectrum in between
    • The relationships between light, subject, and background, and how to control them
    • Lighting patterns such as Paramount, Rembrandt, loop, and split
    • Lighting ratios and how they affect contrast in your image
    • Equipment: from big and small modifiers to grids, snoots, barn doors, flags, and gels
    • Multiple setups for portrait shoots, including those that utilize one, two, and three lights
    • How color contributes to drama and mood, eliciting an emotional response from the viewer
    • How to approach styling your portrait, from wardrobe to background
    • The post-processing workflow, including developing the RAW file, maximizing contrast, color grading, retouching, and dodging and burning for heightened drama and effect
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Verdana} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Verdana; min-height: 13.0px}
    • How all of these elements culminate to help you define your personal style and create your own narrative




Leonardo on Painting


Book Description

This is a selection of Leonardo da Vinci's writings on painting. Martin Kemp and Margaret Walker have edited material not only from his so-called Treatise on Painting but also from his surviving manuscripts and from other primary sources.




On Art and Painting


Book Description

The only volume on the work of Vicente Carducho in English Analysis of the Dialogues on Painting by international experts Contributors are art historians or hispanists, offering a multi-disciplinary approach




The Philosopher, the Priest, and the Painter


Book Description

How a famous painting opens a window into the life, times, and philosophy of René Descartes In the Louvre museum hangs a portrait that is considered the iconic image of René Descartes, the great seventeenth-century French philosopher. And the painter of the work? The Dutch master Frans Hals—or so it was long believed, until the work was downgraded to a copy of an original. But where is the authentic version, and who painted it? Is the man in the painting—and in its original—really Descartes? A unique combination of philosophy, biography, and art history, The Philosopher, the Priest, and the Painter investigates the remarkable individuals and circumstances behind a small portrait. Through this image—and the intersecting lives of a brilliant philosopher, a Catholic priest, and a gifted painter—Steven Nadler opens a fascinating portal into Descartes's life and times, skillfully presenting an accessible introduction to Descartes's philosophical and scientific ideas, and an illuminating tour of the volatile political and religious environment of the Dutch Golden Age. As Nadler shows, Descartes's innovative ideas about the world, about human nature and knowledge, and about philosophy itself, stirred great controversy. Philosophical and theological critics vigorously opposed his views, and civil and ecclesiastic authorities condemned his writings. Nevertheless, Descartes's thought came to dominate the philosophical world of the period, and can rightly be called the philosophy of the seventeenth century. Shedding light on a well-known image, The Philosopher, the Priest, and the Painter offers an engaging exploration of a celebrated philosopher's world and work.




On Painting


Book Description

Alberti’s Della Pittura was the first modern analytical study of painting, a pioneering treatise on the theory of art. A systematic description of the one-point perspective construction, it was primarily designed to persuade both patron and painter in the Renaissance to discard the old tastes in painting for the new. John R. Spencer's translation of Della Pittura is based on all the known manuscripts and is edited with an Introduction and Notes.




Cy Twombly


Book Description

A breathtaking exploration of one of Twombly's largest paintings, the second version of his Treatise on the Veil One of the most important American postwar artists, Cy Twombly (1928-2011) engaged with mythological and poetic source material, setting him apart from other artists of his generation. In 1970, Twombly revisited his 1968 painting Treatise on the Veil and, in a short period of focused creativity, produced a painting--Treatise on the Veil (Second Version)--on a single, 33-foot canvas along with more than a dozen related drawings. This handsomely produced oversize book features three essays that examine these works in relation to Twombly's oeuvre, contemporaneous explorations of time, the Orpheus myth, and a musical composition that Twombly cited as an influence. Large images and details bring us in close to Twombly's magnificent meditation on time and space. Distributed for The Menil Collection




Harley Brown's Eternal Truths for Every Artist


Book Description

Artist secrets revealed, step by step instructions Libby Fellerhoff, North Light Magazine. Mar. 2001.




Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice


Book Description

Bridging the fields of conservation, art history, and museum curating, this volume contains the principal papers from an international symposium titled "Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice" at the University of Leiden in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from June 26 to 29, 1995. The symposium—designed for art historians, conservators, conservation scientists, and museum curators worldwide—was organized by the Department of Art History at the University of Leiden and the Art History Department of the Central Research Laboratory for Objects of Art and Science in Amsterdam. Twenty-five contributors representing museums and conservation institutions throughout the world provide recent research on historical painting techniques, including wall painting and polychrome sculpture. Topics cover the latest art historical research and scientific analyses of original techniques and materials, as well as historical sources, such as medieval treatises and descriptions of painting techniques in historical literature. Chapters include the painting methods of Rembrandt and Vermeer, Dutch 17th-century landscape painting, wall paintings in English churches, Chinese paintings on paper and canvas, and Tibetan thangkas. Color plates and black-and-white photographs illustrate works from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.