The Portrait S Subject

"Between the invention of photography in 1839 and the end of the nineteenth century, portraiture became one of the most popular and common art forms in the United States. ... images of human surfaces became understood as expressions of human depth during this era. Combining visual theory, literary close reading, and in-depth archival research, Blackwood examines portraiture's changing symbolic and aesthetic practices, from daguerreotype to X-ray. Considering painting, photography, illustration, and other visual forms alongside literary and cultural representations of portrait making and viewing, Blackwood argues that portraiture was a provocative art form used by writers, artists, and early psychologists to imagine selfhood as hidden, deep, and in need of revelation, ideas that were then taken up by the developing discipline of psychology"--

Contains transcripts of conversations between artist Chuck Close and twenty-seven of his fellow artists who were also subjects of his paintings.

Portraiture, the most popular genre of painting, occupies a central position in the history of Western art. Despite this, its status within academic art theory is uncertain. This volume provides an introduction to major issues in its history.

Rendering artwork that leaves viewers contemplating whether they might actually be looking at a photograph is no easy task. Introducing Realistic Portraits in Colored Pencil—a comprehensive guidebook that shows artists the secrets to drawing lifelike portraits in this dynamic medium. This engaging resource is perfect for artists who want to improve upon their existing skills and learn how to render realistic portraits utilizing a wide range of techniques. After details about the essential tools and materials, readers will learn to employ a variety of colored-pencil techniques, such as hatching, crosshatching, shading, blending, layering, burnishing, and much more. Colored-pencil artists will also discover more complex techniques relative to creating realistic portraits, including how to render various textures, from hair and skin to clothing and facial features. Also included is valuable information for collecting all of the elements for polished and professional results. Packed with clear, easy-to-follow instructions, plenty of helpful artist tips, and beautiful artwork that's sure to inspire, Realistic Portraits in Colored Pencil is the perfect resource for any colored-pencil artist ready to take their skills to the next level.

In the early 1820s, in the gloomy aftermath of the 1789 Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, the French Romantic painter Theodore Gericault (1791-1824) made five portraits of patients in an asylum or clinic. No depictions of madness before or since can compare with them for humanity, straightforwardness and immediacy. The portraits challenge us to find responses in ourselves to the face and the embodied mysteries of the other person, and to our own internal (unsconscious, disavowed) otherness: in this sense, Gericault was a "painter-analyst". The challenge could not be more urgent, in our world of suspicion of the stranger, and of the medicalisation of madness. The book sketches the history of this last process, from the Enlightenment through to the Revolution and its public health policies, to the birth of the asylum in its interface with the penal system. But there was also a new medico-philosophical conviction that the mad were never wholly mad, and their suffering and disturbance might best be addressed through relationship and speech.

Paint beautiful and expressive portraits by combining watercolor with other mediums! What makes an eye-popping, eye-stopping portrait? It's all about contrast and the play of opposites, round shape against square, light against dark, transparent against opaque. Combining mediums allows you to push the inherent properties of each for a lively play of opposites. You'll be able to paint glorious lights, richer darks, intriguing texture and mysterious passages that create mood and a strong sense of place, space and character. Jean Pederson gives you all the advice and instruction you need to paint beautiful, expressive portraits filled with life and spirit. Let your portraits speak to the world! In this essential guide to expressive portrait painting you will: • Stretch your watercolor skills to the limit. Achieve darks deeper and richer than you ever dreamed; let colors mingle in imaginative ways on your paper; accomplish radiant skin tones by daring to layer vivid colors from the start. • Journey into the "what-if" zone. What if you paint on the vertical and direct the paint with a spray bottle? What if you add heavy bodypaint to watercolors for one-of-a-kind texture? What if you accentuate your subject with pencil, crayon or gouache? Don't "what-if" about this book. Grab it today for dynamic results in your portrait painting!

Though The Velvet Underground were critically and commercially unsuccessful in their time, in ensuing decades they have become a constant touchstone in art rock, punk, post-punk, indie, avant pop and alternative rock. In the 1970s and 80s Lou Reed, John Cale and Nico produced a number of works that traveled a path between art and pop. In 1993 the original band members of Reed, Cale, Morrison and Tucker briefly reunited for live appearances, and afterwards Reed, Cale and briefly Tucker, continued to produce music that travelled the idiosyncratic path begun in New York in the mid-1960s. The influence of the band and band members, mediated and promoted through famous fans such as David Bowie and Brian Eno, seems only to have expanded since the late 1960s. In 1996 the Velvet Underground were in inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, demonstrating how far the band had traveled in 30 years from an avant-garde cult to the mainstream recognition of their key contributions to popular music. In these collected essays, Pattie and Albiez present the first academic book-length collection on The Velvet Underground. The book covers a range of topics including the band's relationship to US literature, to youth and cultural movements of the 1960s and beyond and to European culture - and examines these contexts from the 1960s through to the present day.