I think because Sargent is so good, he hides the element of art that’s carrying the message. I think his brushstrokes are so seductive. I think his ability to reproduce texture is uncanny. I think his capturing of likeness and personality is off the charts. And because of that, sometimes you miss the simple things. And I don’t know if the class appreciated Joaquín Sorolla Show as much as I did.
Sorolla's Lighting Discrepancies
When we went to Fort Worth, Texas, to see an exhibit with Sorolla, a lot of the paintings were over-lit or essentially overexposed. Every picture Sorolla painted depicted scenes at dusk with very little outside yet the show had three or five floodlights as well as fully exposed skylights in the middle of the afternoon, coming through and filling the room with light, just maybe at dusk the amount of light and the color of the light might have been different.
When I told the class that I felt like the lighting was not correct, I took my phone and darkened a couple of pictures, and the pictures started to glow on our cameras and not in real life.
I can’t say I looked at this show and was overwhelmed with the show, but I can say I'm beyond excited and thrilled that I went. My idea of the painting is about one element of art ( Color, Contrast, Pattern, Texture, Shape) when an artist chooses an element the other four elements become subordinate.
The Nuance of Color and Value
All the elements are in every painting, for example, there is color in every painting. There's color even in a black-and-white painting because there are different shades of black and white. I kept saying, "Don't you see it in Sargent?" But the world kept saying, "No." And he said it is because he’s so talented and sophisticated in everything. You're seduced by the other stuff, and you don't see what he’s doing.
Sorolla's Direct Approach
But with Sorolla, it was blatant. And when I looked at one of his paintings, this painting is about the beautiful material. The way he captures that is its halftone value, which is next to the highlight, and the abruptness between the values shows the highlight. I need you to know what he did and why that makes sense.
And the only way you get that richness is by glazing it darker and darker with those reds sometimes with numerous layers of glazes. Then when you hit the whites, it jumps off the page. So, two or three coats of glaze, and then hit the whites, and —man, it will look like that satin. And that's where Sargent gets that shine from. Sorolla doesn’t do that.
The difference between Sorolla and Sargent is how Sargent looks good up close and afar, while Sorolla looks good from only afar.
The Power of Light and Time
Back to Sorolla, looking at his paintings, it’s at dusk. That's the end of the day. That's like Sargent's main pictures. The end of the day. There's a quietness to them. sometimes making me wonder if the Quality of Light is an element of Art? I think the painting can be about the quality of light and the time of day. Yes. Almost every picture is.
And that could be why everyone always says you must get your values right first. Values are more important than color. And I'm going to say I agree with them, sometimes ( different blog). The half-tone is off the chart. The quality of light and a half-tone. But what I'm saying is, that if I add a little highlight, contrast, or texture somewhere else in the painting, my mind gets distracted, and I lose the message. We have a fine line to teeter. You can either put everything in and then lose all the edges, or you can put everything in and fan it out, lose everything, and say, okay, now where do I find?
The Subtlety of Color Placement
The same thing goes with color. Wouldn't it make sense to put the most important color in once? And then decide what else goes in, even texture, pattern, and contrast? Now, with Sargent, there’s a tight line between too much and not enough. And he teeters it. But man, when it’s done, you're saying, "Wow."
The Sargent said, if I do any more, it'll take away. Sorolla said the same thing.
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