Re Portraiture and cathexis Thanks for these helpful comments, Gordon. You're right about the Orangerie: there are two Soutines in this exhibit from the Orangerie. Also one from the Pompidou, but nearly all the others are from private collections or quite small museums.
Portraiture and cathexis Thanks for the blog and the pix. What an interesting juxtaposition, Soutine and Cézanne.
As someone who has painted portraits, if I want to get the face (or any other body part) right, whatever that means, I have to focus on the forms and lines and let the person emerge. I believe we are so accustomed to looking at faces that we don't actually see them. We apprehend them in an intuitive scan, a Gestalt (if I'm sing the term correctly). It is why it is so hard to draw a face. We don't have much experience seeing the specific forms and differences. It's why art teachers will ask people to draw forms up-side-down, so they can suspend what they think know and see. Saying that, it raises the really interesting question, what was Soutine or Modigliani or Picasso, for that matter, "seeing" when they draw what seem to be such "distorted" figures. Thanks for the provocative posts. Hope you are enjoying the balmy weather!
I finally figured it out, we saw Soutine (and those Renoir's that turned me off) in the basement of the Musée de l'Orangerie.
appropriate Hi Lisa,
Just catching up with your blog. I like reading about your encounters and reflections about cultural appropriation. Makes me think about my travels, past and future.
geoff
Intrigued! Really interesting thoughts - thank you. But I can't wait to hear what other plays you are seeing! Come on - spill the beans: what else can we look forward to?
Michelle Liechti
non-member comment
wow Lisa!
I am finally reading your blog. Your eloquent writing quiets the little creatures inside me. Thanks. Most enjoyable.