Joseph Rodefer DeCamp, The Blue Mandarin Coat (The Blue Kimono), 1922
Joseph Rodefer DeCamp, Theodore Roosevelt, 1908
Don't concentrate too much on the features- they are only like spots on an apple- paint the whole head.² - John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent, President Theodore Roosevelt, 1903
¹ Richard Whitney, Painting the Visual Impression, (The Studios at Crescent Pond, The Studios at Crescent Pond, 2005), p. 23.
² Evan Charteris, John Sargent, (Scribners & Sons, New York, 1927), p. 139.
9 comments:
I hadn't really thought about it that way. Thanks for posting this.
Concentrate on the whole head and not the details... certainly is a fascinating thought!
Things we know intuitively but for some reason tend to discard during the actual process. These are words (quotes) to live by!
I think another significant point here is the superiority of DeCamp's portrait when compared with Sargent's. DeCamp is arguably the most underrated painter in history.
To be fair, it looks like Sargent spent significantly less time on his version. But then again, I think everything sargent does is gold.
Neither portrait is a particular favorite of mine, however, the DeCamp portrait is, in my opinion, the better painting. Sargent's portrait looks like a sketch, and it seems a disappointing choice for the official Whitehouse Portrait of President Roosevelt (DeCamp's painting is part of the Harvard Art Museum Portrait Collection, at which University Roosevelt once attended).
Thinking about these two portraits, and to the personality attributed to Teddy Roosevelt, I began to wonder if these paintings were the result of bad sittings with the subject. I read up a little more, and it seems that both artists had trouble with Roosevelt, who gave them little time to work from life.
The first official painting of Roosevelt was done by Theobald Chartran in 1902. Teddy disliked it so much, he eventually destroyed it. He then chose Sargent whom he considered to be a "real man's artist." Sargent was given 30 minutes everyday for a single week in February to produce the painting. Apparently, Roosevelt liked the informality and strength in the Sargent painting.
DeCamp's painting, which is more formal, yet still shows the strength of the President, was completed over a longer time period. DeCamp also encountered Roosevelt's restlessness and difficulty, but he got the information he needed in the same short time as had Sargent, but returned to his studio to finish the painting. DeCamp was unwilling to compromise on his portrait and reportedly told the President, "My reputation is at stake, and if you cannot give me proper sittings, I'm man enough to shut up my box and give up the whole matter." DeCamp also told his wife that no one could be a worse sitter than was "his Presidential highness."
In 1908, Philip Hale observed that "Mr Chartran painted (Teddy Roosevelt) as a Frenchman, Mr. Benziger as a Swiss, Mr. (de) Laszló as a Hungarian and Mr. Sargent as a cosmopolite." He considered DeCamp's painting of Roosevelt to be painted representing him as an American. Obviously, people of the time also seemed to think that DeCamp's portrait was the superior likeness.
(see Joseph DeCamp by Laurene Buckley)
Thank you for posting these. Love The Blue Mandarin Coat.
It amazes me how often I hear things like this (how do I paint an eye). It's so contrary to how I think. If you ask your self "What does my look like?" Well that all depends on the lighting condition. So... look at your hand silhouetted with the sun behind then turn the other way with hi contracting shadows, or open shade with soft tone vars etc.
I always remember when someone asked me,"How do you paint like that?" and my reply being, "You have to notice to what you see".
DeCamp has always been one of my favorite painters. I think he would be more well known had a large number of his paintings not burned up in a fire. He is also from the Cincinnati area.
I greatly prefer the DeCamp of Roosevelt. Though I read that Sargent was not at all fond of the president, and had a tough time getting sittings. I got the feeling he was just trying to get it over with. I believe he said something to the effect that while he was painting he felt like a rabbit in the presence of a rattlesnake.
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