. Portrait . .()nynH)U> It almost seems that a well studied pose is neverquite free of artificiality. Neither the portrait ofMme. Seriziat by David nor the Rosa Bonheur byDubufe is above that criticism. Fig. 3 is a very poorcomposition. It lacks balance, and would be betterwithout the child. But the pose of the woman is ex-cellent. It has the flavor of intimacy, of ease and6 PORTRAIT spontaneity, just as if the sitter had returned from awalk and had sat down in a natural carefree fashion,unmindful whether she assumed a graceful pose or , the principal merit of this character deline
. Portrait . .()nynH)U> It almost seems that a well studied pose is neverquite free of artificiality. Neither the portrait ofMme. Seriziat by David nor the Rosa Bonheur byDubufe is above that criticism. Fig. 3 is a very poorcomposition. It lacks balance, and would be betterwithout the child. But the pose of the woman is ex-cellent. It has the flavor of intimacy, of ease and6 PORTRAIT spontaneity, just as if the sitter had returned from awalk and had sat down in a natural carefree fashion,unmindful whether she assumed a graceful pose or , the principal merit of this character delineationis not its lifelikeness, but its precise drawing that left nofold or shade unrecorded. Despite the instantaneous-. Fig. 3 Portrait of Mme. SeriziatBy David ness of the original pose the representation has becomerigid. As it is so often the case in art, the method ofexecution did not harmonize with the inspiration. In Fig. 4 everything is artificiality. It is an exag-gerated ideaUzation of a public idol. The artistapparently thought it indispensable to make the greatwoman painter look like a young girl, to dress her up PORTRAIT in some studio garb that is more fit to be worn at amasquerade ball than at work before an easel, andfurthermore to leave not the slightest doubt as to herprofession and specialty by introducing a young steerandja sketching map. The pose in itself, if one canexcuse its theatricality, serves its purpose well enough.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidpo, booksubjectphotography
