#art closeup

[zakutari]

GET BUSY

hpmi buzz atm but these songs are crazy good

[digitaldysentery]

John Singer Sargent (American, 1856-1925), close up of Fummèe d’ambre gris (smoke of Ambergris) circa. 1880, Oil on Canvas.

The artist, Singer-Sargent was considered the “leading portrait painter of his generation” during the later-victorian and early-edwardian- eras & was fascinated by matters of ‘social being’ his best known works depicted great luxury, the inner lives of men & women, & war. His most notorious work is the controversial portrait Madame X (circa. 1884).

This piece specifically was a portrait Sargent started working on in Tangier, Morocco with a model (unknown) posed on a patio of a rented house, which he later completed in his studio in Paris, France.

The woman wears an elaborate veil over her head & upper torso to capture the perfumed smoke of ambergris, a waxy substance from whales which has been used for centuries for its unique scent (musky with tobacco, sandalwood, smells both like the ocean & moss reminiscent - becoming sweeter with age) used in perfumes, medicines, & as an aphrodisiac. Also affiliated with many spiritual meanings across cultures.

I picked this piece as my (current) profile picture for this blog to go with my current banner, as it also features a hand in a somewhat-similar positioning/motion & the artist was attributed to have quipped, about portraiture, “a likeness in which there is something wrong about the mouth” about audiences who claimed to understand his subjects more than himself.

- I find the messages in thjs painting to be interesting to look back on in the cultural climate of the 21st century…

(my current profile picture//my current banner)

sources:

Facing the truth about portraiture

Why are we fascinated by paintings of people even when some contemporary portraits are so breathtakingly inept?

(the full work)

A woman holds part of her elaborate garment over a silver censer to capture the perfumed smoke of smoldering ambergris. A waxy substance ext

Ambergris - Wikipedia

Ambergris - Wikipedia

[draconic-ichor]

A closeup of last night’s art.

The boy fell asleep on a certain page 🥺

[artbystevej]

Close up detail from a recent painting

[mishoru]

Painting closeups

[ver0h]

flowers for you 💐

ig: artsee_alien

[lainyart]

I used only black and white for this pencil portrait, allowing the color of the paper to show through to create this lovely lady’s color markings. The last picture is my art vs the reference (provided by client) to create this portrait. It’s pretty rough but for so many people that come to me their loved one is no longer with them and this is the best they have. Sometimes it's not just drawing a portrait. Sometimes it's capturing all the loved details that photos did not. The light in her eyes and every little hair matters. ❤️