As I stroll through a museum, snapping pictures of the paintings which most catch my eye, my camera roll inevitably fills-up with portraits of alluring men. More often than not, I am drawn to the portraits of "real" people—usually men shown in the pursuit of their profession, craft or trade. Occasionally an aristocratic personality will sneak-by (and that's okay). But I most like those paintings which show interesting (and attractive) fellows who probably were asked to sit for the artist. Good portraitists make their livings painting people who pay commissions for their service (whether or not the subject is interesting to the artist). But good portraitists sometimes select their own subjects because they wish to paint that person (not to make money). This person may be someone who would never (or could never) pay for a portrait. I believe that these particular paintings can be the most interesting—because the artist really cared about the piece. The portraitist was invested in creating a meaningful picture. Flattery was not required or being purchased. These renderings might be the artist's friends, colleagues, heroes, neighbors or just people he finds interesting.
Shown above, Portrait of a Young Man (c. 1517-18), is by Florentine painter Andrea del Sarto ("Andrew, Son of a Tailor"). The unknown subject is caught as though interrupted in his work—perhaps studying, writing, or reviewing a ledger. His unguarded manner is not the expression of someone concerned with being recorded for history. The painter "captures a fleeting moment" which makes me believe that Andrea was painting this portrait for himself—not to produce a flattering commission. Though Andrea del Sarto was an accomplished portraitist, much of his commissioned work was murals, altarpieces and other religious works.
Sir John Alcock (1892-1919) was a pioneering aviator. Here he is shown in the garb of his trade: gloves, goggles and jumpsuit. He flew for the Royal Navy during World War One and received the Distinguished Service Cross. Just after the War, he was the first pilot to fly non-stop across the Atlantic, with his navigator, Arthur Witten Brown. In June of 1919, they flew from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Ireland, in 16 hours, 27 minutes. Six months later, he crashed and died in Normandy, France, during a flying exhibition. He was 27 years old.
This portrait, in the National Portrait Gallery London, was painted by Ambrose McEvoy in 1919—between the time of Alcock's historic non-stop transatlantic flight and his early death in a plane crash.
A confident—though unidentified—tailor prepares to cut a piece of expensive black cloth in this portrait by Giovanni Battista Moroni (1520/24 - 1579). Il Tagliapanni ("The Tailor") imbues the subject with competence, dignity, and a bit of welcomed swagger. Though he is nicely dressed, he certainly is not as finely attired as would be the customers who hired him. Moroni captures beautifully the honor and authority of a master craftsman set-about his trade.
Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) painted luxurious—if a bit staid—portraits of rich and powerful clients. His were big, frilly pictures which could hang impressively in the manor houses of England's richest noblemen. His self-portrait, shown above, was painted by Reynolds while he was in his twenties. It is an unusual and artful rendering—far more relaxed (and experimental) than the fancy portraits he painted of fancy people. I appreciate this casual, possibly tongue-in-cheek rendering.
Henry James, the lauded American novelist (shown in the portrait above), and John Singer Sargent, the celebrated American painter (who painted this portrait), were friends, admirers, and shared many things in common. Both were Americans who chose to live in Europe. Both traveled in the same rarified social circles with aristocrats, artists and intellectuals. Both men were recognized and celebrated, during their lifetimes, performing at the top of their professions. And both were gay men who—while they understood their natures—compartmentalized their sexual and social lives (when necessary) for professional and societal reasons. They could relax privately (in the right circle of close friends) while maintaining the proper appearance in more rigid Victorian circles.
Sargent painted this portrait in 1913, on the occasion of James's 70th birthday. Henry James loved it. When the painting was displayed publicly at the Royal Academy, a suffragette named Mary Wood slashed it three times with a knife (apparently having selected it at random).
Another interesting artist is Emile Bernard (1868-1941), pictured above, who was an art student in the Atelier Cormon where he befriended Vincent Van Gogh and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (who painted this picture in 1886 at the age of 22). Shortly after this picture was completed, Bernard was expelled from the school for "showing expressive tendencies in his paintings." For the record, Toulouse-Lautrec and Van Gogh were accused by their teacher of similar tendencies. After expulsion, Bernard travelled and painted in Brittany where he befriended Paul Gaugin. Most of Emile Bernard's paintings are from the earlier years of his life. His later life developed as a playwright, poet and art critic. His first-hand observations of the late 19th Century art world—and his correspondence with now-famous artists—are informative about the history, mind-set, and social dynamics of this important period of art-making.
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