Self Portrait
Title: Self Portrait
Size: 91.44 cm by 91.44 cm
Medium: Acrylic paint on canvas
Date: February 2021
My self portrait was inspired by “The Little Marauder” by Adolph William Bougureau. I painted the girl’s body and replaced her face with mine. I wanted to try a painting based on Realism and I really liked the adventure and mischief in the girl’s face in the original painting. I wanted to create a fantasy of me as a happy, independent, and adventurous person, with a beautiful landscape in the background. I knew this piece would be a challenge, but I really enjoyed it.
Artistic Inspiration
Inspiration Behind The Painting:
I really like creating realistic drawings, so when I was thinking about who I would be inspired by, I knew it would be an artist from the Realism movement. I was scrolling through images on google and saw quite a few paintings that I liked by Adolph William Bougureau because I admired his technique as well as the feminism in his pieces so I googled his name and found the painting that my piece is based on. I liked it because the landscape was beautiful and I loved the adventurous feeling I got when I looked at it. I also really liked the gradation scales used, especially in the creases of every fold of the dress. I knew this was something I wanted to paint because I really enjoy blending and working with the gradation scales, especially with paint. I knew it would be fun to experiment with the white and different shades of grey. Another reason I chose this painting as my inspiration is because I wanted to paint an almost full body shot; I knew filling the entire canvas with just my face would be extremely difficult especially since I would have to freehand the outline and I didn’t want my face to be completely the main focus.
About Adolph William Bougureau:
Adolph William Bougureau was a French painter who studied in Italy for four years before returning to France and attracting a wide following with his mythological and allegorical paintings. His work was influenced by the Realism movement and many of his pieces featured young women and children. He received many honours in the 1860’s and 70’s. Because he became one of the most famous French painters, Bougureau’s work was regularly exhibited at the Salon for several decades. His influence travelled all over the world, especially in the United States. He was made a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in 1876.
Adolph William Bougureau was a French painter who studied in Italy for four years before returning to France and attracting a wide following with his mythological and allegorical paintings. His work was influenced by the Realism movement and many of his pieces featured young women and children. He received many honours in the 1860’s and 70’s. Because he became one of the most famous French painters, Bougureau’s work was regularly exhibited at the Salon for several decades. His influence travelled all over the world, especially in the United States. He was made a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in 1876.
Planning
Planning Sketches
For my self portrait, I considered different angles and how I wanted the proportions to be. I decided on doing an almost full body painting because I knew that getting the proportions right would be extremely difficult if I painted just my face and I also didn't want it to have all of the attention. I focused on artists from the Realism movement and chose Adolph William Bougureau. I wanted to portray myself in an adventurous way and create a fantasy where I could be happy and be free to explore independently. I then sketched and wrote down things that would be difficult and require more attention such as the outline because I would have to freehand it, the negative space, as well as the gradation scales.
Process & Experimentation
For my painting, I started with an outline which was the hardest part because I had to freehand it. I am used to tracing an outline on my canvas, but because of doing school virtually during a pandemic, I didn't have access to a printer big enough. The proportions were really hard to nail and even after finishing it, I am not completely happy with this aspect. I drew my face, head, and hair, but outlined the outfit from the original piece. I started painting the face by making the cheeks rosier, and using paler shades for the highlights on my face such as my forehead, nose, and chin. I painted the eyes with blue and grey, but ended up painting skin tone over them because I was unhappy with not only the color, but the shape and proportion. I then started working on the dress by applying grey and then adding and blending different amounts of white with it. I found that it looked better to blend the paints on the canvas instead of blending on my palette beforehand. I really enjoyed working with the different gradation skills on the top part of the dress, but as easy as the skirt was to paint, it was surprisingly very time consuming. I then mixed a light shade of blue with a lot of white and painted two layers in the back. I was going to paint the foggy mountains that were in the original piece, but I was happy with how my painting looked without them so I skipped that part. I then started working on the rock by blending shades of brown and grey with white and again blended it on the canvas instead of on my paint palette. I painted the leaves and grassy background by using the paintbrush to make blobs of three different shades of green mixed with brown. Unfortunately, it turned out to look abstract, but I am happy with the texture it created. After having new eyes sketched, I did these last using mostly blue, but a little but of grey as well.
Reflection
This project was very time consuming, but calming and has me looking forward to other time consuming pieces. Proportion is obviously a big challenge for me though, so I hope to get better at it until I have access to a big enough printer for similar projects. My favorite part of the piece to work on was the dress because I really enjoyed working with the gradation skills and using my blending skills and techniques on the canvas instead of on my paint palette; I felt this was better looking too, so I plan on doing this again in the future. I also want to work on and practice landscapes more, especially realistic ones because this is a Realism piece that turned out to have an abstract-looking background.
Compare & Contrast
Similarities:
-Both are Realism pieces -Both have the same landscape backgrounds -Both are symmetrical |
Differences:
-My piece is a self portrait, while the original is a portrait of someone else -I didn't include the foggy mountains that are in the background of the original piece -The nature part of my piece turned out to look more abstract, while the original one looks more realistic |
ACT Responses
1. Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
Mine is different because it is a self portrait, but many of the themes are similar. In the past, my pieces have focused on mental health, but I was inspired by the independence and feminism in Bougureau's piece and incorporated that into my own.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
It is an educational website that educates people on William-Adolph Bougureau's life and helps readers understand how his life and culture impact his work.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc., while you researched your inspiration?
Culture and where you grow up has a big impact on the popularity of an artist's work. People of higher class and realist artists tend to create pieces that were popular in "modern" homes.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
Pieces I have done in the past focused on mental health, but I was inspired by Boigureau's use of feminism and independence. Because of this, I decided to create a happier piece that empowers women and the fact that they can be independent and adventurous individuals.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Realism tended to be more popular in its era because it was considered more satisfying to look at than art from other periods. Some people also considered it classier and you were considered popular if you owned a realistic piece by a famous artist of that time.
Mine is different because it is a self portrait, but many of the themes are similar. In the past, my pieces have focused on mental health, but I was inspired by the independence and feminism in Bougureau's piece and incorporated that into my own.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
It is an educational website that educates people on William-Adolph Bougureau's life and helps readers understand how his life and culture impact his work.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc., while you researched your inspiration?
Culture and where you grow up has a big impact on the popularity of an artist's work. People of higher class and realist artists tend to create pieces that were popular in "modern" homes.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
Pieces I have done in the past focused on mental health, but I was inspired by Boigureau's use of feminism and independence. Because of this, I decided to create a happier piece that empowers women and the fact that they can be independent and adventurous individuals.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Realism tended to be more popular in its era because it was considered more satisfying to look at than art from other periods. Some people also considered it classier and you were considered popular if you owned a realistic piece by a famous artist of that time.
Bibliography
"William Adolphe-Bouguereau." Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 Aug. 2021,https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Adolphe-Bouguereau