I saw many galleries where contemporary artists showed their works drawn in the style of very known masters. For example painted in the manner of Degas, or of Cézanne. They did not copy exactly Degas or Cézanne, but their way of painting remind you to Degas or to Cézanne. Can we draw a portrait of someone “in the way” by which Picasso painted Fernande or Jacqueline ? I imagine it is not possible if the resemblance is too recognizable. What is the limit between recognizable and not recognizable ? What says the law about this ?
I can show an example, but I'm afraid to be condamned!!!*


added : To Sveta and Songsparrow:
Here is a very simple example. Is this awkward drawing acceptable? It is drawn à la manière de Mondrian:

Please, don't be afraid and show us the example!

We will not condamn you! Show us your example! You are allowed to post a picture you have created. If it's in the style of Picasso, then you entitle your picture, 'Mypicture in the style of Picasso' or 'Mypicture after Picasso'

I find that a perfectly acceptable example and an interesting exercise! I'll try one myself -not sure I'll be as good as you. Maybe Jackson Pollock is a good choice for a start!

Very interesting topic here, An. I always enjoyed viewing art by Hieronymus Bosch either in museums or art catalogs. I guess my own paradise or inferno inspired by this artist would be a lot of fun.
Very nice idea for a thread in which each one creates an art piece inspired by his/her favorite artist.The fun comes when you are asked to recognize the style and the inspirational work.

An, excellent idea!
I personnally love most of the impressionists: Van Gogh, Renoir, Degas, and many others. Their mastery of color and light is incredible.
By chance, today I was fooling around with my charcoal sticks, and I copied one very recognizable Master. Not that my copy is that good, but his style was unique and outstanding. Guess who?

Would it be Van Gog?

Claudio, the way you interpret a piece is so unique. I love this.

self portrait

Claudio,
Ya, we all recognized him. Personal and strong drawing, Claudio !
Elena, so quick to find the portrait!!!
By the way, here is a copy exercise (not to be confused with "A la manière de")

Mon cher ami An, i wish i were quick in drawing a good portrait

Sveta, yes, he is!
Elena, thank you for your comments. And effectively, that is the portrait that I copied. I have an art book on VanGogh and I love looking his paintings and drawings. Great job on finding it.
An, your portrait has a lot of personality. Strong pencil traces, just like Van Gogh's. Excellent!

Just for the fun ....
Vincent seen by a very young Picasso. A very quick sketch (5 to 10 minutes) inspired by Picasso's 1907 autoportrait (photo attached)

Songsparrow: I’ll try a graphite à la manière de Picasso
Sveta17: If you do something à la manière de Pollock, I’ll certainly follow you (An’s work à la manière de Sveta17 !smiley !)
ElenaM : Yes, Bosch is certainly very inspiring. But, heaven or enfer, that is the question. I’m waiting for your post!
Claudio: If I have a big photo of you, I’ll draw it à la manière de Van Gogh!
Thank to all !

An, I might surprise you with another artist's work/copy. I just found my favorite painting by a French artist that revolutionized arts in the 19th c. and guess what ? This painter did not have a formal training as an artist neither he attended an academy of fine arts ever.Yet his work has a historical significance in the fine arts.Guess who. I will come soon with an oil pastel from his oil painting.

19th century? No formal training ? May be le douanier Rousseau ? A lot to say about him.

Voila, my Wip so far, one hour and 30 minutes; I guess that the work/artist/style is recognizable at this stage.

Bravo, Elena! Absolutely recognizable!

I've decided to interpret the heron from this week's challenge(Hope the host will forgive me) in several manners.
Although it's very anti-Jackson Pollock not to be entirely abstract, I've tried a Jackson Pollock-style heron just for fun. I apologise to all Jackson Pollock's fans. Then I tried a heron echoing Hokusai"s manner.
Really sorry to have very limited time(as it will show from my drawings), it's so interesting.

Not happy with these a la minutes, but I have to be honest and will post them here.
I'll try the heron in some other style - hopefully when I have more spare time and if Jacson Pollock and Hokusai's spirits don't come looking for revenge in the night!

I become to love this thread inmensely. What a fantastic work,Sveta!I guess i never enjoyed seeing copies as much as now.And these interpretations, Sveta are amazing, giving your talent that turns any picture into art.

Ya, recognizable easily, because his personages are so typical. Good drawing and colors.

[quote name='Sveta17' date='Apr 19 2009, 10:13 PM' post='63698']
I've decided to interpret the heron from this week's challenge(Hope the host will forgive me) in several manners.
Although it's very anti-Jackson Pollock not to be entirely abstract, I've tried a Jackson Pollock-style heron just for fun. I apologise to all Jackson Pollock's fans. Then I tried a heron echoing Hokusai"s manner.
Really sorry to have very limited time(as it will show from my drawings), it's so interesting.

I'm very happy, because I know you enjoy to draw à la manière de Pollock et à la manière de Hokusai. I think both Pollock and Hokusai will enjoy your painting and will not trouble you. Have a good night !
A drawing of Hokusai:

Thanks a lot, Elend and Ann! Keep your fingers crossed! Good night to you and here are two pages from Hokusai's Sketchbook(Manga).

Elena, beautiful and, yes, very recognizable

Sveta: beautiful work!
An: thank you for the offer; it is very nice of you. Send me an e-mail so I can send you a bigger photo

I like suspense, Claudio. Everyone agrees on the fact that my copy is recognizable yet no name so far.
Is that OMERTA or what ?

Omerta???? What is that??
No, the guy was told at that time that topless was forbidden in California, so he chose Tahiti for painting naked young girls and live on the beach. Clever guy, this Paul G.

Ok. So is not Omerta, after all("code of silence" of Sicilians, etc).

here it is. The purpose of this 2-hour oil pastel is to capture the spirit and not to create an identical duplicate.
The original belongs to Gauguin, yes, titled "Tahitian women on the beach" a 27x36 in oil on canvas painting that can be found in Paris at Musee d'Orsay.
You can see my WIP here.

Elena ! What a surprise this morning: your painting is absolutely wonderful. You must directly frame it and put in the wall (is there still some place?).
But, by the way, where is the original and where is the copy ?
An

Merci, mon vieux.There is MY original copy of the tahitian women.It was so much fun doing this in oil pastels.BTW, my walls are full of masks(my husband's collection), tapisserie, ethnic art.This will go into a folder. The question is shall I sign it? I never knew how you sign a copy after the masters.

Claudio: If you feel strong enough to resist to a shock when receiving a cubic portrait, then you can send a colour photo to
nva0101@gmail.com
(no guarantee for the resemblance, however, guarantee for the shock, be sure )

I know how I should sign my copies of the Masters: "sorry man, Claudio"

lol

A la manière de CHU TA :
(Chu Ta: great Chinese Painter)

An: very nice. What I admire from chinese paintings, is how they could tell so much with so few strokes.
Elena: it is hard to distinguish the original from the copy at a quick glance. Details would tell when put side by side. Excellent!

An: Tonight I'll send you a couple of photos for you to have fun "cubing" me

Merci, Claudio.
Well, I am not a copyist of art for several reasons. My skills are not that developed and also i need to give it my own twist even if it's just a matter of color choice. I personally see no point in investing time and energy in copying a master instead of developing one's own style and breaking free from the canons of art schools and styles.
Yet i did a couple of copies after Minoan art frescos.Just a few months after starting drawing. July 2008.

here they are. The fisherman in oil pastels on canvas and Cup bearers in tempera.

Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

and the original

Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

They are already quite good. We all know you made tremendous progress since that time. I'm curious to see how you would proceed now.

Merci, An.
Maybe i will approach some arlequins by Picasso next.Leaving Bosch for a more elaborate work that can cover several weeks.

Great topic!
this is a copy of a Degas sketch.
Click to view attachment
I can see where I went wrong, angle of head and length of body, but it was fun to do.

Paulette: great sketch. And thank you for the reference to the web site!
Elena: very nice work on the "frescos". They are very "frescos" (spanish expression for refreshing)

In my case, trying to copy any of the masters is valuable. I have no formal education in art, so copying them is a kind of learning-by-doing to me.

Quite nice and vivid sketch! I see you enjoy quick copy. Yes, may be, in Degas, the dancer looks downward, but, no doubt, your quick sketch is very Degaslike !

Geometry, symmetry, perspective they are real challenges to me. This looks like a piece of cake yet i had to spend one hour to get it right and this is the best i can do.Oil pastels on Canson mi-teintes, 8x11in.



cubist harlequin

[quote name='ElenaM' post='64113' date='Apr 22 2009, 05:19 AM']Geometry, symmetry, perspective they are real challenges to me. This looks like a piece of cake yet i had to spend one hour to get it right and this is the best i can do.Oil pastels on Canson mi-teintes, 8x11in.
/quote]

Elena, fantastic copy of Picasso!
I really wish to know the opinion of people in this DS on such a cubic painting.
(Don't forget to click on "cubist harlequin" under Elena's painting to see the original)

Thanks, An. It's learning and i want to thank you again for this idea.

for Picasso my favorite site is Online Picasso Project

Thank so much for the site. The best I've never seen on Picasso.
By the way: one question. Do we have the right to post COPY of the masters on the internet ? There is no commercial interest, of course. What says the law ?
About signature, I think we cannot sign the copy, unless saying you are copying that master. However, if we draw à la manière de (without copying exactly), then we can sign and even sell. Am I right ?

The copy of the masters is all right, it is done mostly for established artists, those in the world patrimoine, and also many of the images of their paintings are in the public domain if you look them up in wikipedia.But if you have an emerging artist and you do a copy of his/her work I think it is different.He/she might even have a copyright provision regarding their work.
So one thing would be a copy of Rafael another a copy of Vladimir Kush.

See also Copy an old master.

So, approaching a master from the feeling his work creates in you, here is my free interpretation of the Girl with pearl earring by Vermeer. WIP so far.

Very promising start, Elena.
Here is a free copy of Picasso (and the original, taken from http://picasso.tamu.edu/picasso/):

After 1 hour, 30 minutes, here she is.



The first image of my wip took me 30 minutes, then i went to the kitchen to cook a mediterranean meal of lamb meat, artichokes, olives, wine, rosemary, tomato sauce, garlic, onion, bay leaf.
While the meal was cooking i worked on her face and after the meal on her shawl.

At this point i don't know if I shall let the rest to the guessing or continue adding a background. My next intention is to see if i can paint an oil pastel portrait on canvas using the underpainting of this quick sketch.

An, they are both beautiful, so poetic and sweet mood in each of them like two sisters. I cannot say which i like best. They are so delicate and romantic!
very good interpretation. Bravo!

Elena, you did a great job! Congratulations.
However, I don't really get cubism. For me, it looks like the arlequin left the room while Picasso was still looking for his colors