The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1919-04-04
The Portrait Painter.

The Portrait Painter.
NOTE:-The writer will be glad to
answer any questions concerning Art
either through the column or per-
sonally, provided your question is
accompanied by your name and ad-
dress. The writer will treat your
question confidentially, if SO re-
quested.
Address all questions to ART AMI
THE TIMES, care Of Democratic Ad-
vocate.
Portrait Painting il one OF the old
est branches of the Fine Arts. With
out portraits, the great characters OF
history would be but names; but
through their portraits they have be-
come personalities. Mention Wash
ington or Napoleon, and their like
nesses at once flash across your
minds eye. They are real, tangable
because some artist has preserved
them to us.
In all periods Of history we have
had portraits. Thousands of years
before Rome portraits of Pharoahs
and Queens of Egypt were painted
upon the walls of tombs and temples
The great museums of the world
contain portraits of Greeks and
Romans painted in wax
Among the artists recognized by
history as the greatest, more than
three-fourths have been portrait
painters, although, of course, they by
no means limited themselves solely to
this phase of art. 1t is only natural
that the artist should feel inspired to
portray the characteristics Of the
great and strong; the fleeting bloom
of youth; the charm of personality,
and the innocence of childhood, and
hand them down to countless unborn
generations. How many an artist
has as his masterpiece the portrait
of his mother.
The mysterious smile of Mona Lisa
has the same rich charm for us today
al 1T had more than four hundred
years ago, though thousands whom
she smiles upon are eternally for
gotten. And her smile will charm
further generations when we and our
children's children have persisted
from this world and we have become
one with the forgotten throng she
smiled upon
| Why should the Mona Lisa have
thus been immortalized? What won
derful deeds were hers? What was it
she did that made her eternal?
Merely this. She smiled upon an
artist.
/ am often asked how long it takes
to paint a portrait Leonardo Da
Vinci worked four years on the por-
trait OF Mona Lisa, and then he was
unwilling to call it finished. Rem
fbrant, who has no superior and few
equals, often finished his work in six
or eight days. | once had the
privilege Of watching my teacher, the
late William NJ Chase, finish a por-
trait in an hour and a half, and see
ing the check for one thousand dol
lars he received for it, Ut was
finished work of art, too. Chase used
to say it took two men to paint a
portrait,-One to do the painting, and
the other to stand behind him with
club and knock him senseless before
he had time to spoil it,
Portrait Painting il one of the most
highly paid branches of art. There
are far more portrait painters than
one can count on ones fingers, who
receive ten thousand dollars for a
portrait that takes them six or eight
days to paint. There is a portrait
group in Baltimore for which rhe
artist received $4,000 and this sum
is by no means unique. By the way
Some of the best portrait painters
have been women. Two if the best
known are Angelica Kautfnan in
England in the Eighteenth Century,
and Madame LeBrun, in France
While today there are many women
portrait painters of the highest rank,
more than I have space to mention,
but T must call your attention to Miss
Cecilia Beaux, who is not only che
OF Americas greatest portrait paint
ers, but one who is ranked as one of
the greatest i'm the world, and whose
work compares with the. great artists
of all time.
What qualities 60 to make up The
successful portrait painter? How
can one tell whether he has sufficient
9niirty &c becOlG portrait p3inler2
How does OneGgO about it to learn?
These are questions 7 am frequently
asked, and will try briefly to answer
them.
The first requirement l. an intelli-
gent and sympathetic knowledge OF
human nature, love and interest in
art and persevaring ambition to
succeed. These the prospective por-
trait painter must acquire for him
felf. No one can help him there,
Next he must have thorough training
i'm drawing, the use OF color, and IN
composition or harmonious and ap-
propriate arrangement. Here is
where the Art School of the highest
cahbre comes in, for eight out Of
every ten can master this phase with
the proper concentration and the
proper training. You must offer the
former Maryland offers you the lat
ter. Maryland has been training por-
trait painters ever since Revolution
airy Days. Charles Wilson Peale.
who was a soldier in the Revolution,
and painted no less than fourteen
portraits of George Washington, was
true Marylander, a Kent county
boy. Who knows? Perhaps some
other Maryland boy who fought In
this great European war will far
surpass him as an artist Stranger
things have happened, for the torch
1srH, I~y IL