The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1919-04-04
THE PoRTRAIT PAINTER.

Portrait Painting is one of the
oldest branches of the Fine Arts.
without portraits, the great char
acters of history would be bMt
names; but, through their portraits
they have become personalities.
Mention Washington or Napoleon,
and their likenesses at once flash
across your minds eye. They are
real, tangiable, 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 charac-
teristics Of the great and strong;
the fieeting 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 as it had more than four
hundred years ago, though tnou-.
sands whom she smiles upon are
eternally forgotten. 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 for
gotten throng she smiled upon.
Why should the Mona Lisa have
thus been immortalized? What
wonderful deeds were hers? What
was it she did that made her eter-
nal? Merely this. She smiled upon
an artist
am often asked how long it takes.
to paint portrait. Leonardo Da
Vinci worked four years on the
portrait of Mona Lisa, and then he
was unwilling to call it finished.
Rembrant, 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 M Chase, finish a
portrait in an hour and half, and
seeing the check for one thousand
dollars he received for it. 1t 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 is 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 the artist received $4,000
and this sum is by no means unique.
BY the way! Some of the best por-
trait painters have been women.
Two of the best known are Angelica
Kaufman in England in the Eigh-
teenth Century, and Madame LIE
Brun, in France.
While today there are many
women portrait painters of the high
est rank, more than have space to
mention, but l must call your at
tention to Miss Cecilia Beaux, who
is not only one of Americas greatest
portrait painters. but one who is
ranked as one of the greatest in the
world, and whose work compares
with the great artists of all time.
What qualities go to make up the
successful portrait painter? How
can one tell whether he has suf-
ficient ability to become a portrait
painter? How does one go about it
to learn? These are questions 1 am
frequently asked, and | will try
briefly to answer them.
The first requirement is an intel
ligent and sympathetic knowledge
of human nature, love and interest
in art, and persevering ambition to
succeed. These the prospective por-
trait painter must acquire for aim
self. No one can help him there.
Next he must have thorough train
ing in drawing. the use of color, and
in composition or harmonious and
appropriate arrangement. Here is
where the Art School of the highest
calibre comes in, for eight out of
every ten can master this phase with
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