To Photo, or Not To Photo?
With the invention of the camera and photographic printing techniques, there has never been a more divisive subject in contemporary art history as using photographic references.
With digital photography infiltrating our culture as it has, where almost everyone with a smart phone can snap a photograph and carries a portable camera at all times, the question of whether or not it is acceptable to work from a photograph is even more important.
Some individuals are of the opinion that photography is closer to a science and not art, and a photograph, especially flash photography, flattens a picture plane to two-dimensions.
They also maintain that studying from life and using models enables the artist to view a three-dimensional subject, giving the piece a more natural look.
A trained eye can easily spot a contemporary oil painting that is from a photographic reference.
On the other side of the fence, an artist may see photographs as an essential aid in their work.
For example, if an artist has hired a model for an oil painting, and the model can only sit for a certain amount of time each day, the artist may choose to photograph the model to continue working without the actual physical presence of the model.
In this case, the photograph would function as a supplement to the modeling.
Many contemporary artists work from photographs they have taken themselves due to time constraints, or even bad weather preventing them from continuing a landscape painting.
However, there is a question of copyright infringement when an artist is using photographs that they have not obtained the rights to, which is generally frowned upon.
(Photography is an art form unto itself, and photographers are also artists.
) It is difficult to say whether or not the old masters would have used photographs as a reference.
We do know that a great number of artists used tools like the camera obscura to aid in their drawings and paintings, which helped a great deal with perspective.
Vermeer is known to have used mirrors in such a way that created what was essentially a photograph that he worked from in his studio.
Photographs can be a wonderful tool to help an artist with custom oil paintings for clients who would like a present a gift to their loved one, but would like to keep the painting a secret.
There are many instances where photographic reference is not only acceptable, but necessary for custom oil paintings.
With digital photography infiltrating our culture as it has, where almost everyone with a smart phone can snap a photograph and carries a portable camera at all times, the question of whether or not it is acceptable to work from a photograph is even more important.
Some individuals are of the opinion that photography is closer to a science and not art, and a photograph, especially flash photography, flattens a picture plane to two-dimensions.
They also maintain that studying from life and using models enables the artist to view a three-dimensional subject, giving the piece a more natural look.
A trained eye can easily spot a contemporary oil painting that is from a photographic reference.
On the other side of the fence, an artist may see photographs as an essential aid in their work.
For example, if an artist has hired a model for an oil painting, and the model can only sit for a certain amount of time each day, the artist may choose to photograph the model to continue working without the actual physical presence of the model.
In this case, the photograph would function as a supplement to the modeling.
Many contemporary artists work from photographs they have taken themselves due to time constraints, or even bad weather preventing them from continuing a landscape painting.
However, there is a question of copyright infringement when an artist is using photographs that they have not obtained the rights to, which is generally frowned upon.
(Photography is an art form unto itself, and photographers are also artists.
) It is difficult to say whether or not the old masters would have used photographs as a reference.
We do know that a great number of artists used tools like the camera obscura to aid in their drawings and paintings, which helped a great deal with perspective.
Vermeer is known to have used mirrors in such a way that created what was essentially a photograph that he worked from in his studio.
Photographs can be a wonderful tool to help an artist with custom oil paintings for clients who would like a present a gift to their loved one, but would like to keep the painting a secret.
There are many instances where photographic reference is not only acceptable, but necessary for custom oil paintings.