Portrait artists, whether painters or sculptors, invest significant time and effort in capturing the essence of their subjects. This process involves posing, dressing, and finding the best vantage points, all while keeping the subject engaged and alert.
Sitting for a portrait can be a tedious experience, especially for individuals accustomed to being active. Artists must find ways to keep their subjects entertained and comfortable. For instance, when then-Vice President George H.W. Bush sat for a portrait, the conversation revolved around their shared interest in the TV show Meet the Press.
In 2005, singer Tony Bennett visited Marc Mellon's studio in Redding, Connecticut, for a sitting. Mellon upgraded his sound system and played standards from the American songbook, sung by artists Bennett knew personally. This kept Bennett cheerful and engaged for the entire two-hour session, as he shared stories about his old friends and colleagues.
Creating portraits of deceased individuals presents a different set of challenges. Artists can't take direct measurements, such as the distance from the chin to the eyebrows or the width of the nostrils, which are typically taken using calipers. Instead, they rely heavily on photographs, which often focus solely on the face.
One of the most challenging commissions Wendy Ross ever undertook was a larger-than-life-sized bronze portrait of American Founding Father George Mason, installed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in 2002. There were no photographs of Mason, and only a few portraits existed, the earliest of which was painted 12 years after his death by D.W. Boudet. This portrait hangs in Mason's ancestral home in Virginia.
Portrait painters have more leeway than sculptors when it comes to interpreting their subjects. They can take artistic liberties with elements like the top or back of the head, which are often not visible in photographs. However, this flexibility does not diminish the skill required to capture a subject's likeness and essence.
The art of portraiture is a complex and nuanced field that requires a deep understanding of both the subject and the medium. Whether working with living subjects or posthumous ones, artists must navigate a range of challenges to create works that capture the essence of their subjects. The stories behind these portraits, like those of George H.W. Bush and Tony Bennett, add layers of richness to the final pieces, making them more than just representations—they become narratives in their own right.
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