Drawing, drawing, drawing; so much a part of Degas' life as he did sketches upon sketches of the paintings he was to create later. Sketches help artists decide how to compose their later paintings, what to include, what not to include. Drawing with pencil is different than using a brush. It's a way to get your creative thoughts on paper, like a rough draft in writing.
This pencil portrait of Giovanninna Bellelli is a prelude to a larger painting of the whole family who lived in Italy. Giovanninna is a cousin of Degas and while he visited the family, he made many sketches in preparation of his larger painting of the whole family. I am including the family painting, which has so many psychological interpretations that I decided to feature her portrait to show Degas' wonderful artistry, and show her in the family painting, but leave it up to you to investigate the psychology of the larger painting if you wish.
Meanwhile, this is the one that I wanted to share in my blog.
This pencil portrait of Giovanninna Bellelli is a prelude to a larger painting of the whole family who lived in Italy. Giovanninna is a cousin of Degas and while he visited the family, he made many sketches in preparation of his larger painting of the whole family. I am including the family painting, which has so many psychological interpretations that I decided to feature her portrait to show Degas' wonderful artistry, and show her in the family painting, but leave it up to you to investigate the psychology of the larger painting if you wish.
Meanwhile, this is the one that I wanted to share in my blog.
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| Portrait of Giovannnina Bellelli. c. 1858-59. |
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| The Bellelli Family. c. 1860 Giaovannina is on the right. |
Beautiful. I always did like Degas 's work. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, what a fabulous blog. Stopping by on the 8th day of the #atozchallenge. Spent time reading older posts and am impressed with the clarity and presentation of the blog, focused on the writing. I look forward to following you now and I'm VERY picky about that, which is more than just picky. If you have time or interest, I am writing about gardens and related topics this month. Stop by and see me.
ReplyDeleteHi Stepheny! You made my day. Thank you. Would love to learn more about gardens--in Colorado it is very dry and we live at 6200 feet. The deer ate my roses, so no more. I now have Grasses and Iris and that is about it, not very imaginative
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie .. gosh I wish I understood art better .. but his drawing of little G is exquisite - she looks quite daunted ... and somewhat withdrawn ... I wonder what she was thinking ...
ReplyDeleteThe family is interesting .. the father almost giving out a lesson in life ..
Cheers Hilary
Me too, Hilary. But I do like looking at art, even though I am not so steeped in Degas's life that I can add any kind of psychological opinion except my own. Perhaps, a masters in art history? Oh, too late for me.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a somewhat unhappy family to me. Don't know if that was Degas, or they really were like that.
ReplyDeleteHard to know unless Degas kept a diary, but the art historians have lots of interpretations.
ReplyDeleteLove that sketch. innocent looks and simplicity within beauty.
ReplyDelete