What Every Art Buyer Should Know
Why is Good Craftsmanship Important?
What is Good Painting Technique?
"Action Painting" of the Old Masters
"Action Painting" has always existed. We have only to look at any late paintings by Tintoretto, El Greco, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Delacroix with action painting in mind. With these artists, the "white heat" brush work of their first thoughts forms only the skeleton on which they built their final version. It is this final version which represents the synthesis of their ideas.
Most great paintings have the qualities which we admire in action painting today but they have something additional. These ancient "action painters" were highly skilled craftsmen, who had no trouble expressing themselves. In fact, because they adhered to principles of sound craftsmanship, they expressed themselves more completely.
It is difficult to accept the statements of those artists, dealers, critics, collectors and others who apologize for the abundance of inherent vice found in contemporary productions on the theory that their creators would be completely frustrated were we to bother them with the practical considerations of materials and craftsmanship; that to mention the subject would completely disrupt their creative thoughts and that today artists are a different breed.
If one were to look at the X-ray studies of the ancient action painters mentioned above one would be amazed at the bold, expressionistic brush strokes one finds underlying their finished paintings, and few would disagree regarding the great freedom of expression exercised by them. One can hardly call them frustrated painters.
They too could recognize the artistic merits of "accidents", but did not accept the accidental as an end in itself. Indeed, we would recognize that their complete control of their materials and technique contributed to the greatness of their work, and, in addition, fortunately for us, also ensured their survival for centuries.
The ABC's and Painting
Learning his craft rarely does harm to the really talented painter. If we are expected to learn the alphabet in order to read and write, to master the eight basic notes before we are able to play or compose music, why shouldn't the artist be expected to learn the basic rules of sound craftsmanship in the fine art of painting? What is there so different in the art of painting that does away with the necessity for learning certain basic principles?
Unfortunately many art students today are unaware of the fact that the leaders in avant-garde painting were solidly grounded in academic training and only arrived at their final styles through a process of evolution. Today we stress the end result which is quite easy to imitate, instead of stressing the long road of learning which preceded it. Too few art schools teach the subject of materials, techniques and basic drawing before the student is permitted to paint. Instead, too often the stress is on self-expression. Technique and sound craftsmanship are often left to chance and must assert themselves by hook or by crook through sad experience.
So long as our contemporary artists ignore their responsibility to their profession and to their craft, so long will their works of art remain temporary, and to the degree that they are temporary they will continue to express a basic disrespect of self on the part of the artist. It is difficult to understand how an artist who is sincere can entertain this disrespect of his own work. Basically, all he creates is of himself and he must always satisfy his own exacting aesthetic standards. Yet examples of contemporary paintings which reflect a careless and irresponsible attitude on the part of the artist toward his own work, are all too numerous.
Conservation Problems in Contemporary Paintings
The artist is often his own worst enemy. His frequent use of faulty materials and faulty craftsmanship make it extremely difficult and often impossible to preserve his original design. Many of the materials employed in the making of a contemporary painting are known to have been designed for a very limited useful life sufficient for a special need, but not always for that of the artist, whose work is intended for greater permanence. It is unreasonable to expect such materials to survive unchanged for long periods of time. If by using such materials, the artist gambles with the possibilities of survival in relation to his work of art, does it not reflect a disrespect for his own work? In such cases, is he fully aware of the temporary nature of his work of art? If so, is he not morally obliged to label his work of art appropriately, so that the buyer may beware of its built-in obsolescence?
The artist often makes it extremely difficult or impossible to preserve his painting because to do so would radically alter his original design. For instance, unsized natural linen fabric is often employed as an inherent part of the design and to remove grime from these areas safely is extremely difficult if at all possible. To protect these areas with varnish is to effect a change in their color. To protect them with glass is aesthetically distasteful. A similar problem is posed when trying to preserve extremely lean paint films. Merely passing a dry cotton swab over them often results is some paint removal.
...Often a combination of materials is present in the work of art, such as paper pasted on a fabric support partly covered by a paint film. This makes it impossible to apply an appropriate adhesive or protective varnish without causing an undesirable change in such a combination of materials. Thus, whether the choice is to allow the painting to continue to deteriorate or to preserve it, in either case, a change in the original design will be the result.
The artist's techniques are often unsound. Frequently the fabric support is too porous or too absorbant...The stretcher frame is more often a strainer than a stretcher, with no allowance for expansion when the fabric becomes slack. Materials employed are sometimes extremely fragile, making it almost impossible to preserve them.
...Oil paintings with unusually thick impastos require years of drying time. Often it is dangerous to lay them face down during treatment without running the risk of having color ooze out from inside the thick impastos. It is always dangerous to ship such paintings to exhibitions because the thick paint often slips and the surface of the design smears. Yet such paintings continue to be sent on exhibition tours both locally and internationally.
How a Painting is Put Together
What to Look for when Buying a Painting
