ONE LOVELY DRAWING, part 68

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On my recent visit to the Norman Rockwell Museum I lucked into their exhibition of Norman Rockwell Drawings.  

There, I was particularly struck by this lovely drawing, Norman Rockwell’s interpretation of the classic theme of artist and model:

Rockwell portrays this artist as a circus contortionist– the opposite of his ramrod straight, expressionless model.  We see the artist struggling to infuse his model with a glamorous flourish where none exists.

Look at what’s taking place in this tiny space: the artist holds the magic charcoal with a highly affected grasp,  inventing a sweep of the hair and alluring eyes that aren’t on the model.

This is what a hand looks like when it’s trying to change reality with sheer force of will

Note how the artist cocks his head way back to give him the perspective necessary to find glamour in his bland and boring model.  The artist’s pretentious beret tells us much about his self-image…

But his saggy pants, frayed cuffs and worn shoes tell us more about the reality of the situation:

The artist’s unused arm doesn’t hang limp at his side; it pulls way back, keeping pencils and and all other distractions well out of the line of fire:

With his left knee raised and his right knee lowered, his left arm cocked back and his head pulled aside, the artist looks very much like the pistons in a human combustion engine: 


The important point here is that the portraitist is not simply a master class in body language, he’s a master class in human psychology.   
What’s going on here?  Is the portraitist merely idealizing his homely client, hoping for a bigger tip?  Are his pretensions just theatrical props, designed to attract and impress paying customers?  Or is there more? 
 
This scene takes place in a cheap, cramped portrait booth, of the type you’d find at a carnival or on a boardwalk.   The artist’s affectations suggest he imagines himself to be something he’s not.  In short, there seems to be fantasy taking place on both sides of the drawing on that easel.  
Perhaps art is a two-way con. 
Picasso is celebrated for his hundreds of drawings on the theme of the artist and his model.

We are told that his drawings are rich with visual and psychological subtleties, and I believe that to be true but I also believe that pretentious art critics, clinging to their own affectations, tend to overlook the rich field of visual and psychological subtleties in more representational art.  

As I said, perhaps art is a two-way con.  

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