5-4 Add. Work from Tutorial – Hidden Emotions
Additional research and reflection as noted from tutorial 4.
see also post – 5-4-2 Making Emotions Visible
5-4-1 Collection of Portraits showing hidden emotions
Collate a small collection of works showing hidden emotions, so that you can survey the field past and present, which will build your visual and contextual research at this stage and feed this part of your material and painting investigations. ‘We discussed the background colours, looked at unsettling green in the painting online and also considered the portrait and what might consist of a different view (Man on the table/bench/surface on his side)’
Below is a collection of some works showing hidden emotions along with some comments on each. The list below is hyperlinked to the painting and my comment further below.
Fig. 5-4-1-01. Courbet, Gustave. (1843–45). Le Désespéré (The Desperate Man).
Fig. 5-4-1-02. Svatlakov, Sergry. (2020). Portrait of Denis Actor, Juggler and Fashion Model.
Fig. 5-4-1-03. Modderman, Egbert Vincent. (2020). Restless.
Fig. 5-4-1-04. Miels, J. (c.2017). Social Disconnect 2
Fig. 5-4-1-05. Miels, J. (c.2017). The Day That Never Comes.
Fig. 5-4-1-06. Miels, Joshua. (c.2017). Transcendent
Fig. 5-4-1-07. Schaffer, Charlie. (2019) Imara in her Winter Coat
Fig. 5-4-1-08. Borremans, Michael (2010). Lakei
Fig. 5-4-1-09. Borremans, Michael (2009). The Apron.
Fig. 5-4-1-10. Joffe, Chantal (2010). Untitled
Fig. 5-4-1-11. Saville, Jenny (2005). Torso II
Fig. 5-4-1-12. Garcia, Javier Arizabalo (c.2020). Hand I
Fig. 5-4-1-13. Garcia, Javier Arizabalo (c.2020). Hand II
Fig. 5-4-1-14. Maldha (C. 2020). Eye
Fig. 5-4-1-15. Bullough, James. (2020) Linger
Fig. 5-4-1-16. Onoja, Silas (2020) Untitled
Fig. 5-4-1-17. Macauley, Lucas Joel (2020). Untitled.
Fig. 5-4-1-18. Kim, Taeil. (2021) Untitled
Fig. 5-4-1-19. Crimson, Rosso Emerald. (2021) Oyin
Fig. 5-4-1-20. Matisse, Henri (1909-10) The Dance.
Fig. 5-4-1-21. Bacon, Francis. (1953) Study after Velazquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X
Fig. 5-4-1-22. Chagall, Marc. (1915) Birthday
Fig. 5-4-1-23. Picasso, Pablo. (1937). The Weeping Woman.
Fig. 5-4-1-24. Wood, Grant. (1930) American Gothic.
Fig. 5-4-1-01. Gustave Courbet – Le Désespéré (The Desperate Man) (1843–45)
The dramatized expression, oblique lightings, textures of objects (linen shirt, flesh) result in a painting that is poised on the edge of a dramatic moment. Courbet has taken his gesture slightly over the top to emphasis the drama. The dark colours and tones in the background add to the drama and are heightened by the bright highlight on the forehead and the pale tones of his shirt. The hands and arms are used to compositional enclose the face and frame the dram upon it.
Fig. 5-4-1-02. Svatlakov, Sergry. (2020). Portrait of Denis Actor, Juggler and Fashion Model
The red background lends a certain tension to the work. The colour of blood and heightened passions the red is opposed to still face of the man. He glances down to his right avoiding the eye of the viewer. This betrays his body language as not being comfortable in the situation. This avoidance of eyes can often be a symptom in mental health issues, if some-one is lying or they are ashamed etc. the averted gaze will result in discomfort to both the subject and the viewer.
This work was selected for exhibit in the 2020 BP Portraits.
Fig.5-4-1-03. Modderman, Egbert Vincent. (2020). Restless
Another BP 2020 selection, this work shows a heavily-bearded man lying on his side covered by a sheet. The features and beard along with the sheet bring to mind Jesus in his shroud after the Crucifixion, or other religious overtones such as Lazarus.
The green used results in a slightly unsettling disquiet to the work as a whole, this is not the calm green of a restful painting.
Fig. 5-4-1-04. Miels, Joshua. (c.2017). Social Disconnect 2.
Another subject avoid the gaze is this commuter on a train. The body language of the slumped posture hints at a sense of disquiet or depression in the subject. The grey sombre tones rob any colourful joy that might have been included in the work, if there was to be any joy on display. This grey is matched within the clothing and even the facial tones of the unhappy tube passenger.
Fig. 5-4-1-05. Miels, Joshua. (c.2017). The Day That Never Comes.
Joshua Miels isolates his subject here against a blue-grey background. This colour and averted gaze of the subject are hallmarks of Miels paintings.
The blank stunned like expression of the sitter is also evident in many of his works as they display some of the symptoms of their mental disquiet.
This stare into nothing was termed in the Vietinam War as the 1000-yard stare for those with shell-shock, now more commonly known as PTSD.
Fig. 5-4-1-06. Miels, Joshua. (c.2017). Transcendent.
Like the sitter in the previous painting Miels uses his hallmark averted gaze and grey-blue tones and colouirs to set the scene of a subject suffering from mental health issues. The drooping head and semi-slumped posture show the unhappiness which dwells within the mind of this man.
He is deep in thought and is maybe about to look up and smile and may change our mind as to his suffering or he will gaze back at us with a bleak haunted stare.
Fig. 5-4-1-07. Schaffer, Charlie. (2019) Imara in her Winter Coat
This work was a selection for the 2019 BP Portraits. Here the artist uses the averted downward gaze of a woman, her rounded slumped posture and the grey-blue colour and tones set the same mood as the works above by Miels.
We get a hint of the turmoil in the woman’s head by the vigorous directions marks of the background and within the figure. These marks and the swirling loops of paint and markings are reminiscent of that used by Van Gogh in works such as Starry Night. Maybe she is in a similar dark place than that of Van Gogh.
Fig. 5-4-1-08. Borremans, Michael (2010). Lakei
Borremans paintings works with ambiguous and enigmatic meaning. Here we see the subject Lakei with his jacket on back-to-front. The jacket is a military style tunic with a double row of brass buttons up the front and a high style braided collar. Does this hint at the nature of his pose, he does not just avert his gaze he has turned his back to us. If he is military maybe he has difficulties processing a situation he has encountered and has withdrawn into himself, in effect turning his back on everyone. The grey mid-toned wall offers us no clues as to his dilemma, but this grey colour presents a lifeless monotone to us, the only colour apart from the rosy cheeks of Lakei is the bright red of the tunic, a hint maybe at blood letting and maybe the cause of his disquiet.
Fig. 5-4-1-09. Borremans, Michael (2009). The Apron
Another of Borremans ambiguous and enigmatic paintings. Here we see the mid-section of a man’s torso, this is centred in the middle of a table and we have a dilemma. How is this possible? Where are his legs?
We don’t see the mans upper torso or head, so we don’t see how he is reacting to this situation – is he calm or in a panic. Maybe having no legs an inability to move is a pointer of his situation. He may be unable to make a decision or has no place to turn or opportunity to manoeuvre.
Fig. 5-4-1-10. Joffe, Chantal (2010). Untitled
Chantal Joffe usually picks female sitters for her work, here she has a woman alongside a faceless man in very dark clothing. Is this a faceless phatamon or some other forboding danger to her. The work is monochromatic with the woman rendered a light and bright subject except for her dark shoulder length hair. In contrast, the man is nearly completey black a faceless ominous brooding presence. Maybe Joffe is using the old western movie symbolism of white hat -goody and dark hat baddie. Whatever, the reasoning the dark figure is a cause for making for an unsettled uneasy nature to the work.
Fig. 5-4-1-11. Saville, Jenny (2005). Torso
Jenny Saville does not shy away from the graphic nature of her subjects. Whether it is the open wound of a shotface of a female cavader in the morgue of a contour female figure awaiting liposuction of cometic surgery or evn the disfigurement of a bleached face. In this work she presents for our view a bovine carcass shorn of its head and hooves. This results in the twisted figure being fairly anonymous. It maybe an allegorical of the crucifixion or the does this carcass represent a human, a torture victim shackled and defenceless. The pale flesh /hide may hint at vulnerabilities but it certainly lends a contrast to the crimson neck and dark congealing puddle of blood on the floor. The painting is cast in a pale blue green light giving a sterile sanitary air to the work.
| Fig. 5-4-1-12. Garcia, Javier Arizabalo (c.2020). Hand I | Fig. 5-4-1-13. Garcia, Javier Arizabalo (c.2020). Hand II |
Based in Spain Garcia uses a hyper-realist technique to depict hands. Hands can be used as an allegorical device or even in their own right to depict emotions that may be hidden. In the first image in this collection, The Desperate Man, Courbet makes excellent use of the hands as props to the drama expressed by him. If the eyes are the windows of the soul then the hands are the signposts indicating and gesturing these emotions as a visible sign of an invisible condition.
Fig. 5-4-1-14. Maldha (C. 2020). Eye
This Maldives based artist uses round wooden panel about the size of a jar lid to make oil paints of a single eye. The eye and the muscles and skin folds that surround it can convey a myriad of emotions and meaning and Maldha with her small intimate works in oil paints to allow us to view this window into the soul. The eye and its surrounding muscle can convey a host of meanings to other people. The raised eyebrows of a question to the straight lines of a frown, this area is ripe for being utilised for expression.
Fig. 5-4-1-16. Onoja, Silas (2020) Untitled
Silas Onoja paints has large realist [portraits of people trapped and wrapped in plastic sheeting and soaked in water. He is using both the plastic and water as methaphors for freshness and breaking free as he explains in his quote below:
“I use plastic to represent the mental bondage or whatever has held them captive,” Onoja explains. “The water represents the refreshing taste of freedom and the calmness freedom brings.” The artist’s intention is to represent the “mental bondage” that many people find themselves trapped in. (Barnes, 2020)
Other artists have used sheets wrapped around a figure to denote entrapment and locked into a situation. The plastic in Onoja’s works can also signify suffocation as well as being trapped into the situation.
Fig. 5-4-1-17. Macauley, Lucas Joel (2020). Untitled
Macauley has been homeless and bases his series of works upon his own experiences and emotions of that time. The figure of his homeless self is sat posed defensively with his arms protectively wrapped around his legs. The scene is filled with icons and imagery of that time. The judgement of others towards the homeless is emphasised by the gavel and the inclusive text within the work.
The flames emitted from his back and engulfing the area behind himself probably alludes to him burning with shame and humiliation for his situation.
In addition, to the visual clues the Macauley gives us as to how he regards that time he also uses the text for this purpose as he includes in the text at the top and bottom of the work phrases such as – ‘who needs me, where am I. How can no one see me, criminal, lazy, Addict.
Fig. 5-4-1-18. Kim, Taeil. (2021) Untitled
Korean artist Kim paints a realist portrait and then completes the work by using a series of expressive brushstrokes to cloud and obscure elements with the work. He uses these expressive marks with the swirling twisting patterns to convey a sense of turmoil and action within an otherwise still work. This action denotes the phycological pressure and stress within the subject Kim is painting. My Modern Met writer Cole expresses this factor in the paintings in a recent article, writing:
Instead of rendering the human form as it appears in real life, Kim emphasizes the intangible emotions through abstract applications of color. (Cole, 2021)
Fig. 5-4-1-19. Crimson, Rosso Emerald. (2021) Oyin
London based artist Crimson uses portraiture to both highlight the vulnerability of women and to depict their inner strength. In an interview she said:
“I use portraiture and self-portraiture to explore and analyze myself and the world around me,” Crimson tells My Modern Met. “Taking inspiration from personal memories along with observations from real life and imagination, the imagery I create often unveils the vulnerability and strength of the human condition.” Her paintings are based on real-life models, whom the artist transforms into “personas” that “resonate with the viewers at various levels of the subconscious mind.” Likewise, these female characters tend to embody themes of identity, femininity, and beauty, as well as political and ethical issues. (Cole, 2021).
Fig. 5-4-1-20. Matisse, Henri (1909-10) The Dance
The hidden emotion is not so much hidden as it explodes from the series of five figures clasping hands as they cavort in a circle, they are depicting unbridled joy.
The joy of the dancers has no boundaries and they are thus unencumbered by mundane things like gravity
Fig. 5-4-1-21. Bacon, Francis. (1953) Study after Velazquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X
Francis Bacon was no stranger to a troubled mind. He used his art to demonstrate one angst or another. His troubled private life with its dangerous liaisons to the troubled times he lived within. Much of his life was played out to the backdrop of the world wars, partition in Ireland as well as the civil sanctions against homosexuals. He utilised the scream as a device in many of his works. he answered a question regarding the significance of the scream thus –
We are born with a scream; we come into life with a scream and maybe love is a mosquito net between the fear of living and the fear of death. Perhaps the scream is the most direct symbol of the human condition. (Giacobetti, 1992)
Fig. 5-4-1-22. Chagall, Marc. (1915) Birthday
Marc Chagall was a romantic at heart and said ‘love the primary colour of my paintings.’ The love of his life was wife, Bella, and this work was painted a few weeks before they married
The couple are floating around the room (their love so powerful they are not grounded but full of euphoric love. This dream like painting also has various symbols of this love in it such as the flowers and is a tribute to unbridled happiness, joy and love.
Fig. 5-4-1-23. Picasso, Pablo. (1937). The Weeping Woman.
Picasso in his classical cubism style has lifted an image from his painting Guernica (1937) and painted it larger and in colour. The woman is weeping as she holds her dead child. This is Picasso pushing his anti-war message and using the grief and sorrow of the bereaved woman to this end.
The Cubism style suits this subject matter very well as the fractured world of the woman is echoed in the fracture and split plains within the painting.
Picasso uses the visible signs of grief to extend the message beyond that to that of his pacifist one.
Fig. 5-4-1-24. Wood, Grant. (1930) American Gothic.
Grant Wood drove around Iowa looking for subjects. He chanced across this house and thought its pretentious with the structural absurdity of a Gothic style window in such a rural farming community flimsy frame house.
He added the grim and serious ‘supposed occupiers of the house to give it the grim and serious feeling he wanted. The man is his dentist and the woman his sister.
Wood holds this house and its occupants up essentially for our ridicule. The couple he envisaged looks husband and wife but he wanted them to be father and daughter. He wanted to include the unmarried daughter who has not lived the life she might have aspired to but has become the de-facto wife and housekeeper for her aging father. In this work Wood has a series of narratives to add to this grim and serious subject matter.
Bibliography
Artsology (2021). Art and Emotion | How artists like Picasso, Lichtenstein, Chagall, and Matisse depict emotion in their paintings. [online]. At: https://artsology.com/artemotion.php (Accessed: 24 May 2021).
Barnes, Sara (2020) Artist Realistically Paints Fractured and Peeling Portraits of Women. [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/james-bullough-contemporary-figurative-painting/ (Accessed: 23 May’21).
Barnes, Sara (2020) Nigerian Artist Paints Incredibly Realistic Portraits of People Breaking Free From Clear Plastic. [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/silas-onoja-realistic-paintings/ (Accessed: 23 May’21).
Cole, Margherita (2020). Expressive Hyperrealistic Hand Paintings Highlight the Personality at Our Fingertips. [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/javier-arizabalo-garcia-hand-paintings/ (Accessed: 23 May’21).
Cole, Margherita (2020). Miniature Eye Paintings Express Emotional Intensity From the Palm of Your. [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/maldha-eye-paintings/ (Accessed: 23 May 2021).
Cole, Margherita (2021). Expressive Oil Paintings Highlight Inner Thoughts and Emotions Through Flurries of Brushstrokes. [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/taeil-kim-abstract-portraits/ (Accessed: 23 May’21).
Cole, M. (2021). Exquisite Portraits of Women and Girls Highlight Vulnerability and Inherent Strength. [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/rosso-emerald-crimson-contemporary-portraits/ (Accessed: 23 May’21).
Giacobetti, F. (1992) ‘Francis Bacon: I painted to be loved’ In: The Art Newspaper, 2003. pp.28-29.
Fiore, J. (2018) Courbet’s “The Desperate Man” Is His Most Intensely Personal and Genuine Work, Artsy. [online]. At: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-probing-gustave-courbets-inner-thoughts-the-desperate-man (Accessed: 24 May 2021).
Hoakley (2019). Painting the Intangible: Explaining the non-visual in allegory. [online]. At: https://eclecticlight. co/2019/07/06/painting-the-intangible-explaining-the-non-visual-in-allegory/ (Accessed: 24 May 2021).
Mitchell, K (2016). Multicolored Palette Knife Paintings Explore the Many Layers of Human Emotions. [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/vivid-multi-color-portraits-convey-deep-human-emotion/ (Acc’d: 23 May’21).
Stewart, Jessica. (2020) Powerful Paintings Recount an Artist’s Personal Experiences With Addiction and Homelessness. [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/lucas-joel-macauley-paintings-personal-experience/ (Accessed: 23 May’21).
Taggart, Emma (2017). Powerful Palette Knife Paintings Capture Vulnerability of Men with Mental Health Issues. [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/oil-painting-portraits-mens-mental-health-joshua-miels/ (Accessed: 23 May’21).
YouTube (2016). Joshua Miels – Contemporary Portrait Artist | MAKERS WHO INSPIRE. [online]. At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRsYCcpbyzo (Accessed 23 May’21)
List of Illustrations
Fig. 5-4-1-01. Courbet, Gustave. (1843–45). Le Désespéré (The Desperate Man). [online]. At: https://d7hftxdivxxvm.cloudfront.net/?resize_to=width&src=https%3A%2F%2Fartsy-media-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fw96OnhVmTGLkwF447ILLHg%252F1251px-Gustave_Courbet_-_Le_De%25CC%2581sespe%25CC%2581re%25CC%2581.JPG&width=1200&quality=80 (23 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-02. Svatlakov, Sergry. (2020). Portrait of Denis Actor, Juggler and Fashion Model. [online]. At: https://www.npg.org.uk/assets/microsites/bp2020/images/500_Sergey-Svetlakov.jpg (Accessed: 23 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-03. Modderman, Egbert Vincent. (2020). Restless. [online]. At: https://www.npg. org.uk/assets /microsites/bp2020/images/exhibitors/2020_BP_Portrait_Award_work_0860.jpg (Accessed: 23 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-04. Miels, J. (c.2017). Social Disconnect 2. [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/ uploads/2017/11/contemporary-oil-painting-emotional-portraits-joshua-miels-13.jpg (Accessed: 23 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-05. Miels, J. (c.2017). The Day That Never Comes. [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/wp /wp-content/ uploads/2017/11/contemporary-oil-painting-emotional-portraits-joshua-miels-9.jpg (Ac’: 23 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-06. Miels, Joshua. (c.2017). Transcendent. [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/ uploads/2017/11/contemporary-oil-painting-emotional-portraits-joshua-miels-8.jpg (Accessed: 23 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-07. Schaffer, Charlie. (2019) Imara in her Winter Coat. [online]. At: https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson /bp-portrait-award-2019/exhibition/exhibitors-pages/imara-in-her-winter-coat (Accessed: 23 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-08. Borremans, Michael (2010). Lakei. [online]. At: https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Df9tMcjN4HY/Uj4C 1oQH-ZI/AAAAAAAAD1I/QI1-Z6Mj_IQ/s1600/tumblr_maasl0ymEP1qmiucho1_1280.jpg (Accessed 20 Dec’20)
Fig. 5-4-1-09. Borremans, Michael (2009). The Apron. [online]. At: https://michelkoven.files. wordpress.com/2012/09/2009-bormi0075-2002.jpg (Accessed 20 Dec’20)
Fig. 5-4-1-10. Joffe, Chantal (2010). Untitled. [online]. At: https://artmap.com/static/media/0000060000/0000059734.jpg (Accessed 20 Dec’20)
Fig. 5-4-1-11. Saville, Jenny (2005). Torso II [online]. At: https://www.elizabethgreenshieldsfoundation .org/ drupal/sites/default/files/galleryartwork/24_Jenny-Saville_Torso-II.jpg (Accessed 11 Dec’20)
Fig. 5-4-1-12. Garcia, Javier Arizabalo (c.2020). Hand I [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/javier-arizabalo-garcia-hand-paintings-5-636×1024.jpg (Accessed: 24 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-13. Garcia, Javier Arizabalo (c.2020). Hand I [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/javier-arizabalo-garcia-hand-paintings-21-643×1024.jpg (Accessed: 24 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-14. Maldha (C. 2020). Eye [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/maldha-eye-paintings-30-768×768.jpg (Accessed: 24 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-15. Bullough, James. (2020) Linger [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/james-bullough-parallel-truths-6.jpg (Accessed: 24 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-16. Onoja, Silas (2020) Untitled [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/silas-onoja-portraits-5.jpg (Accessed: 24 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-17. Macauley, Lucas Joel (2020). Untitled. [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/lucas-joel-macauley-2.jpg (Accessed: 24 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-18. Kim, Taeil. (2021) Untitled [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/taeil-kim-abstract-portraits-6.jpg (Accessed: 24 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-19. Crimson, Rosso Emerald. (2021) Oyin. [online]. At: https://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/rosso-emerald-crimson-expressive-portrait-paintings-11.jpeg (Accessed: 24 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-20. Matisse, Henri (1909-10) The Dance. [online]. At: https://www.henrimatisse.org/images/gallery/the-dance.jpg (Accessed: 24 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-21. Bacon, Francis. (1953) Study after Velazquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X [online]. At: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/56/Study_after_Velazquez%27s_Portrait_of_Pope_Innocent_X.jpg (Accessed: 24 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-22. Chagall, Marc. (1915) Birthday [online]. At: https://www.marcchagall.net/images/paintings/the-birthday.jpg (Accessed: 24 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-23. Picasso, Pablo. (1937). The Weeping Woman. [online]. At: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/images/work/T/T05/T05010_10.jpg (Accessed: 24 May’21)
Fig. 5-4-1-24. Wood, Grant. (1930) American Gothic. [online]. At: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Grant_Wood_-_American_Gothic_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg (Accessed: 24 May’21)
ET's Major Project P3 
