Yes, but some of the world's greatest portraits were painted between 1500-1700. This Battista is another, albeit early, example of art theorizing prodding artist to do exactly what theory proscribes. This sort of "arrogant creative behavior" began with artists like Ghiberti and Donatelloand has continued to the near present. Nowadays artists are only too eager to illustrate what the theorists proclaim. You might call it a revival of the Word, a weird analogical reincarnation of Reformation authority and denunciation of individuality, a predictable and peculiar manifestation of northern Euro-American faith in centralized authority through official text. wc
----- Original Message ---- From: Michael Brady <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sun, June 13, 2010 10:28:52 AM Subject: Re: "Again and again experience has proved that the more deeply versed an artist is in drawing, the less he is able to paint portraits." (Giovanni Battista Armenini) On Jun 13, 2010, at 11:23 AM, William Conger wrote: > I think the comment really says that the best artists can't waste time doing portraits. That's how I read it. Kind of a precursor of the hierarchy of genres.
