The Exploration of how reflection is portrayed in artwork involving the figure and the face.
For the second part of my project I am going to explore how reflection is portrayed in artwork involving the figure and the face. I am going to research how and why artists have used reflection in their work and what effects reflection can have on a portrait. I will then create my own body of work in response to the artists I will have studied.
I started this part of my project by brainstorming my ideas and questions around reflection,
I then created an image board of different art work that explores reflection. I was initially interested in looking at how a mirror has the ability to distort a portrait as the first part of my project focussed on distortion. However from researching artists who look at reflection I decided that I wanted to look at more than just distortion within reflection. I wanted to look at meaning, identity and the idea that a reflection has the power to tell us more.
I came across Dutch artist MC Escher and his famous 1935 lithograph ‘Hand with a reflecting sphere.’
Accessed 15th February 2021
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_with_Reflecting_Sphere
This lithograph shows an extremely realistic, accurate and detailed drawn hand holding a reflective sphere against a dark background. The sphere shows Eschers reflected self in a room with chairs, bookshelves and windows. The drawing inside the sphere does not appear to be as realistic as the drawing of the hand, however I am unsure if that is the case or if it just seems to be the case because the room and all its belongings, including the portrait of Escher reflected in the sphere are spherical?
I find Eschers lithograph captivating. I love how realistic the hand holding the sphere is in comparison to the sphere itself. I am fascinated with the distorted reflection of the room in the sphere and how unrealistic it looks in comparison to the hand and I am intrigued at why the background of the piece is just plain and dark especially as the room seems so full of things?
In relation to MC Eschers ‘Hand with a reflecting sphere’ I discovered a painting called ‘Self portrait in convex mirror’
Accessed 15th February 2021
http://www.amnondavidar.com/works
This painting was completed by
contemporary Israeli artist Amnon David.
Like MC Eschers lithograph this painting also explores the distortion that spherical mirrors can create.
This painting shows a convex mirror lying on the floor. Reflected into the mirror is an artist painting in what appears to be his studio. The mirror appears to be placed on the floor at an angle rather than lying flat which is evident from the use of aerial perspective on the pattern of the floor and from the slightly tilted angle of the room that is being reflected.
I find Davids use of foreshortening in the mirror reflected image really clever. The artists legs appear massive in comparison to his tiny head which seems so far away. The windows, the wall and the easel all curve around the shape of the spherical mirror gradually getting smaller and smaller the further away from the mirror they are.
I love David’s use of light in this painting. The major light sources are from the windows and David seems to have really accentuated this light source by using a variation of blue and white tone bouncing of the floor and the walls.
Overall, I am fascinated by the distortion and extreme foreshortening that is caused by reflection in both spherical and convex mirrors.
This fascination led me to look at some historical paintings
from the 1400s by the artists Van Eyck and Petrus Chistus that also explore distorted reflections in convex mirrors.
Van Eyck was a Dutch painter born in the late 1300’s.
He famously painted ‘The Arnolfini Portrait’ (1434).
Accessed 16th February 2021
This painting depicts a man and wife, presumably Mr and Mrs Arnolfini, in their home. They are holding hands and in front of them is a small dog. Behind them is what appears to be a big red four poster bed. There is a chandelier hanging from the ceiling and a window which appears to be the main light source. Behind them on the wall is a convex mirror and reflected in this mirror are two more people.
I find this painting fascinating. Even though the convex mirror is small in comparison to the rest of the painting, to me it is the most important element of it. It is positioned in the paintings central position so it is the first thing that is looked at. However because it is such a small part of the painting my eye moved on from it very quickly. It was only when I went back and looked at the painting a second time that I realised how important it is. I am fascinated by this convex mirror mostly because it allows me the viewer to feel as though I am in the room, I am given access to a full room not just one viewpoint or angle. The two people in the reflection really open my eyes to all of the possibilities of other artworks too. To me a suggestion is made that we are only shown what the artist wants us to see. Without this convex mirror the viewer would be led to believe that this is a personal moment between just two people in their home. However the convex mirror opens us up to other possibilities, that this may not in fact be a private moment between two people in the intimate setting that it appears to be?
The fact that this mirror is convex is very important as it’s round shape allows the viewer an opportunity to see the entire room- a much busier and more complex scene than a flat regular mirror would allow.
The other artist from the 1400s that I discovered who used convex mirrors in his work was Petrus Chistus. His most famous works was ‘A Goldsmith in his shop’ (1449)
Accessed 16th February 2021
https://www.omelomirrors.com/blog/artists-c
This painting shows a goldsmith dressed in red, sitting down at a table holding his scales in his small shop. Behind him are two eloquently dressed figures, a male and a female. They are surrounded by goods from the shop.
Like in Van Eycks painting there is a convex mirror. This mirror stands up on the edge of the table and faces outwards. Reflected into this mirror are two male figures standing outside on the street with houses in the back ground.
Like Van Eycks work this use of a convex mirror fascinated me. I feel like I am being given the opportunity to walk into this scene. I feel like I am being allowed to see beyond what a viewer is usually permitted to see. Without the mirror I would have assumed the shop was inside a small room. However I am pleasantly surprised to see the shop is actually situated outside. This convex mirror allows the viewer to see so much more detail and gives so much more context to the painting by extending the viewer’s line of sight.
From researching these four artists who use convex mirrors or reflecting spheres I have learnt how so much more information can be relayed to the viewer by using a convex mirror, much more it appears than a flat regular mirror would allow. I originally wanted to look at convex mirrors in order to explore how an image can be distorted, however what I have discovered instead is how an entire story or scene can be shown in just one painting by using a convex mirror.
I then found the photography series, ‘Dr Heisenberg’s Magic mirror of uncertainty’ by the contemporary American photographer Duane Michals.
These photographs are a series of six black and white images of a young woman looking into a large oval distorted mirror. They each show the woman from a slightly different angle, which in turn shows a different distorted reflection in the oval mirror.
Below is a copy of the photographs from the 1998 series,
Accessed 17th February 2021
https://www.phillips.com/detail/duane-michals/NY040109/174
The title of these works suggests a link to the German physicist Dr Heisenberg and his uncertainty principle. (With only VERY basic knowledge of physics theory’s, this theory (in very simple terms) explains that the position & momentum of a particle cannot be predicted together as the more precisely one is determined the less precisely the other one can be determined.)
I will therefore assume that Michals is trying to demonstrate this theory with the use of his large oval distorted mirror. With his models precise position being determined, but the momentum (or energy) of her reflection not being determined.
For my own project looking into complex physics theory’s is not the route I wanted to go down. Instead I was interested in this work as I wanted to explore the effect a reflection could have on distorting a portrait. This work demonstrates this perfectly. The way the mirror is distorted gives a completely uncertain and different reflection every time.
I find this work exciting! I love the fact that any hint of movement can completely alter the reflection. That these reflections are extremely different, from reflecting back two portraits to reflecting back just one large eye to reflecting nothing but white space. It’s almost like the reflection is the models energy moving and changing erratically while the model stands still, just like Heisenbergs uncertainty theory.
Wanting to explore how regular non distorted mirrors are used in art I came across the French artist, Edgar Degas’ 1870 painting ‘The Dancing class.’ I was drawn to this image firstly because of its use of mirrors and reflection and secondly because I have always loved Degas’ work. I have always found his drawing and painting of the ballet dancers he observed beautiful. So I was excited to delve into some exploration of his work.
Accessed 19th February 2021
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dancing_Class
This 1870 oil painting depicts a dance class at the Paris Opera. The young ballerinas appear to be warming up and maybe waiting for their dance class to begin? They appear to be dotted around the corners of the room chatting or stretching and are dressed in beautiful ballet costumes comprising of full length white tutus with corsets, clothing that would be more suitable for a stage performance rather than a dance class. There is a grand piano and an older man sat on a stool playing the violin. The two large mirrors at the back of the room make it appear like there are more ballet dancers than there actually are. These mirrors add atmosphere and energy to the room and allow the viewer to feel part of the scene. Like in Van Eycks painting the reflected images allow the viewer to see more than just what’s in front of him, instead the viewer is able to feel part of the bigger scene.
I love Degas’ use of light especially on the ballet dancers tutus. His use of white, blue and grey contrasting tones make these tutus sparkle in the light and gives them a magical illuminating feeling. The tones used in the room are quite dark and dull so this makes these magical tutus sparkle all the more.
Upon further research I noticed that mirrors appear frequently in Degas’ work. I am unsure if this is just coincidence as mirrors are a prominent feature in a ballet studio? Or if he was purposely including these in his works for another reason, maybe to look at reflection? Or to allow the viewer to see more than a traditional two dimensional viewpoint?
I came across his 1935 etching ‘After- The mirror room’ this was a different piece of work to the beautiful ballet portraits I knew Degas for. This etching rather than capturing the beauty and grace of young ballerinas was part of a series of monotypes inspired by Parisian brothels.
Accessed 19th February 2021
This etching shows a naked woman wearing nothing but one shoe and a necklace. She is slumped on a bed with a large mirror behind her. Unlike Degas’ ballerinas This drawing does not portray this woman as beautiful, there is no sense of poise or elegance emanating from this drawing. She has been drawn from an unflattering angle which accentuates a double chin and a soft belly. Degas has only used black tones which to me adds to the somber mood of the piece. The reflection in the mirror shows the back of the woman’s hair and her back. The reflection in the mirror is slightly more blurred than the rest of the drawing, emphasising that this is a reflection. This etching is mostly comprised of line, there is not much tone used, however Degas has shown some areas of shadow, particularly on the side of the woman’s body, on her back in her reflection and under her chin.
I naturally assumed that Degas’ brothel etchings were from a completely different time and were a completely different subject matter to his work on ballet dancers. However as I was reading about Degas’ work I discovered that rather than the two subjects being completely unrelated they were actually very closely linked.
I discovered that during this time in Paris, young ballet dancers tended to be from impoverished backgrounds and often supplemented their wages by performing sex acts on rich men during the ballet performances interludes. Also the reality for most of these ballet dancers after retirement was nothing more than a future in sex work.
The role of reflection is important in both ‘The Dancing Class’ and ‘After- The Mirror Room’ this is evident in the way the mirror has featured prominently in both works. In ‘The Dancing Class’ the use of mirrors have made the room look busier, due to the reflections of the dancers. Also observing the ballet dancers from another viewpoint allows the viewer to see the dancers from every angle, thus allowing a more intimate access to these beautiful movements made by the dancers. These reflections allow the viewer to be in the same room as the dancers.
As for ‘After- The Mirror room’ the mirror gives a different feel or mood to the piece, it seems to emphasise the loneliness and quietness of the room by showing that the lone woman is indeed the only person in the room. Like in ‘The Dancing Class’ the viewer is allowed to feel a more intimate connection to the sitter, only this time because the sitter is alone the connection is stronger.
For the final stage of my project I am going to explore how reflection can be portrayed in my own artwork involving the figure and the face. I am going to create my own body of work in response to the artists I have studied culminating in a final piece. I am going to discuss the development of my work and the artists who have inspired me in the form of an artists statement
Caitriona 