7. Day, March 18, 2018
Well - let's face "Artjom's" face!
We see on the painting that our friend has a very unhealthy purple-reddish color of the skin - probably (or even sure!) also a consequence of its slope to the "little water" ...!
Again, the effect on many burst blood vessels under the skin!
Vut: What is real and what is caricature?
We know about the model of this Cossack, Aleksandr Rubez, director of the Sankt Peterburg Conservatory.
But what color was his skin?
We do not know that, because there is no color image of Rubez. The color photography was not invented then! Exactly the same with all other main actors on Repin's painting!
We know who the models were, but they only know about black and white Pictures of them.
Fortunately, with ONE exception!
As the model for the figure of the "Ataman Ivan Sirko" Repin took the at that time most popular General Mikhail Ivanovich Dragomirov (1830 - 1905) ...:
There is a color template of him, from Repin's own hand!
Repin made friends with Dragomirov as he sat for a portrait model.
And now we finally get some firmer ground under our feet ...:
Repin exaggerated - caricatured! - certain facial features and idiosyncrasies of his idols, as he made of them for his famous picture Cossacks - as an example here only the nose of Dragomirow called, which can be seen in "Ivan Sirko" clearly caricatured!
So - and now we know how the painter worked!
In order to turn his caricatures back into living people, we have to go the same way as he does - only in the opposite direction!
The task for me as a researcher so:
"Find a real person who has similar facial features, like the" red Cossack ", just not caricatured!"
So I went in search - and lo and behold: These reddish discolorations of older men who have drunk a lot of alcohol in their lives, are not so rare!
I found four good role models of men about the same age as "Artjom" - one of them is even a real Cossack ...:
It is noticeable:
Most pronounced is this skin anomaly always on the nose, in addition, the upper cheeks areas under the zygomatic bones are usually more affected than other facial areas!
So - now have a good basis for painting!
With these colors ...
... so I have dealt with the face of the bust.
The aim was to show the skin anomalies very clearly, but on the other hand not to make it TOO clear, because I do not want a caricature!
But I think I've cought the middle ground as well ...:
The nose, where the whole thing more clearly - to the violet - will be, I still left out ...
So much for today!
Cheers
Looking fwd to seeing the next steps.
