Triple Self-Portrait

Last updated

Triple Self-Portrait. Norman Rockwell 1960. Norman Rockwell Museum. Triple Self-Portrait.jpg
Triple Self-Portrait. Norman Rockwell 1960. Norman Rockwell Museum.

Triple Self-Portrait is an oil painting by American illustrator Norman Rockwell created for the cover of the February 13, 1960, edition of The Saturday Evening Post . [1]

Contents

Description

Triple Self-Portrait is an oil painting on canvas measuring 34.5 by 44.5 inches (88 cm × 113 cm). [2] Set in a white void, it depicts a rear-view Rockwell sitting at an easel producing a self-portrait. A gold-framed mirror topped with an eagle is set up to the left on a chair; Rockwell can be seen in its reflection as a thin and bespectacled man. [3] On the chair in front of the mirror sits a glass of Coca-Cola and an open book. [4]

On the canvas in front of the illustrator is an unfinished sketch of himself in his idealized art style. [5] On the right side of the canvas Rockwell pinned self-portraits by Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, Vincent van Gogh, and Picasso. [6] A piece of paper with sketches sits on the left. In total, there are seven self-portraits depicted in the work. [3]

Reception

According to Michele Bogart, the painting shows that Rockwell saw himself as split between an artist and an illustrator. [7] According to Deborah Solomon, by not painting his eyes in the reflection, Rockwell shows that he rejects "the popular myth of artists as heroic seers". [4] Further, she sees the work as Rockwell's "manifesto" by depicting the way American Realism is divorced from the reality found in a mirror. [4] Alexander R. Galloway disagrees with Solomon's interpretation and reads the painting as avoiding questions about how artists build meaning instead of answering them. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Rockwell</span> American painter and illustrator (1894–1978)

Norman Percevel Rockwell was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of the country's culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine over nearly five decades. Among the best-known of Rockwell's works are the Willie Gillis series, Rosie the Riveter, The Problem We All Live With, Saying Grace, and the Four Freedoms series. He is also noted for his 64-year relationship with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), during which he produced covers for their publication Boys' Life, calendars, and other illustrations. These works include popular images that reflect the Scout Oath and Scout Law such as The Scoutmaster, A Scout Is Reverent, and A Guiding Hand.

<i>Las Meninas</i> 1656 painting by Diego Velázquez

Las Meninas is a 1656 painting in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Baroque. It has become one of the most widely analyzed works in Western painting for the way its complex and enigmatic composition raises questions about reality and illusion, and for the uncertain relationship it creates between the viewer and the figures depicted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Glackens</span> American painter

William James Glackens was an American realist painter and one of the founders of the Ashcan School, which rejected the formal boundaries of artistic beauty laid down by the conservative National Academy of Design. He is also known for his work in helping Albert C. Barnes to acquire the European paintings that form the nucleus of the famed Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. His dark-hued, vibrantly painted street scenes and depictions of daily life in pre-WW I New York and Paris first established his reputation as a major artist. His later work was brighter in tone and showed the strong influence of Renoir. During much of his career as a painter, Glackens also worked as an illustrator for newspapers and magazines in Philadelphia and New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Famous Artists School</span> Art school based in Wilton, Connecticut

Famous Artists School is an art correspondence course institution, in operation since 1948. The school was founded by members of the New York Society of Illustrators, principally Albert Dorne and Norman Rockwell.

Deborah Solomon is an American art critic, journalist and biographer. She writes for The New York Times, where she was previously a columnist. Her weekly column, "Questions For" ran in The New York Times Magazine from 2003 to 2011. She was subsequently the art critic for WNYC Public Radio, the New York City affiliate of NPR. She is sometimes confused with another reporter, Deborah B. Solomon, who is a financial journalist now working at The New York Times after a long career at The Wall Street Journal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Philip Falter</span> American artist (1910–1982)

John Philip Falter was an American artist best known for his many cover paintings for The Saturday Evening Post.

<i>Russian Schoolroom</i> 1967 painting by Norman Rockwell

Russian Schoolroom (1967), also known as The Russian Classroom and Russian Schoolchildren, is an oil on canvas painting created by American illustrator Norman Rockwell (1894–1978) and commissioned by Look magazine. It depicts Soviet schoolchildren in a classroom with a bust of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin.

<i>Freedom from Fear</i> (painting) 1943 painting by Norman Rockwell

Freedom from Fear is the last of the well-known Four Freedoms oil paintings produced by the American artist Norman Rockwell. The series was based on the four goals known as the Four Freedoms, which were enunciated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his State of the Union Address on January 6, 1941. This work was published in the March 13, 1943, issue of The Saturday Evening Post alongside an essay by a prominent thinker of the day, Stephen Vincent Benét. The painting is generally described as depicting American children being tucked into bed by their parents while the Blitz rages across the Atlantic in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willie Gillis</span> Fictional character by Norman Rockwell

Willie Gillis, Jr. is a fictional character created by Norman Rockwell for a series of World War II paintings that appeared on the covers of 11 issues of The Saturday Evening Post between 1941 and 1946. Gillis was an everyman with the rank of private whose career was tracked on the cover of the Post from induction through discharge without being depicted in battle. He and his girlfriend were modeled by two of Rockwell's acquaintances.

<i>Four Freedoms</i> (Rockwell) 1943 painting series by Norman Rockwell

The Four Freedoms is a series of four oil paintings made in 1943 by the American artist Norman Rockwell. The paintings—Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear—are each approximately 45.75 by 35.5 inches, and are now in the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The four freedoms refer to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's January 1941 Four Freedoms State of the Union address, in which he identified essential human rights that should be universally protected. The theme was incorporated into the Atlantic Charter, and became part of the Charter of the United Nations. The paintings were reproduced in The Saturday Evening Post over four consecutive weeks in 1943, alongside essays by prominent thinkers of the day. They became the highlight of a touring exhibition sponsored by The Post and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The exhibition and accompanying sales drives of war bonds raised over $132 million.

<i>Freedom of Speech</i> (painting) 1943 painting by Norman Rockwell

Freedom of Speech is the first of the Four Freedoms paintings by Norman Rockwell, inspired by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union address, known as Four Freedoms.

<i>Freedom of Worship</i> (painting) 1943 painting by Norman Rockwell

Freedom of Worship or Freedom to Worship is the second of the Four Freedoms oil paintings produced by the American artist Norman Rockwell. The series was based on the goals known as the Four Freedoms enunciated by Franklin D. Roosevelt, president of the United States from 1933 to 1945, in his State of the Union Address delivered on January 6, 1941. Rockwell considered this painting and Freedom of Speech the most successful of the series. Freedom of Worship was published in the February 27, 1943, issue of The Saturday Evening Post alongside an essay by philosopher Will Durant.

<i>Freedom from Want</i> 1943 painting by Norman Rockwell

Freedom from Want, also known as The Thanksgiving Picture or I'll Be Home for Christmas, is the third of the Four Freedoms series of four oil paintings by American artist Norman Rockwell. The works were inspired by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union Address, known as Four Freedoms.

James Kellogg Van Brunt was a model used extensively by illustrator Norman Rockwell during the 1920s. He was also a real estate agent. According to Norman Rockwell and the Saturday Evening Post: The Early Years, by Starkey Flythe, Jr., Van Brunt entered Rockwell's studio, and proclaimed, "James K. Van Brunt, sir. Five feet two inches tall, sir. The exact height of Napoleon Bonaparte." He claimed to be a veteran of the battles of Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and the Battle of the Wilderness. He also claimed to have fought in battles against the forces of Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, and against the Spaniards in Cuba.

<i>The Problem We All Live With</i> 1964 painting by Norman Rockwell

The Problem We All Live With is a 1964 painting by Norman Rockwell that is considered an iconic image of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. It depicts Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old African-American girl, on her way to William Frantz Elementary School, an all-white public school, on November 14, 1960, during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis. Because of threats of violence against her, she is escorted by four deputy U.S. marshals; the painting is framed so that the marshals' heads are cropped at the shoulders, making Bridges the only person fully visible. On the wall behind her are written the racial slur "nigger" and the letters "KKK"; a smashed and splattered tomato thrown against the wall is also visible. The white protesters are not visible, as the viewer is looking at the scene from their point of view. The painting is oil on canvas and measures 36 inches (91 cm) high by 58 inches (150 cm) wide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Lovell</span> American illustrator and painter

Tom Lovell was an American illustrator and painter. He was a creator of pulp fiction magazine covers and illustrations, and of visual art of the American West. He produced illustrations for National Geographic magazine and many others, and painted many historical Western subjects such as interactions between Indians and white settlers and traders. He was inducted into the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame in 1974.

<i>Girl before a Mirror</i> 1932 painting by Pablo Picasso

Girl before a Mirror(French: Jeune fille devant un miroir) is an oil on canvas painting by Pablo Picasso, which he created in 1932. The painting is a portrait of Picasso's mistress and muse, Marie-Thérèse Walter, who is depicted standing in front of a mirror looking at her reflection. It is housed in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

<i>Little Girl Observing Lovers on a Train</i> Painting by Norman Rockwell

Little Girl Observing Lovers on a Train, also known as Travel Experience or Voyeur, is a painting by American illustrator Norman Rockwell. It was originally created for the cover of The Saturday Evening Post on 12 August 1944.

<i>Murder in Mississippi</i> (painting) 1965 painting by Norman Rockwell

Murder in Mississippi, as named by the artist, is a 1965 painting by Norman Rockwell which was commissioned for an article titled "Southern Justice" in the American magazine Look. The painting depicts the 1964 murders of civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, and was intended to illustrate an article written on the murders by civil rights attorney Charles Morgan Jr. The painting is oil on canvas 53 x 42 inches, and also has a pencil on board study of the same title, both of which reside in the collections of the Norman Rockwell Museum.

<i>Marriage License</i> 1955 painting by Norman Rockwell

Marriage License is an oil painting by American illustrator Norman Rockwell created for the cover of the June 11, 1955, edition of The Saturday Evening Post. It depicts a young man and woman filling out a marriage license application at a government building in front of a bored-looking clerk. The man is dressed in a tan suit and has his arm around his partner, who is wearing a yellow dress and standing on tiptoe to sign her name. Although the room and its furnishings are dark, the couple are illuminated by the window beside them. The contrast between the couple and the clerk highlights two reoccurring themes in Rockwell's works: young love and ordinary life.

References

Citations

  1. Bogart 1995 , pp. 1–2
  2. Hales, Peter Bacon (Autumn 1995). "Surveying the Field: Artists Make Art History". Art Journal . 54 (3): 40. doi:10.2307/777581. ISSN   0004-3249. JSTOR   777581.
  3. 1 2 Gouveia, Georgette (July 3, 2001). "Rockwell Revisted". The Journal News . White Planes, New York. p. 3E. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Solomon 2013 , p. 336
  5. Bogart 1995 , p. 2
  6. Halpern 2006 , p. 47
  7. Bogart 1995 , p. 3
  8. Galloway, Alexander R. (Autumn 2008). "The Unworkable Interface". New Literary History . 39 (4): 941. ISSN   0028-6087. JSTOR   20533123.

Bibliography