JacquesDeWissant_OilPainting_by_HollyVanHart_20x16.jpg
"Jacques De Wissant", 20" x 16", Oil
Rodin Series:
I live near Stanford University, which has one of the world's largest collection of sculptures by Auguste Rodin. I've been fascinated by them for years, and recently created a series of paintings based on them. I aimed to show the emotions of the sculptures using vivid colors and unusual angles.
Description of "Jacques de Wissant" excerpted from my blog (hollyvanhart.blogspot.com):
This is "Jacques de Wissant", next in my series of oil paintings inspired by the sculptures of Auguste Rodin; Jacques one of the six Burghers of Calais.
What captivates me about Rodin's sculptures and what I love to express in this series of paintings is the contrast between human strength and weakness. In this case, the Burghers of Calais were in a very weak position (living in a city under siege by the English, and in which many people are starving), yet they had the emotional strength to surrender to the enemy king in order to spare their fellow Calaisians. By surrendering, the Burghers thought they would be executed. In the end, luckily, they were fed and clothed and their lives were spared.
I revisited Rodin's Burghers of Calais at Stanford a few weeks ago, and spent lots of time studying the six of them from many angles. I had already painted Andrieu d'Andres and this time I was inspired by Jacques. I like this viewpoint of Jacques because it shows the strength of his hand and arm, and because of the dramatic foreshortening (see how large his left hand looks compared to his head?), the interesting shapes in his head and right hand, the exciting diagonals of his robe, the sky reflections on his body and robe, and the mystery as to what he his holding in his left hand (it's a key to the city of Calais).
Purchase:
This is an original oil painting (not a reproduction or copy), and it was created with great care using the highest quality archival materials. This painting is on 100% cotton gallery-wrap canvas. The edges of the canvas are painted a dark color that complements the painting, and it is ready to hang on the wall unframed. Please check out the "Purchase Inquiries" tab on this website for details on price and shipping, and feel free to email me with any questions.