Title - Something to Remember
Size - 25.4 cm x 38.1 cm Medium - Colored pencil Completion - April 2022 Exhibition TextSomething to Remember is about connection and disconnect, transforming Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene by Simeon Solomon and The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci to the modern day. Sappho and Erinna represent that personal connection, love, while Jesus and his disciples depict an argument at a family dinner, Jesus "tuning out" the faces of the others. Their faces are blank to further emphasize that, and to bring the viewer's focus to Jesus as the central figure.
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Inspiration
Simeon Solomon
Solomon was a Pre-Raphaelite artist, many of his works depicting Jewish life and exploring gay relationships. Sappho, a poet, was known for her lyric poetry and interest in women. The artist was gay himself, and was interested in portraying her and her relationships. The piece stood out to me when I saw it, with the tenderness of the piece and the background sort of enveloping them. I wanted to try and emulate some of the shading seen in the skirts and the pose, since Sappho and Erinna are quite literally connected and not just emotionally. Their relationship is the center of the piece, showing a loving moment and not shying away from the implications. |
Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo Da Vinci was a Renaissance painter, sculptor, and much more. The Last Supper was Jesus' last meal with his 12 disciples before his crucifixion. In it, he tells them of a betrayal, the painting depicting their reactions to this news. Da Vinci was commissioned to make the painting by the Duke of Milan. Their expressions are emphasized in the work, having strong body language as well. The main thing I wanted to take from the piece was the composition, with the disciples and Jesus in the same places. The room would be similar, just tweaked to fit a modern day house. |
Planning
The themes I want to touch on in the pieces overall is the duality of connection and disconnect. People loving each other and on the other hand, arguing. My thoughts for The Last Supper were to make it take place in a dining room, to bring that family dinner to mind. This is because the original piece sort of reminded me of when family started debating or on rare occasions arguing about something on a holiday dinner. So I took from that inspiration and it became the basis for my modernization. The piece would be done in pencil and colored pencil, because I feel like painting that many people in one piece, considering time, would take too long. The gray would also contrast heavily with the color of the one with Sappho, which would be vibrant. I was thinking about changing some of the men to women since a family usually isn't just men. Jesus is going to be the only one with color, to strongly emphasize to the viewer that he's the focus.
For Sappho and Erinna, they would have the same features. I drew a sketch of the piece to figure out the poses and the scale. The two would be sitting on a bench, similar to the original piece, in a garden or park of sorts. One of the things that would change is the outfits, since they were too long and wouldn't be practical in a modern setting. I'm going to give them dresses/skirts, but shorter than the original. The floor would be a light yellow color. On the bottom half of the page, I experimented with colored pencils and how to do the folds. I layered pink, then red, and then darker reds and brown to see the color combination. I also made a sketch of the face, and decided that I would keep the same features and the ponytail she has since it's still fitting in a modern time. |
Process & Experimentation
The first thing I did was draw out the bench using a ruler. This was so I could place the two women on the bench naturally and not have to position them awkwardly afterwards. Using the original piece, I referenced it and sketched out the two on the bench, erasing lines as I went and adding folds so I could color them in later. I drew the faces in next, then the hair, and added the feet. Drawing the face went faster than I thought it would, and I liked how I drew it. Afterwards, I began to color in Erinna’s skin, using a mix of light peach, peach, sienna brown, and a yellow-orange color and overlaying them. I blended in the colors with the light peach, and used the peach to add a pinkish hue to the cheeks and the lips, as well as around the eyes. I shaded with the sienna brown.
I did the same for Sappho, and began to color her hair next. I used a combination of midnight blue and black, with the midnight blue giving more color to her hair and covering the white more as I layered it. After that her shirt came next, and I chose a light blue to contrast nicely against the yellow of her skirt. After shading the shirt with indigo, I started with Erinna’s dress. I used vermillion red, tuscan red, dark brown, and mahogany for the colors. Then I used cream, yellow-orange, and sienna brown for Sappho’s skirt. After coloring in their shoes, I started on the background, coloring in the wall with a light yellow, the bench with dark brown and sienna brown, and doing the grass with a faded green color. I sketched out leaves with the colored pencil on the wall, to emulate the original with the plants behind the two. I then did a bush in the middle, and some plants on the right side. The path was done in a cream color, with some shading under the two women.
Experimentation
The skirt folds were largely referenced from the original painting, and I tested out Solomon's way of doing it by sort of lightly shading, trying to leave the lightest parts untouched. It worked out better than with Erinna's dress. I also sort of experimented with the skin tone, and I was afraid I'd done the skin tone wrong when I added the orange-yellow until I layered the peach color over, which blended things in nicely. I saw that the orange-yellow made the skin look better and evened out the reddish tones.
I did the same for Sappho, and began to color her hair next. I used a combination of midnight blue and black, with the midnight blue giving more color to her hair and covering the white more as I layered it. After that her shirt came next, and I chose a light blue to contrast nicely against the yellow of her skirt. After shading the shirt with indigo, I started with Erinna’s dress. I used vermillion red, tuscan red, dark brown, and mahogany for the colors. Then I used cream, yellow-orange, and sienna brown for Sappho’s skirt. After coloring in their shoes, I started on the background, coloring in the wall with a light yellow, the bench with dark brown and sienna brown, and doing the grass with a faded green color. I sketched out leaves with the colored pencil on the wall, to emulate the original with the plants behind the two. I then did a bush in the middle, and some plants on the right side. The path was done in a cream color, with some shading under the two women.
Experimentation
The skirt folds were largely referenced from the original painting, and I tested out Solomon's way of doing it by sort of lightly shading, trying to leave the lightest parts untouched. It worked out better than with Erinna's dress. I also sort of experimented with the skin tone, and I was afraid I'd done the skin tone wrong when I added the orange-yellow until I layered the peach color over, which blended things in nicely. I saw that the orange-yellow made the skin look better and evened out the reddish tones.
I drew out the table using a ruler, setting up the background to place the figures. I then sketched out Jesus first, and then the disciples on the left. What I first started with was drawing Bartholomew at the end of the table to see where to place the others. The same thing was done on the right, and I went inwards. I kept the poses and placement of the disciples the same generally, with the exception of removing some of them. This was due to not having enough space without making the composition look squished in. So I opted to remove two from each side to keep the even numbers of disciples on each side. When I finished drawing the bodies, I began with the clothes and hair. The modern clothes were simple, and the hairstyles I tried to keep similar for most of them. I drew in some plates and cups on the table, and finished the background by adding some lines to alter the perspective. Lastly, I colored in Jesus using most of the same colors for the skin that I used for Sappho and Erinna. I colored his shirt vermillion red and used tuscan red to shade, light blue and indigo for his pants, and sienna brown plus dark brown for the shoes and hair. Afterwards, I shaded in the rest of the figures, starting with the clothes and then the background.
Critique
For both pieces, I kept the composition mostly the same. Jesus is the focal point of the work, and is in the center, emphasized as important. I didn't keep the same number of disciples for my piece, though, because of the spacing problem and having to compromise with drawing less. The disciples poses are the same, and there's only slight differences in hand postion. The theme of the dinner is still there, with Jesus and Judas reaching for the same plate. Generally, the meaning for both pieces is the same as the original, and they both explore human relationships, good or bad. Sappho and Erinna are loving and harmonized, and Jesus' disciples are in debate with each other, almost accusing as Jesus shares shocking news. Sappho and Erinna are also still sitting in a garden, surrounded by nature with only a wall separating them from the outside. I kept this the same because I liked the peacefulness of the setting, and it added to the tender scene.
What the subjects are wearing in both pieces are different in mines due to the modernization, but I kept Erinna's dress with just a few tweaks because it fit well enough. I changed what Sappho was wearing to a light blue blouse and a yellow skirt, to be similar to the original but also to add some contrast with the yellow and blue. I strayed from using paints unlike my inspiration because for The Last Supper, painting would take too long, and I wanted for everyone except Jesus to be mostly in just black and white. The black and white would help differentiate Jesus from the rest, and add to that disconnect as Jesus tunes out the argument, isolated from everyone. The number of entryways in the room is different, and I drew less because it would be weird to have eight entryways/doors instead of just two or three. I also drew the front window as a door, to give the impression of a house. I liked the softness of colored pencils and wanted to practice with them in the piece with Sappho and Erinna. There's also no animals in the garden with them, and this is because I found the presence of the small deer would be weird in a modern setting, so I didn't add it in.
What the subjects are wearing in both pieces are different in mines due to the modernization, but I kept Erinna's dress with just a few tweaks because it fit well enough. I changed what Sappho was wearing to a light blue blouse and a yellow skirt, to be similar to the original but also to add some contrast with the yellow and blue. I strayed from using paints unlike my inspiration because for The Last Supper, painting would take too long, and I wanted for everyone except Jesus to be mostly in just black and white. The black and white would help differentiate Jesus from the rest, and add to that disconnect as Jesus tunes out the argument, isolated from everyone. The number of entryways in the room is different, and I drew less because it would be weird to have eight entryways/doors instead of just two or three. I also drew the front window as a door, to give the impression of a house. I liked the softness of colored pencils and wanted to practice with them in the piece with Sappho and Erinna. There's also no animals in the garden with them, and this is because I found the presence of the small deer would be weird in a modern setting, so I didn't add it in.
Reflection
The illustrations I did were decent. I liked the one of Sappho and Erinna the most, since the pose turned out well when I was referencing it and the skirt folds look nice. The coloring I like as well because I hadn't used colored pencil in a while and wasn't sure how layering colors worked. As I colored the piece, I found that it helped with blending and less white showing through. I'm not used to drawing fabric as flowy as the skirts were, so I learned where gravity would sort of pull and where the folds would be. My illustration with Jesus and the disciples was nice as well, but it didn't exactly turn how I wanted it to due to problems with placing the figures and not having enough space. I also wasn't used to drawing so many people in one work, so it took me a bit to decide whether to just squish everyone in or to leave some of the disciples out. It was a learning experience for me though, and it helped develop some composition skills and more experience in placing multiple people.
ACT
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
My artwork heavily references from Solomon's work and Da Vinci's work, mostly the composition and the figures in the piece are similar to the original.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Expressions in art are important in giving the viewer a clue as to the meaning of the piece, and taking that away affects how they see the piece.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Da Vinci wanted to emphasize the reactions of the disciples, and Solomon desired to portray a forbidden topic with love and explore gay relationships.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central themes of the pieces revolve around the relationships the figures have with each other, and the portrayal of that.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
The body language of the subjects is also another piece in adding to the work. In The Last Supper, the body language of the disciples is alarmed and accusing, and the mood Da Vinci creates is well portrayed due to this.
My artwork heavily references from Solomon's work and Da Vinci's work, mostly the composition and the figures in the piece are similar to the original.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Expressions in art are important in giving the viewer a clue as to the meaning of the piece, and taking that away affects how they see the piece.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Da Vinci wanted to emphasize the reactions of the disciples, and Solomon desired to portray a forbidden topic with love and explore gay relationships.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central themes of the pieces revolve around the relationships the figures have with each other, and the portrayal of that.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
The body language of the subjects is also another piece in adding to the work. In The Last Supper, the body language of the disciples is alarmed and accusing, and the mood Da Vinci creates is well portrayed due to this.
Citations
“'The Moon and Sleep', Simeon Solomon, 1894.” Tate, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/solomon-the-moon-and-sleep-t01719.
“Salvator Mundi - by Leonardo Da Vinci.” The Secretes of Salvator Mundi by Leonardo Da Vinci, https://www.leonardodavinci.net/salvator-mundi.jsp.
“'Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene', Simeon Solomon, 1864.” Tate, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/solomon-sappho-and-erinna-in-a-garden-at-mytilene-t03063.
“‘Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper, 1495-1498.’” La Salle University Digital Commons, https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/last_supper_iconography/2/.
“Salvator Mundi - by Leonardo Da Vinci.” The Secretes of Salvator Mundi by Leonardo Da Vinci, https://www.leonardodavinci.net/salvator-mundi.jsp.
“'Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene', Simeon Solomon, 1864.” Tate, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/solomon-sappho-and-erinna-in-a-garden-at-mytilene-t03063.
“‘Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper, 1495-1498.’” La Salle University Digital Commons, https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/last_supper_iconography/2/.