Katy Thompson, Associate Director of Education
“Wait, what do you mean by that?!” Have you found yourself contemplating a work of art, but struggling to find words to describe what you’re seeing? Us, too! A concept based on the German malerisch, “painterly” was popularized by Swiss art historian Heinrich Wölfflin to help focus and standardize terms to describe works of art.
Would you describe this artwork as painterly?
Certainly a painting of a painter, this portrait of George McCullough, a former Fort Wayne Art School faculty member, is not, however, painterly. With no visible brushstrokes and an emphasis on line, this portrait borders on photographic. Looking more closely, however, to McCullough’s work-in-progress, we do see some painterly attributes. In capturing his style, Lutz showcases visible brushstrokes and the use of warm and cool tones and complementary colors that characterize the technique. While Lutz works to capture a formal portrayal of her teacher, the teacher captures an expressive, textured view of the landscape.
Linear canvases are the opposite of painterly, and depend on creating an illusion of 3-dimensionality by “modeling the form” through drawing and shading in place of impulsive rises of color. Painterly canvases utilize the visual effects of the paint itself: chromatic progression, complementary and contrasting colors, warm and cool tones, and textured brushstrokes. Linear canvases disguise these effects through careful placement of invisible brushstrokes, like Lutz does.
How would you characterize the works below by Alma Thomas, on view in Movement: Black Art in Focus starting December 21?
I would say this work is colorful and playful. These aren’t art history terms, per se, but they describe the piece. If I wanted to use more formal language, I might begin by describing the balance of the complementary colors: orange and blue. The cool blue and warm orange, in their differing levels of saturation, create a dynamic visual. The thick, dark black slashing lines add to the movement created by the soak stained technique. Instead of individual brushstrokes, the overlapping colors seep into each other to create a cohesive field of color across the canvas. This piece borders on painterly, as Thomas is playing with the effects of paint and color to create her abstract composition.
What about this painting, by the same artist?
In contrast to the watery texture of Untitled, here Thomas’ brushstrokes are thick and visible, or painterly. Embracing the textures of acrylics to create movement through quick, excited strokes, these light and loose marks evoke wind moving through grass or tree leaves. These mosaic-like strokes are shaped to add rhythm; and, against the white canvas, suggest a birds-eye view of the grass or leaves. By limiting the colors to two shades of green, Thomas explores color harmonies and contrasts; however, her measured brushstrokes leave this painting short of a pure painterly definition.
We meet McCullough again! The man from Nancy Lutz’ portrait, here we see his painterly technique in full form. Note the textured, loose, visible brushstrokes! The swathes of color that create dynamism and movement! The visual effects of the colors! The application of paint that does not follow distinctive lines but blurs the edges, blending together! Taken with Lutz’ portrait, McCullough’s of himself, his wife, and their two cats captures an expression of the family in place of a photographic resemblance.
Chase the Rabbit by Hung Liu embodies the painterly technique with its loose, even dripping brushstrokes. The effects of swatches of warm and cool and complementary colors, through the use of purples and oranges, adds to the overall visual effect of a painting as a painting. Expressing the emotion of the woman, instead of replicating her features, is paramount. How do both McCullough and Liu use visible brushstrokes
Not limited to just 2D art, the term applies to sculptures, too, that use surface effects to resemble brushstrokes or capture the traits of them. Donald Martiny’s Lule is composed of large, overlapping yellow brushstrokes. Would you characterize this piece as painterly?
The loose, long, textures strokes certainly fit the definition! The next time you visit FWMoA, see if you can identify any painterly canvases and sculptures on display in the galleries.