Galerie Verdun Art News

Issue for June 6, 2005

Art Collectors: Extensions of the Artist

Artists speak to us through their artwork and art collectors play an integral role in getting their message to the viewer.

It may not always be exactly in line with the artist's original intent, but the way we frame, hang, light and exhibit the artist's work, we have a significant impact on how the painter's message is received by the viewer. If we are moved by the artist's image and have great respect for it, we will certainly use greater caution to display it within the best surroundings. We wouldn't want to "spoil" the image with overly contrasting or distracting objects too close to the work. In this way we, as art collectors, have the privilege of participating in how the artist's message is presented to the viewer, even if the viewer is only ourselves.

This idea may sound strange but haven't you noticed that paintings often look quite different depending on where they hang? Wall color, lighting, surroundings - it all makes a difference, sometimes for the better and sometimes not. Doesn't it make sense that it would alter the way the viewer receives the image? You bet!

So, for the next original oil painting you bring home, do the artist a big favor and hang their work in the best light, literally.

Realism: What you see is what you get?

The original idea of Realism in art may not be what you think.

On the surface it would seem that the term "Realism" in regards to art might refer to the way the image looks "real". However, as it was originally used, Realism didn't much refer to the image itself and how accurately it is rendered. It was meant to describe the subjects of the work, which were more often themes and situations rather than individual people or objects. The Realism movement, beginning in the 1850s, was developed in opposition, as a sort of protest, against the Classical, Romantic and other popular styles of the day. Mainstream art, to the Realists, was too involved in idealizing human form or presenting dreamy "escapes" from everyday life. The Realist painter's goal was to present life as it is, good or bad, bluntly without idealizing form and hiding neither blemish nor injustice. It was the plain truth.

Gustave Courbet, Jean Francois Millet, Honoré Daumier and other Realists were very bold and daring in their subject matter. When Millet first painted peasants working in the field, it was considered vulgar and unacceptable. Paintings up to that point never showed common scenes of everyday life.

So, the next time someone says they like Realism in art, you may have to ask for a clarification. Do they mean real in the sense that it "looks real" or does the subject matter and scene depict an honest and blunt view of everyday life rather than presenting and idealized world? Neither answer is necessarily incorrect but the difficulty is that today we seem to have developed a skewed understanding of the term "Realism" as it pertains to art. Does it matter much? Maybe not.

We may all look at art differently but at least we're looking.