Under Their Spell! Learning From The Masters

by Micci Cohan on February 10, 2011

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My Study of Jean Baptiste Corot’s, “Pensive Woman in Oriental Dress”

Jean Baptiste Corot’s, “Pensive Woman in Oriental Dress” 1879

My Study of Edouard Manet’s, “The Fifer”

Edouard Manet’s, “The Fifer” 1866

My Study of Edouard Manet’s, “Luncheon on The Grass”

Edouard Manet’s,”Luncheon on The Grass” 1863

My study of Picasso’s, “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon”

Picasso’s, “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” 1907

My study of Georges de la Tour’s, “The Penitent Magdalene”

Georges de la Tour’s, “The Penitent Magdalene” 1638-1643

This is a beautiful little quote from Gustave Courbet I found that hits so close to home for me:

“I have simply wished to assert the reasoned and independent feeling of my own individuality within a total knowledge of tradition.”

All of the above studies of mine are from different periods. I have such a deep love for all the great masters whom I praise and learn from over and over again. Studies are so important to me and for my new year’s resolution I vowed to keep doing more and more. When ever I do a study, with every single brushstroke and mark I make it’s like I’m getting closer and closer to that artist, I’m taking a journey, getting as close as I can to the one they took, feeling their vision, understanding and learning more each time. They’re always jump starters for me too because afterwards I always paint with a different head and revived energy. When I was in college a teacher had us dress up and make masks to wear to mimic the painting by Picasso above and then all the students took turns painting each other posing exactly how the women are posing in the painting. I never forgot that day, how cool it was to actually be a painting for a day. The experience of working creatively as a group like that and then seeing everybody’s work at the end was so amazing.

Below are some paintings from the artist, Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat whose spell I’m under now and hope to do some studies from.