In High Fashion: Edward Steichen at the AGO

Catalogue Cover, Photograph of Actress Mary Heberden 1935 by Edward Steichen

The AGO is the one of the last stops of the exhibition "Edward Steichen: In High Fashion" which presents a collection of his black and white photographs from the Conde Nast archives 1923-1937. As the chief photographer for Vanity Fair and Vogue during these years, Edward Steichen was instrumental in defining fashion photography and celebrity portraiture. Using light and shadow to delineate his subjects in striking backdrops, Steichen drew on his training as a painter to create arresting compositions of his subjects and is considered the "first truly modern fashion photographer".

I was entranced by the 200 Steichen photographs on display. Exquisite in their execution, the collection leaves no doubt as to Steichen's talent and sophisticated range. Although Steichen also made colour photographs, only black and white images are on display, giving the exhibition a clarity and elegance.

Given my own recent confusion as to the next steps in my artistic path, I found it interesting to learn that Steichen had been a painter before taking up photography. In spite of his successful shows at prestigious galleries as a painter, he had "serious misgivings about his talents with the brush" and was aware of "not having kept pace with the modern styles of painting." Walking away from a medium that he was comfortable with into the relatively new world of photography must have been a challenge to say the least.

The exhibition runs until January 3, 2010. Keep your AGO ticket and show it at the ROM to save 20% off general admission for the Vanity Fair Portraits exhibition.

Art Gallery of Ontario

317 Dundas Street West

www.ago.net

Vanity Fair Portraits 1913-2008

In a world where everyone wants their fifteen minutes of fame, having one's portrait in Vanity Fair magazine seems to be the hallmark of celebrity. Originally called Dress and Vanity Fair at its launch in 1913 with the title shortened to Vanity Fair six months later, the magazine was a phenomenal success with its modern and bold approach. Writers included such luminaries as Aldous Huxley, D.H. Lawrence, and Noel Coward. Photographers such as Edward Steichen, Man Ray, and Cecil Beaton forged new ground in portraiture. The magazine took in more advertising than any other magazine within two years. Vanity Fair suspended publication in 1936 and was relaunched in 1983. Annie Leibovitz has been the magazine's chief photographer since 1983 and her photographs alone are a fascinating chronicle of modern celebrity and culture.

A retrospective exhibition of 150 celebrity portraits from Vanity Fair opened at the Royal Ontario Museum on the weekend. At a packed preview last week, I saw many familiar cover photos from the magazine including the pregnant Demi Moore by Annie Liebovitz, Julia Roberts by Herb Ritts and Princess Diana by Mario Testino . I marveled at these exquisite images and especially enjoyed seeing them without text marring the image and in large format instead of magazine size. I also appreciated the rare privilege of viewing the vintage photo collection of ethereal black and white photos of Louise Brooks, Katherine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Jean Harlowe, Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein.

There are no surprises in this exhibition. For me, the exhibition suggested that portraiture can be as much about the photographer as it is about the person being photographed. Given that Annie Leibovitz has dominated the pages of the modern Vanity Fair, the exhibition is, in a large part, about her. That in and of itself is not a bad thing given the depth of her talent, but it does suggest that we've defined modern celebrity through the lens of her camera.

Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario Canada
September 26, 2009 to January 3, 2010

Le Grand Monde d'Andy Warhol

Being a huge fan of Andy Warhol's work, I could not miss seeing the exhibition "Le Grand Monde d'Andy Warhol" in Paris. Even on a Sunday night, the exhibition was packed with people but that did not stop me from taking a close look at the many gems on display. I was astonished at how many celebrities he captured. There were rooms and rooms of portraits and it felt like a walk back in time.

Seeing this exhibition prompted me to finally undertake an Andy Warhol style portrait. (Something I've wanted to do for ages but never got around to). This is a portrait that I made of my friend Laura. It is her birthday today and although she doesn't know it yet, this will be her present! Happy Birthday Laura!

Portrait of Laura by Ingrid Mida, copyright 2009

Le Grand Monde d'Andy Warhol
March 18 to July 13, 2009
Grand Palais, Champs Elysees, Paris France

P.S. It is also Josephine Bonaparte's birthday today and Lucy at Enchanted by Josephine is having a party. Joy at Cupid's Charm made a beautiful necklace for the Josephine blog-giveaway. Join the fun by visiting these two delightful blogs!!

Portraits of an Artist

Oscar Wilde once said "Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not the sitter."

I used to paint a lot of portraits and here are a couple of my favourites:


Portrait of a Young Woman, by Ingrid Mida Oil on canvas, 30x90 inches, 2007 (Model Holly in front of her portrait)


The Lacemaker after Vermeer by Ingrid Mida, 2006 Oil on canvas 20x20

Blue Jean Babes (#3 and #1) by Ingrid Mida 2006 Oil on canvas, 30x40

What these works say about me, I'm not sure....

Portraits of Marie Antoinette

Portrait of the Archduchess Marie Antoinette by Martin van Meytens the Younger, 1767-1768 (Schonbrunn Castle, Vienna)

In the many portraits of Marie Antoinette, she is portrayed with smooth, white skin, blonde hair, pretty blue eyes, a high forehead, and an aqualine nose. In the Portrait of the Archduchess Marie Antoinette by Martin van Meytens the Younger shown above, painted before she left for the French court, she seems to be perfection personified.

In spite of this lovely image, it's been said that Marie Antoinette was not considered especially beautiful. Apparently, her "Habsburg jaw and prominent nose were a bit heavy for eighteenth-century taste" (Source: "The Art of Dress" by Aileen Riberio, Yale University Press, 1995). As well, there are few images of MA in profile because she was self-conscious about her aqualine nose.

In the letters between Marie Antoinette and her mother (1770-1780), she makes several references to the portraits being painted of her and that she does not think they have achieved a proper likeness. Here are two extracts from her letters to her mother:

Marie Antoinette to Maria Theresa, 13 August 1773
"I am being painted, right now; it is true that no painter has yet caught the way I look: I would happily give all I own to anyone who could express in a portrait all the joy I would feel in seeing my dear Mama; how hard it is to be able to kiss her only by letter." (page 117).

Marie Antoinette to Marie Theresa, 16 November 1774
"The painters kill me and make me despair. I delayed the courier so as to allow my portrait to be finished; it has just been brought to me; it looks so little like me that I cannot send it. I hope to have a good one next month." (page 155)

(Source: Secrets of Marie Antoinette by Olivier Bernier, 1985)

As an artist, I know how difficult it is to achieve a likeness when painting a portrait. And even if all the features are precisely in place, considerable skill is required to capture the spirit of the sitter and translate that onto canvas. I wonder if the portrait artists mentioned in Marie Antoinette's letters failed to flatter her sufficiently to win her approval or were lacking in sufficient skill to capture her likeness.

After her mother's death, Marie Antoinette sat for several portraits with Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun. One of her portraits of Queen Marie Antoinette was exhibited at the Salon of 1783 and depicted the Queen wearing a chemise gown causing tremendous controversy. The portrait was withdrawn. To read more about Madame Vigee Le Brun, please refer to my earlier posting on the subject.

Queen Marie-Antoinette by E.L. Vigee-Lebrun, 1783, National Gallery of Art, Washington

I'd hazard a guess that Marie Antoinette would not have liked the contemporary portraits of her painted by Elizabeth Peyton.