I know not how the Swedish impressionist painter came to wear the hat of Presidential portraitist in the United States by painting William Howard Taft. As Zorn's self portrait on the right demonstrates, he was a man of a certain size and shape himself, and even had a walrus mustache. Maybe Taft's people figured he'd bring a sympathetic eye.
Zorn did flesh well in general. His copious nudes tended to feature young women who were the definition of "pleasingly plump." But that's not all he did. His art catches certain bends in light, shadow, and color, bringing a heightened sense of the moment.
2 comments:
His paintings often have slight blurrings that make his subjects appear to have been caught in slight movements. I love portraits and Zorn was a master of the form.
It's interesting. Blurriness is what you associate with action shots in photography or film. Zorn did more intimate scenes in general, so the effect comes as a surprise.
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