How to Pose a Model
Sent: 10/19/2021 10:00:12 AM


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Hi Subscriber, Thomas Couture was a history painter, thinker, and educator working in France during the second half of the 19th century. He ran a private atelier where many influential artists studied, including Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, John La Farge, and Puvis de Chavannes. A talented educator and communicator, he also wrote a book setting forth his techniques and philosophy of art, translated into English as Conversations on Art Methods in 1879. Conversational and charmingly direct, his book is full of useful information even for today's art student, and is well worth the read (it's entertaining too!). Now in the public domain, you can read it online here . Today we'll read his thoughts on posing models and how to get the most out of the whole experience. Enjoy, BoldBrush Studio Team _____ Thomas Couture, Head of a Woman with a Blue Ribbon, oil on canvas, c. 1873 Thomas Couture, Head of a Woman with a Blue Ribbon, oil on canvas, c. 1873 How to Pose a Model Working with models is an essential part of the fine art tradition, whether for figurative or portrait work - despite photography's tremendous helpfulness in providing easy access to reference, it cannot take the place of the variety of tones and expressions encountered in the presence of a living person. Working with models can be challenging, though, for many reasons: getting them to hold the pose is generally the first, but there are many others as well, such as finding a pose that looks natural and being aware of their comfort level (if they're very uncomfortable over the course of a long pose, it will show up eventually in the painting!) Thomas Couture, though not well-known today, was a successful and well-respected portraitist and art instructor in the late 1800s and he wrote a book full of useful advice to young art students, including how to successfully work with models and capture their unique attributes. Here is some of his advice, along some examples of his lively portrait work: "If you wish (to draw) models, it is better to surprise them and draw when they are not aware you are doing so. Lines drawn rapidly, observation and notes taken under the fire of first impression will guide you. . . You need to have sympathy and love for what ever is living; movement, intelligence, passion, and thought; follow all these marvels of life as the hunter follows his game. See that beautiful child overheated by play; the lovely tints of his face, the beautiful disorder of his hair, and the sun which throws over all that golden light. Quick, your sketch-book, make your lines and notes, that is sufficient; be satisfied, you have made a good study. If after you have sketched a good movement, or a natural pose, you can obtain a sitting from the person observed, you will then be able to make a perfect study, but you must only use the model, in order to assist you in carrying out your first impression. This must come from yourself; one is able to do well only what one can understand." Thomas Couture, Study for Damocles, black and white crayon on blue paper Thomas Couture, Study for Damocles, black and white crayon on blue paper "Be careful not to give to your portrait theatrical positions; be simple and modest in your pose, as in your expression; we ought to feel in sympathy with the portrait that we work upon. Give above all things, an air of gentility to what you represent. If a woman is your model, let her direct you. She knows well her best physical qualities. In the space of an hour, being face to face with the painter, she will show all her most beautiful points, she will put on the most favorable expression. Profit by it, do not let it escape you. . . whatever is thus seen or shown may with profit be preserved on the canvas. But, you say, a portrait cannot converse nor act like a living being, and besides it is the features you wish to represent. I reply, you must charm others with what charms you. If you impose perfect immobility upon your sitter, she will have the pain of seeing her greatest defects brought to light. Add to this the ennui and fatigue of sitting, the pallor which results from it; would you copy your model under these conditions? No, a hundred times not; for it would not resemble the woman, and the artist ought to have taste and talent enough to paint the true woman as he knows and admires her. The painter ought to converse with his model, - if a man, interest him as much as possible, and keep him from becoming stiff." Thomas Couture, Portrait of Pierre-Jean Béranger, chalk on paper, c.1850 Thomas Couture, Portrait of Pierre-Jean Béranger, chalk on paper, c.1850 "The only thing to fear is the anxiety of the sitter; desiring to have a good portrait, he will over do the thing; you have to fight against this, try to give him confidence in you, and talk to him in a way to make him natural. To know how to converse with a model is one of the talents of a portrait-painter; I have told you before, that an elementary principle in drawing, is to use one quarter of the time in drawing and three quarters in looking at nature. As a portrait-painter, accustom yourself to divide your forces, one half of you must be the painter, the other the agreeable companion. You have the care of your model as the shepherd's dog has of his flock; you ought to laugh and joke until he forgets he is your model; during this time the painter half of you must not lose a second; work without stopping, and do not forget that rapidity in execution is one of the elements of success in portrait painting." (Quotes from Conversations on Art Methods by Thomas Couture) Thomas Couture, Two Sisters, oil on canvas Thomas Couture, Two Sisters, oil on canvas _____ Eager to Learn More? The BoldBrush Studio Blog is a great way to learn more about art and art history. If you'd like to read other interviews and posts showing great artists and their stories, please click the button below. Read More Posts Like This One _____ BoldBrush Videos are available for unlimited streaming. This is a DIGITAL CONTENT ONLY product. You will not receive a DVD. 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