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Arts & Activities, Jan, 2005 by Guy Hubbard

ABOUT THIS SELF-PORTRAIT

This painting is humorous because it tells a mixed story about what Norman Rockwell saw and the difference in what he actually painted. First of all, the scene shows the artist seen from behind himself sitting in front of a canvas, which is not possible. It is as though he is painting a picture of himself with his back to us. But that is just the beginning!

The artist is leaning over to see around the edge of a stretched canvas to get a better view of his reflection in the mirror. As a result, his body is tilted in an awkward way to see better, so the mirror was not in a good position for a self-portrait, although it fits nicely into the composition of this picture. He is also wearing glasses that in the mirror reflect light so it appears that he cannot see his eyes.

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His pipe tilts down out of his mouth that in the mirror is drooping and makes him look rather anxious. In contrast, the portrait that is beginning to appear on the canvas shows a quite different image. The glasses have disappeared and the eyes look calmly out at the viewer. Also, the pipe is now tilted upward at a jaunty angle, while the mouth is almost smiling. And, although the portrait on the easel is incomplete, it is signed with the artist's name.

In addition to these contradictions, the portrait tells us quite a lot about the way Rockwell worked in his studio. Pinned at the upper left edge of the painting, for example, is a sketch showing alternative head positions of which the one he chose is in the center. On the other side of the canvas are a series of small reproductions for inspiration. They are self-portraits by such great artists as Albrecht Durer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh. The book on the chair and holding up the mirror probably has other self-portraits that interest him.

The glass of liquid--a drink?--balances precariously on the book to hold it flat. The top of the mirror is decorated with a patriotic image of an American eagle, while in contrast, the canvas on the easel is crowned with a Roman soldier's helmet perhaps to tell us how the artist might like to think of himself. Of special interest is the long stick (a maul stick) on which his right hand rests. This stick enables him to keep his hand steady as he paints details.

Not least, Rockwell has dropped some paint brushes and has left them lying on the floor, while his waste basket is smoking and may catch fire from a time when he dropped a match into it or emptied his pipe. At one time, Rockwell had his studio burn down and perhaps this is how it began.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Norman Rockwell was born in New York City on the island of Manhattan, where his father was a businessman; he was an artist in his spare time. Rockwell's grandfather had been a professional artist whose pictures were very detailed.

Throughout his boyhood, Norman Rockwell constantly made sketches of things around him. When he left high school, he enrolled as a student at two art schools: the National Academy of Design and at the Art Students League. By the time he was 17 he had ended his formal education and had found himself a job as an illustrator of children's books.

During World War I he was in the Navy, although luckily during this time he was able to continue working as an illustrator and expand his reputation. On leaving the Navy at the end of the war, he went briefly to France where he studied Modern Art. He soon dropped this kind of art, however, and returned to New York to continue his career as an illustrator. Almost all of his work from then on was for magazine covers and book illustrations.

Although he grew up in the city of New York, he preferred living in smaller places, spending most of his later life in the tiny village of Arlington, Vt. His studio was next to his home, and was decorated with original paintings by important illustrators, such as Edmund Dulac (1882-1953), Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) and Howard Pyle (1853-1911).

Almost all of Rockwell's illustrations were painted in oils, although he also used pen and ink, watercolors, charcoal and block printing. All of his work showed realistic groups of people rather than places, and most of the people he included in his paintings were his friends in Arlington. They seemed to have just the right character for many of his subjects.

On other occasions, he walked around towns and hired people to model for him when they looked just right. He also bought old, worn clothing to dress his models for particular subjects. He collected furniture and other objects that would fit well into his paintings. Having these objects in his studio meant that he was able to draw and paint them very accurately. He even had a collection of Colonial American clothing to dress his models when an illustration was to be of people who lived in the 18th century.

Normal Rockwell painted people, but showed neither misery nor cruelty. His main theme was the common man--someone who was likely to be seen every day, such as his wife, his barber, his pharmacist and his neighbor. He painted pictures of them doing what they did every day with kindness and humor; and he included their wrinkles, calluses, their stoop shoulders and irregular noses. Quite frequently, he put a portrait of himself in an illustration, usually smoking a pipe. He said once that "I guess I'm a storyteller"--which is what an illustrator does.

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Arts & Activities, Jan, 2005 by Guy Hubbard

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