What started as a hunch, revealed a secret in regards to the works of so many admired artists over the past several centuries. It began when David Hockney was examining some drawings of English tourists. These images were created by a French, 19th century portrait painter (whom I'm afraid, I could not make out the name, no matter how many times I replayed that portion of the video) and were on display at the National Gallery in London. The sketches were detailed and 'true-to-life', and also - very small. Hockney explained,
"I noticed this incredible accuracy about them, almost a photographic quality", which motivated him to further explore. He found several clues that seemed to be evidence of that which was thought to be impossible. His theory was that these drawings were traced from small images - hundreds of years before the invention of photographs!
I actually had to watch this film twice, because I was too enthralled with the information to stop and take notes the first time around. Is this how painters such as DaVinci created such brilliantly detailed works?
Along his quest for proof, Hockney discovered many clues to his theory. From certain areas of paintings being out-of-focus, to sunlight on the subject's faces, to a shine painted onto armor and small irises - His adventure had me captivated, and I couldn't wait to see what he discovered next.
Hockney continued through the film with numerous experiments, with the evidence that early 'cameras' were merely composed of a dark room and a lens to create precise and vivid images (although reflected and upside down). Science and art were combining for this secret technology hundreds of years before anyone thought it could be done.
As a viewer, I was ridiculously excited. My fiance' came home just a few minutes after I had finished watching the video and I literally couldn't wait to tell him what I had learned! And so, with the inspiration of David Hockney, we created our own experiment. Keep in mind, the conditions were not the most ideal. It was a rainy day, but my house has many windows and receives quite a bit of natural light. I was hard pressed to find a dark room. But with the help of a make-up mirror, and a bit of sunlight coming in from my back door (bottom image), I was able to reflect a fairly clear, full color image onto my bathroom wall (top image).
It was like I had just discovered fire.
I wanted to run around the neighborhood and tell everyone I encountered, "I know a secret!" and then explain how this David Hockney guy proved that some of the greatest artists ever known had originally created their masterpieces by tracing an image. And then, I would want to tell them that he has all these science and mathematician friends who helped him prove this with crazy formulas that could indicated the exact size and distance of the lens that was used. And that he found patterns with paintings over the past 500 years where it appeared that artists seemed to suddenly paint... better (?). And then, I would tell them that Hockney even re-created some of these exquisitely detailed images, like the chandelier from Jan van Eyck's "Arnolfini Marriage",
showing the exact techniques with reflected images that were recreated on a canvas.
But, my neighbors might think I was a little crazy if I went around shouting all that information at them, and they might invite me to less barbecues and block parties. So, perhaps I should just contain the bulk of information within the confines of this blog, or as a unique conversation starter at my next dinner party.
Still, David Hockney blew my mind.
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