This book may be of interest to all who have asked themselves what distinguishes a painting from a photograph. Written by a portrait painter, the subject is viewed as much from practical experience as from theory.
Painting and photography may depict similar subjects ; but making a painting involves levels of thought and feeling which cannot be shown in photographs. Some of these levels may be seen even in a child’s drawing. A rough circle may be used to represent a face, for example, thus illustrating the principle of representation at its simplest – using one thing (a circle) to stand in for something else (a face).
Artists have elaborated this approach to a wonderful extent, but without departing from the basic principle. Sometimes paintings may be refined to such a degree that they look like photographs, and yet the child’s approach remains at their foundation. The author shows how viewers can look out for signs of this foundation, and so may enhance the enjoyment they may derive from looking at representational art.
Over thousands of years, this extension of the child’s scribble has led to an extraordinary variety of styles. The author discusses the idea that, innate in the human mind, there may be a core style which underlies all these varieties of representation.