mcleay's highlanders

[saxandpipes]

Greetings,

Very intriguing topic! Kenneth MacLeay, RSA (1802-1878), and his wonderfully painted watercolour portraits of the Highlanders of Scotland (most prominent clans at the time) and several Royal Retainers such as, John Brown and his wee brother Archibald Brown, are not out of proportion in any way, but I can easily see how people arrive at that point. Take it from me, an art educator with a Bachelor's of Fine Art in Anatomy Drawing & Oil Painting, and a Master's of Art in Education. Not attempting to show any pretense here, but I have studied under brilliant, exhibiting artists and professors of art such as, Victor Wang, Tim Liddy, Jim Dine, Hank Knickmeyer, Chuck Close, and several others, throughout my professional tenure as an art student and educator. I was classically trained in the 'old master's' style and approach to visual/studio art, which was extremely strict and regimented - an aspect I am sure MacLeay was quite accustomed to during his tenure as an art student in Scotland, England, France, and Italy.

Typically, when either painting or drawing (basically, drafting on paper or canvas) the human figure, the height is around eight human heads tall - naturally, this isn't always the case, since people come in a variety of shapes and sizes (subjective to the artist), but this is an age-old formula that most figurative artists follow, to include the 'old masters' a term I mentioned earlier; these were famous artists such as Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Vermeer, Titian, Caravaggio, Van Eyck, etc. I think to the 'untrained' eye, many of MacLeay's Highland sitters may appear to be disproportioned, but if one looks very closely and has knowledge of human anatomy, they are most definitely not.

I think this illusion of the heads being too small, the feet and hands looking a bit strange, is created by, in my opinion, the distinctive Highland garb and all of the varied accessories in which a good majority of the Highlanders are wearing -these highly detailed areas distract the eye as it moves across each portrait and appears to distort the proportions of the head and extremities in relation to the core components of the body. This is my area of expertise and visual art is truly a life-long pasion of mine, so please trust in my credentials and experience as an artist and art educator. Kenneth MacLeay's portraits are indeed proportioned correctly and expertly painted, yet let me also say this, every artist, whether a painter, sculptor, or draftsman, uses their own, unique and individual approach to creating their art - with much of this determined by their educational background and how they were instructed. It is factual, that Kenneth MacLeay attended very prestigious art schools that had curriculums based in the 'old masters' approach.

In addtion, I find it interesting that the actual size of each individual portrait was not very big, making it even more difficult and challenging for MacLeay to paint in watercolour. I believe each portrait was around the size of a sheet of 8X11" paper...small brushes required...wow!

Slainte mhath,

Hey Kyle,

I didn't know you were an artist! I am also.

What do you think:






Sorry, I know it's completely off-topic.


Cheers!

Michael