As a child, I would look forward to the weekends when my father would take me to the many wonderful museums where I would wend my
way towards the Old Masters’ exhibits. I would stand mesmerized for hours beholding Titian, Michelangelo, Rubens, da Vinci,
Rembrandt, Dürer, van der Weyden, the Spanish Masters such as Zubarán, Cotán, Meléndez, the Dutch still lifes, etc.
That fascination with the Old Masters was rekindled during my travels abroad in Europe and South America where I visited the famous museums. I closely inspected the rich textural fabrics, admired the lace collars, the folds in the tablecloths, the translucent flesh tones and marveled at how the artists managed these miracles – to make their subjects “come to life”. I noticed muted colors, the light falling on only certain aspects of the painting (which I later learned was chiaroscuro), the religious and historical themes. In the still lifes, I admired the textures of fur, glass, leaves, the trans-lucence of grapes, the sensuousness of the pears, exotic fruits and melons that appeared to have just been sliced.
We take for granted these paintings which grace the canvas most naturally. On careful inspection of the Old Master paintings what appears to be simply just an imitation of a reality is actually a long, arduous process of choosing compositions with harmony, finding the extraordinary in the commonplace, painting not just any object, but objects of interest, intricacy, beauty. A vessel containing liquid to an Old Master was not just a plain glass, but a hand-blown, ornamental, intricate wine glass; a goblet might have a metal worked lid and brandish an embellished handle. Everything was meticulously worked out – all objects depicted in harmony with each other.
I would like to see a revival of the Classical/Realist style of painting. To that end, my paintings reflect the influence of
the Old Masters. I go to flea markets and antique stores looking for appropriate “old” objects. Sometimes I have a wonderful
object to paint, but I must think of the composition – what will I put in back of it, beside it, will it be harmonious, the background,
the table, the colors. I may spend hours moving it back and forth. I might do a small sketch of my composition on
paper. Then I photograph it. The photograph may or may not be satisfactory; it may contain only a few objects, at which
point, it’s back to the drawing board.
Finally I have my composition on canvas and I begin with the underpainting which is a
combination of white and raw umber. From those two colors, a complete painting in grisaille, i.e. white, medium grey and dark
grey, is done. After that, opaque colors are introduced, and after that, glazes. Paintings are a whole mental process,
not exactly copying reality. In the end, after going through several stages, the painting begins to function, but always up
to the very last moment, you’re altering your first idea.
© 2011 - Sonia Borgialli - All Rights Reserved