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Portraits of Cavendish family by Lucian Freud
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| Chatsworth Douse, Derbyshire, England |
This palatial country home, Chatsworth House, begun by Bess of Hardwick in 1588, is still the seat of the Dukes of Devonshire and houses their art collection, including four family portraits by Lucian Freud, which form a powerful grouping. The eleventh Duke of Devonshire is an interesting combination of power and isolation. His massive bulk, his tie and suit contrast with his downward gaze and rumpled appearance.
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| A Portrait of Lady Burlington-Laura, by Michael Craig- Martin2009 |
A portrait of another family member by Michael Craig-Martin, " Portrait of Lady Burlington-Laura", hangs in a dark alcove above an exquisite second-century Roman bathtub . An elegant contour line delineates the frontal view of the sitter's lovely features.
The colours are generated digitally, changing constantly and randomly. From three primary and three secondary colours, it generates 44 million colour combinations. "Although the linear portrait is fixed, the colours are controlled by computer software that makes constantly randomised choices. The work slowly changes over time in infinite combinations." www.npg.org.uk/whatson/display/2008/recent-commission-zaha-hadid.php
Thus the image is both permanent and fleeting becuase the line endures, while her colours change. After viewing it for some moments, the effect is something like a Vanitas but without the horror of death.
I thought it a very fine portrait.
A note about the construction:"The portrait consists of custom made hardware using a 52" monitor mounted vertically to hang on the wall like a framed painting. The software for the work uses a black line portrait of the sitter by Michael Craig-Martin which is divided into nine different areas of colour: skin, hair, lips, teeth, eyebrows, shirt, etc. Each colour appears for between five and 15 seconds. As there is no loop in this work, there is no repetition. The computer portrait is 'live' and programmed to randomly make all decisions concerning colour choice and duration. As there are millions of combinations possible, there is virtually no possibility that anyone will ever see again the exact combination visible at any given moment."http://www.chatsworth.org/attractions-and-events/art-archives/art-and-archives-collections/collection/paintings/digital-portrait-of-lady-burlington
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