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The Old Artist is a graphic tour-de-force that relates to the series, although it was not included in the volume. On a large horizontal sheet of heavy paper with a good deal of tooth looms the visage of old man wearing a broad brimmed hat. He is placed close to the picture plane, with only a hint of his left shoulder revealed. The darkest shapes in the composition are the hat, his forehead, parts of the cheeks, and the area around the mouth. A gray wash surrounds most of the figure, except along the bottom and on the right side.
Simultaneously, The Old Artist is both a self-portrait of Baskin as well as a likeness of Rembrandt. The face, with its long nose and deep-set eyes, resembles photographs of Baskin, although it lacks his customary beard. However, he was only in his early forties in 1963, and probably cannot be considered “old.” In the Iconologia, both images reveal Rembrandt as a decidedly old and somewhat forlorn figure. Of all artists, Baskin revered Rembrandt most, “Not to deny the others, only to extoll Rembrandt for his incredible penetration to the hot core of our essential humanness. … It is Rembrandt’s passion for ‘alles menschlich’ [all mankind] that isolates, ennobles him, endears him.” Baskin lauded the Dutch master for his ability to penetrate into and portray the psyche of the inner person, sending “shafts of illuminative brilliance deep into the characters of his sitters.” [2]
Baskin admired Rembrandt’s self-portraits for their technical skill as paintings and etchings and their potential for self-examination. “How avidly Rembrandt play-acts before his mirror; how pliable his sweet-homely face as he laughs uproariously, or grins, or grimaces, or leers, or wraps his visage in a sly even shy smile.” [3] Continuing, he comments on Rembrandt’s penchant for dressing up and wearing different hats, but hats are important expressive tools for Baskin as well. In The Old Artist, the figure’s large hat recalls those worn by the syndics—one of Rembrandt’s masterpieces of group portraiture that has been immortalized on cigar boxes as “The Dutch Masters.”
Notes:
[1] Leonard Baskin, Iconologia (San Diego, New York and London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1988), 1.
[2] Baskin, Iconologia, 152.
[3] Baskin, Iconologia, 155.
ProvenanceGrace Borgenicht Gallery, New York. [1]
Barbara B. Millhouse, New York. [2]
Notes:
[1] Letter from Nicolas Bragg to Grace Borgenicht Gallery, 1974.
[2] Loan Agreement.
Exhibition History2006
Self/Image: Portraiture from Copley to Close
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (8/30/2006-12/31/2006)
2021
The Voyage of Life: Art, Allegory, and Community Response
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (7/16/2021 - 12/12/2021)
Published References
DepartmentCollection of Barbara B. Millhouse
The Old Artist
Artist
Leonard Baskin
(1922 - 2000)
Date1963
MediumInk and wash on paper
DimensionsFrame: 32 x 45 in. (81.3 x 114.3 cm)
Image (irregular): 27 x 40 1/2 in. (68.6 x 102.9 cm)
SignedBaskin / 1963
Credit LineCourtesy of Barbara B. Millhouse
CopyrightEstate of Leonard Baskin
Object numberIL2003.1.5
DescriptionArtists do not conceive their ideas in a vacuum. Although most owe a great deal to others, few choose to acknowledge these influences upon their work. Leonard Baskin is a distinct exception to this rule, having created a whole body of work that offers homage to his predecessors. In his 1988 publication, Iconologia, he pays tribute in text and imagery to forty-six artists, ranging from Wenceslas Hollar to Thomas Eakins. In his introduction, which he terms a disclaimer, Baskin describes his effort: “It is the stretched, the harassed call for comrades-in-arms, for reinforcing help and fighting strength, for justification, for reassurance, a battering on the door of history to send witnesses to plead his cause, to usurp the enemies who have so wantonly seized power and control. … I know I do not struggle alone, that others valiantly, heroically and relentlessly struggle against the engulfing tidal wave of know-nothing avant-gardism.” [1]The Old Artist is a graphic tour-de-force that relates to the series, although it was not included in the volume. On a large horizontal sheet of heavy paper with a good deal of tooth looms the visage of old man wearing a broad brimmed hat. He is placed close to the picture plane, with only a hint of his left shoulder revealed. The darkest shapes in the composition are the hat, his forehead, parts of the cheeks, and the area around the mouth. A gray wash surrounds most of the figure, except along the bottom and on the right side.
Simultaneously, The Old Artist is both a self-portrait of Baskin as well as a likeness of Rembrandt. The face, with its long nose and deep-set eyes, resembles photographs of Baskin, although it lacks his customary beard. However, he was only in his early forties in 1963, and probably cannot be considered “old.” In the Iconologia, both images reveal Rembrandt as a decidedly old and somewhat forlorn figure. Of all artists, Baskin revered Rembrandt most, “Not to deny the others, only to extoll Rembrandt for his incredible penetration to the hot core of our essential humanness. … It is Rembrandt’s passion for ‘alles menschlich’ [all mankind] that isolates, ennobles him, endears him.” Baskin lauded the Dutch master for his ability to penetrate into and portray the psyche of the inner person, sending “shafts of illuminative brilliance deep into the characters of his sitters.” [2]
Baskin admired Rembrandt’s self-portraits for their technical skill as paintings and etchings and their potential for self-examination. “How avidly Rembrandt play-acts before his mirror; how pliable his sweet-homely face as he laughs uproariously, or grins, or grimaces, or leers, or wraps his visage in a sly even shy smile.” [3] Continuing, he comments on Rembrandt’s penchant for dressing up and wearing different hats, but hats are important expressive tools for Baskin as well. In The Old Artist, the figure’s large hat recalls those worn by the syndics—one of Rembrandt’s masterpieces of group portraiture that has been immortalized on cigar boxes as “The Dutch Masters.”
Notes:
[1] Leonard Baskin, Iconologia (San Diego, New York and London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1988), 1.
[2] Baskin, Iconologia, 152.
[3] Baskin, Iconologia, 155.
ProvenanceGrace Borgenicht Gallery, New York. [1]
Barbara B. Millhouse, New York. [2]
Notes:
[1] Letter from Nicolas Bragg to Grace Borgenicht Gallery, 1974.
[2] Loan Agreement.
Exhibition History2006
Self/Image: Portraiture from Copley to Close
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (8/30/2006-12/31/2006)
2021
The Voyage of Life: Art, Allegory, and Community Response
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (7/16/2021 - 12/12/2021)
Published References
Status
Not on view