Self-portrait, 30 Sept 1983
Charcoal on paper
Self-portraits from the 1980s to the Millennium
In the autumn of 1983, almost every day for two months, Hockney challenged himself to produce a self-portrait in charcoal. This period of intense self-reflection was, in part, a reaction to the untimely deaths of many of his friends due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The honesty and vulnerability exposed in these drawings is a far cry from the confident self-portraits of thirty years earlier. Like the pages of a diary, these works record the daily changes in the artist’s moods and emotions.
In 1999, alongside his camera lucida drawings he made a series of self-portraits, for which he could not use this optical tool. These playful and vulnerable drawings in which he displays different facial expressions, were influenced by Rembrandt’s self-portrait etchings. In others, he adopted the classical side profile and half-length pose found in self-portraiture throughout art history.
In 2002 Hockney turned to watercolour, a medium he hadn’t explored since the 1960s. This new way of working freed up his approach; allowing him to draw quickly and directly onto paper. Hockney described the watercolour series as ‘portraits for the new millennium’, convinced that, despite his experimentation with the camera lucida, the human eye, the hand and the heart were the best tools for capturing the individuality of his sitters.*
From the exhibition
David Hockney: Drawing from Life
(November 2023 - January 2024)
David Hockney (b.1937) is regarded as one of the master draughtsmen of our times. He widely champions drawing, which is at the heart of his studio activity and has underpinned his work throughout his life. From the early pen and ink and coloured pencil drawings, to his more recent experiments with watercolour and digital technology, the artist’s inventive visual language has taken many different stylistic turns.
Over the past six decades he has never stood still, or rested on a particular approach, medium or technique, remaining inquisitive, playful and thought provoking while generously sharing his ideas with his audience. His drawing reflects his admiration for both the Old Masters and ‘modern Masters’ from Rembrandt to Picasso.
Drawing from Life explores the artist’s unique vision of the world around him, which is played out in portraits of himself and his intimate circle. A room of new ‘painted drawings’ of visitors to his Normandy studio in 2021-2 offer a glimpse of Hockney’s continuing working life.
All works in the exhibition are by David Hockney..
[*National Portrait Gallery]
Taken in National Portrait Gallery
Self-portrait, 30 Sept 1983
Charcoal on paper
Self-portraits from the 1980s to the Millennium
In the autumn of 1983, almost every day for two months, Hockney challenged himself to produce a self-portrait in charcoal. This period of intense self-reflection was, in part, a reaction to the untimely deaths of many of his friends due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The honesty and vulnerability exposed in these drawings is a far cry from the confident self-portraits of thirty years earlier. Like the pages of a diary, these works record the daily changes in the artist’s moods and emotions.
In 1999, alongside his camera lucida drawings he made a series of self-portraits, for which he could not use this optical tool. These playful and vulnerable drawings in which he displays different facial expressions, were influenced by Rembrandt’s self-portrait etchings. In others, he adopted the classical side profile and half-length pose found in self-portraiture throughout art history.
In 2002 Hockney turned to watercolour, a medium he hadn’t explored since the 1960s. This new way of working freed up his approach; allowing him to draw quickly and directly onto paper. Hockney described the watercolour series as ‘portraits for the new millennium’, convinced that, despite his experimentation with the camera lucida, the human eye, the hand and the heart were the best tools for capturing the individuality of his sitters.*
From the exhibition
David Hockney: Drawing from Life
(November 2023 - January 2024)
David Hockney (b.1937) is regarded as one of the master draughtsmen of our times. He widely champions drawing, which is at the heart of his studio activity and has underpinned his work throughout his life. From the early pen and ink and coloured pencil drawings, to his more recent experiments with watercolour and digital technology, the artist’s inventive visual language has taken many different stylistic turns.
Over the past six decades he has never stood still, or rested on a particular approach, medium or technique, remaining inquisitive, playful and thought provoking while generously sharing his ideas with his audience. His drawing reflects his admiration for both the Old Masters and ‘modern Masters’ from Rembrandt to Picasso.
Drawing from Life explores the artist’s unique vision of the world around him, which is played out in portraits of himself and his intimate circle. A room of new ‘painted drawings’ of visitors to his Normandy studio in 2021-2 offer a glimpse of Hockney’s continuing working life.
All works in the exhibition are by David Hockney..
[*National Portrait Gallery]
Taken in National Portrait Gallery