Reborn as a great painter, with a system, you can be willful

Chapter 258: Observing the Master's Creation, Rumors Stop at the Wise

Jiang Zhe sat in front of the easel, sketching with a pencil in hand.

Next to the easel is a sample painting, a work created by Ingres in 1853 - Princess Brogli.

This oil painting on canvas measures 121.3 x 90.8 cm and is currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Jiang Zhe chose this work to copy, firstly because of his personal preference, and secondly, considering that this work is a masterpiece of Ingres's later years and belongs to his mature creative period, it is worth learning.

According to his previous habit, he first copied the oil painting with sketches. Because he had learned the sketching techniques of Ingres, he tried to use techniques close to the painter himself during the copying process and experience the transformation between the draft and the final draft.

In the painting, Ingres depicts a woman in a blue dress, wearing jewelry and earrings, with her hair carefully tied up to reveal her necklace and earrings. Next to her is a chair wrapped in silk, with a background of Western-style walls and decorations.

During the copying process, Jiang Zhe carefully experienced Ingres' precise grasp of form and line, his meticulous treatment of details, and his interpretation of dignity and elegance.

He used delicate brushwork to depict the woman's deep eyes looking straight ahead. There are differences between pencil and oil paint, and when depicting the woman's skin, he tried his best to imitate Ingres' typical delicate and textured characteristics.

Because the light and shadow in the picture were also handled very well, creating a dreamlike atmosphere for the picture, he had to use pencil tones to restore it as much as possible.

During the learning process, Jiang Zhe did not forget the criticisms of Ingres by later critics, and tried to avoid making the paintings appear rigid.

He had plenty of time to copy on Friday and Saturday, but when he finished the draft and transferred it to the canvas, ready to start the final draft, he encountered some difficulties.

There are many articles studying Ingres, but the specific oil painting techniques are not detailed. In order to learn more efficiently, Jiang Zhe decided to take the opportunity to observe the master's creation.

He clicked to use the opportunity and felt the visual effect of the holographic projection again.

Because the content of the observation and study is based on the analysis and simulation of the data collected by Jiang Zhe, the observation started with Ingres's earliest existing work - the sketch of Niobe's plaster head.

Jiang Zhe couldn't help but sigh that the master also painted plaster statues when he was young.

Through the images simulated by the system, he first saw Ingres' superb sketching skills.

The painter continued to create sketches at different stages of his life.

Jiang Zhe saw the great painter's smooth and delicate painting rhythm, how he carefully designed the lines, and how he paid attention to and explored the details.

Every time he finished watching the creation process of a work, he would pause and continue after digesting the gains.

During the observation process, he felt that Ingres's works were not just paintings, but also a form of artistic expression.

After watching the creation process of Ingres' sketches, Jiang Zhe paused and turned off the system.

He felt that he had gained a lot today and needed to digest it through practice. He did not continue with the previous copying, but planned to copy a new sketch.

He cut a 19.5×25.5 cm piece of sketch paper, prepared pencils and erasers, and began to copy Ingres' sketch, "Madonna in the Chair".

Through observation and study of existing materials, we know that Ingres spent most of his life copying, and also let his students copy Raphael's works. This draft of "Madonna in the Chair" is a copy of Ingres's "Madonna in the Chair" created by Raphael in 1514. Raphael's original work shows the three images of the Virgin, the Child and John, but Ingres only copied the head of the Virgin in this draft.

On Sunday morning, Jiang Zhe was copying this work.

On Sunday afternoon, Chen Yan came to the studio again and stared at Jiang Zhe with a good look.

"Do you know how that rumor has spread around the school?"

"What did you say?" Jiang Zhe didn't care at all, as if he was asking about someone else.

"One version I heard was that all of you had relationships with that girl outside; another version was that you were very popular outside, and some guys took the initiative to approach you, and you accepted them all!" As Chen Yan spoke, she couldn't help laughing out loud.

Jiang Zhe picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea: "Too dirty, has the rumor reached this level?" Chen Yan said: "If I didn't know the truth of this matter, I might have been deceived. However, they made it up with details. Someone in our dormitory came to ask me."

"Ignore them..."

While the two were chatting, Lan Xin was reading a book in the dormitory.

A girl came back to the dormitory and approached Lan Xin. "Lan Xin, I want to ask you something."

Lan Xin put down the book in her hand. "What's the matter?"

"Don't you know Jiang Zhe? He even has several girlfriends outside. Is that true?"

Lan Xin was upset but remained calm on the surface. "That's too much. As far as I know, he seems to have only one girlfriend. But it's true that someone likes him. After all, his paintings are selling so well now. Last time when he went to an art exhibition, someone took the initiative to greet him and took a photo with him."

"Come to think of it, if I were his girlfriend, I would definitely keep a closer eye on him," said the girl who spread the rumor.

"Are you still spreading this?" The girl next to him said, "Our teacher said that we are not allowed to spread such rumors anymore."

"I don't know why, but people started talking about it again." The girl who spread the rumor couldn't clearly explain where the rumor came from.

Lan Xin chatted with her roommates for a few minutes and soon turned the topic to other things.

After she heard the rumor, she was very angry, but later found that she was powerless to stop the rumor, so she simply diverted the rumor or quietly evolved a reasonable version to try to maintain Jiang Zhe's image.

Monday, a new week begins.

After lunch, Jiang Zhe received a call from Professor Qin and immediately went to Professor Qin's office.

"Teacher, you are looking for me."

"Let me show you something." Professor Qin motioned for Jiang Zhe to sit down, then picked up a newspaper from the table and turned to one of the pages. "Here, take a look at this."

Jiang Zhe took the newspaper and Professor Qin tapped on it with his finger.

Jiang Zhe noticed one of the columns: Selection of new talents in Binhai painting circle... Ten young painters...

He quickly scanned the text, skipping those meaningless words and went straight to the list. As expected, he was not on the list, but Jin Yuming was.

As for the other nine, Jiang Zhe had heard of their names or had seen them in person.

Professor Qin was watching from the side, and when he saw that Jiang Zhe was very calm, he secretly praised him. "Have you finished reading it? What do you think?"

Jiang Jun said: "I don't have any feelings."

Professor Qin said, "I heard that you were originally on the list, but because of some rumors, you were not selected. After hearing this, do you feel it is unfair?"

Jiang Zhe thought for a moment and said, "Someone in the association has already informed me of the matter you mentioned. I feel a little regretful."

"Haha. You are well-informed, aren't you?" Professor Qin said with a smile.

Jiang Zhe said: "When I first received the news, I was a little disappointed, but when I calmed down, I felt that it was not a big loss. I had only heard of such a selection before, and never thought that I would be selected."

Professor Qin nodded: "Yes, you have a good attitude."

(End of this chapter)