Updated September 13, 2005

GERALD KING
Artist/Professor Emeritus
Copying the Master Paintings at the National Gallery of Art Washington, D.C.

I always knew artists could copy the great paintings at the National Gallery of Art. One day I was in the West Building and lo and behold there were two people doing just that. I got to know the artist Gerald King and he readily agreed to an interview about painting there. Here are his answers to my questions.

MD: Why do you feel that copying the master paintings important?

GK: Though I have the academic degree of Master of Fine Arts, I do not feel that makes me a master painter. Nor do I feel I have ever studied with a Master. Copying at the National Gallery of Art gives me a chance to learn from the greatest artists of the past. It is this opportunity to study the Old Master's best works by copying them that has enabled me to better understand and appreciate truly great art and to elevate my own standards for excellence. The importance of copying is not to usurp the celebrity given to the Master and his work, nor to become a clone, but rather to learn to paint as well as they did.

MD: As an artist has this method of work influenced your original paintings?

GK: Most people do not understand what is gained from copying. The Old Master does not instruct you in what to do or how to go about copying his work. It is up to the copyist to figure out how to replicate certain visual aspects of the work, the values, colors, textures, transparencies, scale and surface. From start to finish, copying challenges an artist's technical, inventive and creative abilities. This experience has influenced my own work in a number of ways. It has given me many options for starting, developing and finishing a painting. It has made me more sensitive to nuances of shape, color, values etc. that are found so abundantly in master works. Perhaps, the most important influence upon me as a fine artist is that it has given me humility. The most essential ingredient for continued growth of an artist in today's egocentric society is to realize that we are not superior beings, but we can learn from others who have produced great art. It takes humility to see this and more to open oneself to learning from the Masters. That is why I have continued to copy at the National Gallery for the past 15 years.

Copy after Vigeé Labrun
"Marquise de Pezé and the Marquise de Rouget with Her Two Children"
2004

MD: You are also a teacher, do you encourage your students to follow your example and if so, what results do you see?

GK: Yes. Copying is an essential part of training an artist. Prior to the 20th century, novices were taught to draw and paint by first copying the drawings and paintings of their teachers. This did not preclude working from life, working from memory or working from plaster casts. The discoveries made through copying good drawings or paintings cannot be measured, but I believe copying the masters is more essential today than ever before. Today we are all subjected to a perception of reality based upon the photograph. It is crucial for a creative artist to develop the skills needed to articulate a photographic likeness, but not be limited by a systemic photographic perception. That is, the artist must learn to view reality, not as others see it , but as a source for a personal vision. One of the best ways to free oneself from photographic perception and to develop personal artistic vision is to study the great works that were made prior to the pervasiveness of the photographic image.

My best students all want to paint realistically, but are puzzled with how they can be creative by merely copying reality. The fastest, crudest or least creative way is to intentionally abstract, distort, or obscure forms observed in nature. This method eliminates the necessity to develop refined drawing and observation skills, and usually inhibits the development of a unique personal vision. Copying the Masters opens door that lead to understand and appreciation for the unique realism practiced long before photography shaped our vision. It can help any artist or student free themselves from reliance upon photographic perception so they can freely mine reality with a unique and personal artist's eye. I therefore strongly encourage my students to find ways to copy the Masters. Five of them are copyists at the National Gallery of Art.

Unfortunately the opportunities for copying directly from a master work are limited and not available to most students or artists living away from the large cities with good collections of master works. This is why in past centuries, artists upon completing their training would go to places like Rome, Paris or Madrid to copy from the great art collections.

Copy after Johannes Cornelisz Verspronck
"Andries Stilte as Standard Bearer"
2005

MD: If you could hang around any artist's or artists' studio, living or dead, whom would it be and why?

GK: That would be the studio of Don Diego de Silva Velázquez. The benefits of "hanging around" the studio of Velázquez are attested to by the artistic skills developed by the slave, Juan Pareja. . Though never allowed to assist the master in anything having to do with drawing or painting, Pareja managed to become such an accomplished painter, that Philip IV, King of Spain freed him from slavery. Upon seeing one of Pareja's works the King announced, "but be advised that any man that has this skill cannot be a slave." Pareja knew his painting abilities and accomplishments were the result of working in Velázquez' studio. He remained with the master after his emancipation and until his death in 1670. It would be most beneficial for any artist to "hang around" with Velázquez in his studio.

MD: Thank you so much, Gerald, for sharing your talent and knowledge with my readers. Your paintings, both copies and originals are beautiful. Continued success.

GK: My association with the National Gallery of Art is as a copyist in their copyist program only. I am not employed by them, my work is not endorsed by them and my opinions are not theirs.

Visit Gerald King's web site at http://www.geraldking.com/.