Perseus Christiaan Diedericks 2013 �Colour pencil, watercolour, metal leaf and stitching on 300gsm Fabriano Artistico paper 75 x 55cm
R12 800-00
“Hair makes the man. Hair, or its apparent lack, is the typical way in which we discern men from women, male from female, masculine from feminine, maturity from immaturity.”
Ron J Suresha
Website
Interpretation:
Diedericks says (on the website - Velvet) that he is investigating the idea of ‘hair’ as a defining element of the concept of masculinity.
The surface of the painting is so beautiful executed that it draws the viewers’ attention to the various textural ways in which Diedericks has depicted the male body. This attraction of the painted surface causes a subsequent attraction to the image - including the hair!
The central dominant vertical axis draws the viewers’ attention to the head of Perseus - a Greek historic mythological hero.His full head of hair and his facial hair are surrounded by chest hair and the armpit hair in a balanced symmetrical manner. The Greek helmet both conceals and emphasizes the idea of pubic hair, and the stitched outlines of the legs seem to hover above the figure in a strangely enticing way.
Perseus by Christiaan Diedericks - Mixed media
Materials & techniques: Mixed Media
Watercolour washes set up the fleshy colours in the background, and also create a convincing illusion of form on the body itself. �Pencil crayons have been used to work into the fine detail of the eyes and face which creates a focal area.
A fine brush has been used to paint the illusion of textured hair on the body. This illusion (or virtual texture) is enhanced by the use of stitched actual texture. Stiff black thread has been stitched and knotted onto the dark ground at the bottom of the work, and around the outlines of the legs.
Red thread is also stitched around the outline of the body which has the effect of flattening the body to work with the flatness of the metal leaf of the helmet, which is also stitched onto the painting. Silver thread subtly balances the legs on the top left and right of the painting.
The surface of the work (excluding the body) has been covered with an acrylic crackle glaze, and a burnt umber has been rubbed into the crackles. This technique differentiates the figure (body) from the ground, and also gives the painting an antique feel which refers to the historical context of Perseus.
All the colours - in all media work together to enhance the overall integration of the work. This is often difficult to achieve using mixed media.