The Genesis of a Painting

Leonardo, Vol. 9, p. 125. Pergamon Press 1976. Printed in Great Britain THE GENESIS OF A PAINTING Simona Ertan* The processes that enter into the making of a painting between the time of its initial conception and its completion are very complex, but little understood. I shall outline briefly my present approach to the making of a picture. Travel to distant places stimulates me and, particularly since 1967, I consider my camera not only a travel companion but a very useful artistic tool. Recently I took color photographs during a visit to the crypt in which are found the tombs of members of the Saadien dynasty (Fig. 1) in Marrakesh, Morocco. The architecture, the red ochre stucco walls with their inscribed Arabic script, the mosaics and the form of *Argentinian artist living at 58 rue Charles Laffitte, 92200NeuillysurSeine,France. (Based on a text in French.) (Received 5 March 1975.) Fig. 1. Saadien Tombs, Marrakesli, Morocco. the tombs fascinated me. An aspect of what I saw, later materialized in a painting (Fig. 2), the composition which I already had in mind when I took thephotograph (Fig. 1). There are two main sources of images for my paintings. One is the photographic image of a scene and the other the image of it that remains fixed in my mind, a memory, idealized by the passage of time. From a union of these two images I work out a preliminary composition on canvas. The procedure for arriving at the final painting is slow. I may start afresh several times in order to reach my aims of balanced structure, harmonious color relationships, a certain feeling of rhythm in the composition and contrasts in texture to overcome monotony. Each attempt is modified as the problems posed in regard to shapes and colors are resolved. Finally the painting is completed and becomes a record of the result of the process involving my thoughts and visual experience from the moment I began it. Fig. 2. ‘Tombearcx Saadietis’, oil on canvas, 145 x 114 cm (1974). 125 ...