The Late Great Al Hirschfeld: Minimalist caricaturist.

If ever there was an iconic figure in the world of caricaturing--it would have to be that of Al Hirschfeld. This great artist was able to able to capture a likeness and the essence of his subjects with the least amount of lines—whereas I’m a detail freak. He was the great minimalist of caricaturing. His works are primarily pen and ink, hardly ever did he render in color. His gift was not only at capturing a striking resemblance, but he was also known for the humorous and brilliant “situations” that he placed his subjects in. One critic wrote: "Though his caricatures often exaggerate and distort the faces of his subjects, he is often described as being a fundamentally 'nicer' caricaturist than many of his contemporaries, and being drawn by Hirschfeld was considered an honor more than an insult." Peronally, I go "nice" and "mean"--depending on the subject.

What an imagination! I can only dream of equaling him. Here was a talent.

Judge for yourself here: http://www.alhirschfeld.com/index2.html


From a website: "To readers of the New York Times, the name of "Al Hirschfeld" is synonymous with the word "caricature". His satirical drawings have appeared in the drama pages for over sixty years. And every Sunday, theatre lovers rush to their favorite section to see who has been immortalized. Mr. Hirschfeld's works have been sought after by private art lovers and public institutions as well. His works are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, and Harvard University's Fogg museum, as well as many others."

Al Hirschfeld was great. In his field he was the best. Thanks for the tribute.

I always find it hard to rate someone as "the best," and that's true with caricaturists. I think Hirschfeld was definitely one of the best, but I can't rate his work as being better than Mort Drucker's from the 70s, including his MAD magazine stuff, or better than C. F. Payne's work over the past dozen years (not including his Rockwellian Reader's Digest work, which I'm not a fan of). I'd say that Hirschfeld's work was the most stylistically distinct, Drucker was the most prolific and versatile (his work ranged from full-blown, full-color images to a style similar in its minimalism to Hirschfeld's), and Payne is the most refined, the most artsy, with much more focus than the other two on abstract elements such as compositional proportions and classical color palettes. To me, all three are tied as "the best."

J

Jonathan,

I pictured you as a visual artist, but it seems that this is not so. You certainly have a great appreciation for the visual arts—and a great sum of knowledge. I’m impressed.

Victor:


Well, thank you, but I don't feel that I have a great sum of knowledge, just an intense passion for the subject.

Why does it seem to you that I'm not a visual artist?

J

J, my mistake...I was reading the below post from the What is Talent thread, and I misunderstood your meaning. What kind of stuff do you do then?

I suck at math, and always have. I tried very hard in school, but could barely manage to be average at math up until junior high, after which I could no longer rise to the level of average. I'm totally incompetent at it. I'm less naturally incompetent at history, I'm only somewhat naturally incompetent at basketball and music, and I'm almost completely lacking in natural incompetence at visual art.

Victor,
I work as an illustrator doing mostly 3D rendering and animation, but I also do some fine art painting, sculpting and photography. I prefer realistic styles, but I sometimes explore other modes if the subject calls for it.

Btw, I've notice that a lot of the work that you've posted here doesn't include info about which media you've used. Are you working mostly in oil on canvas?

J

Jonathan,

Why not post some of your stuff? I would love to see it.

No, not oils--too toxic. Takes forever to dry. I work in acrylic and gouache.

Jonathan; Please post some of your work or let us have a link to a web site so we can see it. Thank you.

Thanks for your interest. I might post some scans of my work sometime.

J

Jonathan,

I would love to see them too.

Michael

If I'm not much mistaken, he had an exhibit all to himself at Beatlefest a few years ago. He has a very distinctive style, I recognized it immediately.