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Norman Rockwell
Triple Self-Portrait
Painting for The Saturday Evening Post cover, February 13, 1960
Humor and humility were essential aspects of Norman Rockwell's character, so when asked to do a self-portrait that would announce the first of eight excerpts of his autobiography, the result was lighthearted and somewhat self-deprecating. The painting provides the essential elements not of his life as an illustrator, but of the specific commission. Rockwell's life is far too eventful and complex to begin to approach summation in a single work so he limits the composition to himself, his artists' materials, his references, a canvas on an easel, and a mirror.
Most observers of the portrait believe the drawing on the easel flatters Rockwell, making him look years younger. But it is an almost exact likeness of the photo taken for reference, with the exception of a wrinkle or two. The more puzzling discrepancy is the use of a paintbrush on the pencil drawing. The only solution, unless we agree that it is intended as a trick, is that although the drawing is not complete, he is about to begin his imprimatura -- the glaze of thin color used under oil paint for the purpose of imparting warmth to the skin tones. This would be believable if it were not for the used paintbrushes on the floor. They don't make chronological sense. There are more inconsistencies in this painting that are cause for wonder. Rockwell was a stickler for neatness, but here he has scattered matchsticks, paint tubes, and brushes over the studio floor. The glass of Coca-Cola, Rockwell's usual afternoon pick-me-up, looks as if it will tip over at any moment. Other discrepancies can be explained away. He has traded his usual Windsor chair for a stool (easier to see more of him?) and his milk glass palette table for a hand-held wooden palette (an economy of picture space?). In real life, Rockwell's mirror was not topped with an eagle holding arrows, cannon balls and a shield. The eagle, taken from the outside of Rockwell's studio for use as a prop, may have been added to send a message. Most of the features ring true: He did tack or tape studies to his drawings or canvases and he did immerse himself in favorite artwork before beginning a project. That Rockwell's eyes cannot be seen bothers some, who often try to find a psychological significance. But the reference photos of Rockwell posing show he could not have seen his own eyes; his mirror was directly opposite his studio's massive north window, causing the reflected glare on his lenses. As Rockwell's assistant, Louie Lamone, recalls, paint rags and pipe ashes sometimes conspired to ignite small fires in Rockwell's brass bucket, so the wisp of smoke in the painting rings true. Rockwell's brass helmet, usually placed on an unused easel, crowns this one. Just as the smoke is a reminder that once Rockwell's studio caught fire as a result of his carelessness with pipe ashes, the helmet reminds us of a favorite Rockwell story. While in Paris in 1923, Rockwell acquired it from an antiques dealer who sold it as a military relic rather than as the contemporary French fireman's helmet Rockwell later found it to be. Alluding to its real provenance, Post editors noted for their readers when the painting was published, that the helmet "could come in handy when the fire in that receptacle gets going." The four self-portraits on his canvas-Albrecht Durer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Pablo Picasso and Vincent Van Gogh-are his references. They invite us to compare (as he did) how other artists tackled the problem of a self-portrait. Influenced during his student years by Durer's superb draftsmanship, Rockwell puts him at the top of his canvas. Next in line is Rembrandt, whose painting style Rockwell admired above all others. Below it is Picasso, whom Rockwell admired greatly but whose work, he admitted, was opposite his own. Last is Van Gogh, a painter with whom Rockwell never identified, and whose style his own work never resembled. Unlike Rockwell, all four artists produced numerous formal self-portraits-Rembrandt is known to have done more than 90. Rockwell produced only two other full-color self-portraits: Norman Rockwell Painting the Soda Jerk, showing the artist from the waist up at work on his 1953 Post cover, and The Deadline, a 1938 Post cover composed much the same as this one-the rear view of the artist at work at his easel. Both are unselfconscious portraits, confirming that in 1953 and 1960 Rockwell's view of himself continued unchanged. |