The Portrait, Ancient to Modern, and Sémillon Wine.

Humans all long to be seen, to be known, to be remembered in some way. That was true even of the caveman who, when finished painting wild and wonderful animals, purposedly left his handprint on the grotto wall he had just painted. Unfortunately for most of us throughout our many earthly lives (reincarnation, anyone?), it took being someone very important to have our image captured for posterity. The lady above was one such person. Her name was Nefertari, or “Beautiful Companion,” which is what she was to one of Ancient Egypt’s most powerful rulers, Ramses II. He provided one of the most elaborate tombs in the Valley of the Queens (QV66) for her, his Queen for some 25 years. The tomb is filled with images of the gods and Nefertari. British archeologist Joanne Fletcher seems to think that Nefertari made the tomb about herself after living so long with an ego-maniac like Ramses. However, others point out that it was Ramses who had the tomb constructed and decorated. That might indicate that his focus was on preserving the memory of his beautiful companion and not for once on his own image.

When considering the images of the queen as art, the rules of Ancient Egyptian art were rather strict. The body was shown with the upper body facing forward, while the lower body was in profile. The shoulders twisted so that the arms were in profile, and most importantly the face was shown in profile, but with the eye as though seen face on. Naturally queens were dressed always in the finest gowns and headdresses, and that is no different here. What is a bit different is how the artists of the time distinquished Nefertari from other queens and even representations of the goddess Hathor. The differences are subtle, but in her facial portraits, Nefertari’s nose has a slight downward turn to it. Her neck shows a few creases, and most often she is wearing what appears to be a white earring. It was their artists’ way of representing silver, a rarity in Egypt, a land of gold. Ramses built his queen a House of Eternity filled with portraits of her to forever keep her memory, and the artists made those little allowable distinctions so that one would always recognize her.

Fun adventure: An international group of artists and art historians have created a special project: The Tomb of Nefertari 3d-Reconstruction. You can click here to take the virtual visit youtube.com

Unlike the Egyptians who made painted portraits, the Romans established the tradition of “saying it in stone,” which meant mosaic. That carried forward into their eastern empire known as Byzantium. These mosaic portraits, though, show a stylization that one does not see in ancient sculpted portraits which strove for realism (Roman) or idealism (Greek). There are individual characteristics, like Justinian’s moustache and double chin, but the stylistic traits are dominant. The figures are fully frontal and the faces have exceptionally large eyes. Interestingly, Justinian’s eyes stare out at us in a stern, firm gaze. He is the Emperor after all. Theodora on the other hand has eyes that seem a bit unfocused as though she is dreaming or scheming. Of course, it was one of her schemes that saved his skin and his throne, but I will let you all look that one up.

Certainly when we look at the scraggly beard and the rather unkempt hair, he does not look particularly kingly, even though he does have a rather dominant nose, not unknown among the French. Oh well, the Hundred Years War was tough on everyone. Notice here the profile once again. Many paintings from this time and into the Renaissance were done from profiles of the monarch or ruler as seen on coinage. Such for example was Pontormo’s 16th century portrait of Cosimo de Medici, the Elder, who died in 1464. The portrait was done all those years later from a profile on a coin minted in Florence during Cosimo’s time in power.

However, time marches on and so does painting and portraiture. Below are three great pieces of portraiture done in the 15th century, 16th century and 17th century.

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What happened? Well, the first painting is the product of what is known as the Northern Renaissance. The artist is Jan Van Eyck, yes, he of the Ghent Altarpiece, and this may actually be a self-portrait. The wonderful realism comes from his great talent, his use of oil paints, and quite possibly the use of lenses to project and magnify. The paintings of the Flemish painters of this time are remarkable for their realism and prefigure the High Renaissance in Italy because of the use of oil paints, which arrived in Italy through Venice around 1475.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa may have been the portrait of the wife of a rich merchant named Giogonda or an image of the idealized mother painted for a scion of the Medici family whose illegitimate son’s mother had died in childbirth. The father wanted Leonardo to create a mother image for the child to gaze upon. Whatever the story, Leonardo never delivered the painting, but carried it with him to France, where it now resides in the Louvre, under heavy protection. While there is much to do about her smile, when one looks at the real painting (I have been lucky enough to stand within a few feet of it before the new security came into place), one is impressed with the softness of the hands which look like you could touch them and feel their warmth.

Finally Vermeer’s famous Girl with a Pearl Earring, which is fast becoming the new Mona Lisa, seems almost photographic as it catches the girl in mid-movement. The pose is one of a natural movement of the body; her lips are slightly parted as if about to speak; and the black background brings her forward into our space as we wait to hear what she is going to say.

One thing to note about those portraits is the democratization of portraiture. None of those beautiful pieces is of a king or queen. The girl in Vermeer’s piece might even have been a servant if not one of his daughters. Yet the focus is clearly on capturing the image, especially in those days before photography.

In the fine tradition of Van Eyck’s red-turbaned man with the penetrating eyes and Vermeer’s mysterious girl, capturing expression comes to the fore, especially after photography arrives. It was no longer just about making the likeness of the sitter and their fine and distinquished clothing, jewels, etc. The sitters were no longer just nobility or wealthy patrons. The ordinary person could be posed in any setting and attention to expression made up for the regal poses and the details of fancy clothes.

The portrait below is of an artists’ model, Sarie. Take a good look at her, and tell me, if you can, what she is concentrating on. What object or activity has caught the flicker of light in her eye? What would be her determination about what she sees? And what would make her smile?

The artist, Rita Scafidi, in rapid strokes of oil paint, captures a view of the model’s face from an angle that she, the artist, chose to view the general pose. That choice emphasizes the role of compostion in the creation of a fascinating image. Scafidi uses a limited palette of browns, rose-pink, violet, pale blue, and the white of the canvas. She works the color combinations to play off of one another. The structure of the face is formed by the mixture of pink, violet and a touch of brown to provide the appropriate shadows and definition. The white of the canvas remains in strategic places, indicating the bright light shown on the face which lightens the forehead and the nose, and softly allows the right side of the face to fade into that light. What remains is the right eye, which, though softer in appearance than the left eye, is no less focused.

The side of the face that disappears is bordered in a soft way by the pinkish background, a color relating to the shadow side of the face. The dark hair provides a contrast and leads us once again to the eyes and brows. The tiny dash of pink at the top of the nose matches one on the lower lip, helping the eye move down the face. Masterfully, the pale blue that is in the left corner of the background appears also as a tiny touch in the corner of the left eye, and the hair has a few bits of that rosy violet found in the shadows of the cheek. Tiny things, but each one works in coordination with the others to make the portrait emerge from the pale background.

Rita Scafidi works her wonders in paint weekly in life drawing studios. But that is not all. She is also dedicated to helping people learn to draw, saying to her students that everyone can draw. For more of her lessons just go to her youtube channel, handily named Rita, youtube.com.

Paintings are either in Public Domain, or used in accordance with Fair Use Policy for purposes of review and critique. Scafidi’s work is used with her permission.

Marjorie Vernelle is an artist, writer, college professor, and traveler. For more see the Pages at ofartandwine.com or her author page at amazon.com and her art at Vernelle Art Boutique vernellestudio.com.

Sémillon, a grape of unclear origins and delicious wine.

Okay, so you have never heard of Sémillon grapes or the wines made from them. Don’t feel bad. They are something of an insiders’ variety, even though the grapes are grown and wines made in France, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, South Africa and Washington State. Sémillon is France’s third most popular white wine. That alone tells us it is time to get to know about this luscious golden grape.

True its origins are unclear. It seems genetically related to the Sauvignon Blanc grape, one that it is frequently mixed with to make various blends of Bordeaux. However, it cannot be said that the two grapes come from the same source. There is a wild tale of it being related to the Merwah grape, a reddish purple grape which comes from Lebanon. However, no one knows how that one would have gotten to southwestern France (the Crusades?), nor why its genetics don’t match as well as do the ones from Sauvignon Blanc. The final verdict is that the 72% of these grapes are grown in France near the Gironde river in the area known as Bordeaux. It is suspected that the name comes from a quick pronunciation of Saint Emillion, a town in the area.

The most celebrated ones are grown in cool climates like Bordeaux, the Hunter Valley in Australia, and Washington State. Those areas produce a wine that is crisp and fresh like Sauvignon Blanc. However, if it is oaked, the flavor is more creamy or buttery, with hints of apple, pear, and lemon. The oaking brings out a flavor more like an oaked Chardonnay. The fact that is has a medium to full body makes it a good blending ingredient in the making of Bordeaux wines, especially White Bordeaux (by the way, that goes swell with sushi).

Pourriture Noble, ah the French have a name for everything.

When speaking of dessert wines, Sémillon comes into its own. It is a primary ingredient in many Sauternes and often carries that taste of apple, pear and lemon as hints of candied fruits. With age, it can have notes of spice, dried fruits, and honey. Why this grape is so useful in making dessert wines comes from its tendency to get a type of rot, botrytis, which comes from a fungus. Vintners over the centuries of course learn to use every iteration of the grape, and here that rot has taken on the poetic name pourriture noble or “noble rot.” It is that rot that adds to the sweetness of the grape, making it perfect for a dessert wine.

So now you know about a different wine, one not too commonly spoken of. If you want more detailed information, I turn you over to Jancis Robinson at www.jancisrobinson.com, who can take you through a more complete look at this grape. In terms of tasting the wine, you might want to try a wine club like Cellars Wine Club’s West Coast Wine Club, which has selections from Washington state, where Sémillon is produced here in the U.S. You can look that up on the page in the right hand column or go directly to cellarswineclub.com.

So now you can go to Rita Scafidi’s youtube channel and take a painting lesson while you treat your taste buds to a glass of Sémillon or even Sémillon-Sauvignon. An embarrassment of riches, indeed.

Paintings used are in public domain, except for the portrait by Scafidi which is used with the artist’s permission. Photos of wine are from free stock photos or linked to a specific website.

Of Art and Wine affiliates with Bluehost.com and  CellarsWineClub.com and may earn from qualifying purchases.

©marjorie vernelle 2020

Coming next on Of Art and Wine:Did Juan de Pareja lead a double life? Tempranillo!

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Diego Rodriquez de Silva y Vélasquez (1599 – 1660) is one of Spain’s most famous painters. His self-portrait above is from his masterpiece Las Meninas (1656), a painting of the young Princess Marguerita and members of the court. It is probably his most well-known painting. However, the portrait he did of his slave, Juan de Pareja (1650) was deemed to be beyond painting, rather more a portrait of truth. Such was the acclaim that in 1654, Vélasquez emancipated Juan de Pareja, who lived on in Madrid as a painter, himself. Come find out about this interesting tale and about the famous Spanish wine-producting region, La Rioja.