Colored Paper Doll Master Studies

As the final assignment in Kimberly Trowbridge's class, Color for Painters, students chose a master copy and from it built highly simplified, three-dimensional models from colored construction paper. I selected the following painting by Giorgione.



Giorgione, Three Philosphers


Based on this photo and what colored construction paper was available, I built a diorama, reducing the standing figures to three-dimensional rectangles, and the seated figure to a scrap of folded paper. The rock formation on the left became a large, black boulder, and with Kimberly's help, I lit it and positioned it in a way that maximized the colors and cast shadows, then painted the assembly.

Here is the result.



Julie Devine, Three Philosophers, 2010


I like this strange little painting. So much so, that I repeated the exercise on my own at home, selecting another high Renaissance painting with a few figures and strong color shapes. I chose Correggio's The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine of Alexandria.



Antonio da Correggio, The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine of Alexandria


I had a lot more time to set this one up and paint it, and so I think it is less abstract as a result.  Again, no photo of the diorama, but here is the resulting painting.



Julie Devine, Mystic Marriage, 2010


I've enjoyed painting these. Creating an assembly in colored paper provided a useful way to analyze the big shapes and colors. I think having to translate a two dimensional image into a three dimensional still life, and back into an essentially two dimensional painting was very useful. The results are unusual, a bit surreal, and nothing I could have come up with without this double translation process.

I'm considering doing a few more of these based on the works of Renaissance masters.