Diego Velázquez (1599–1660)Portrait of a Bufoon with a Dog, (Detail) c. 1650, Oil on canvas, 55 7/8 × 42 1/8 in (142 × 107 cm)
THE MEDIUM TAKES ON THE QUALITIES OF THE SUBJECT
Plasticity is the process by which a medium takes on the properties of the substance that it represents. The most common and effective examples of plasticity occur in painting when the artist manipulates the layering and fluid properties of the paint so that the paint film itself takes on a fleshlike appearance. This is very apparent in many Baroque-era paintings by artists such as Rembrandt, Velasquez, and Rubens. It has also been used to spectacular effect by a number of contemporary artists, including Lucian Freud (1922–2011) and Jenny Saville (1970–).
Plasticity is not limited to the rendering of flesh, and the history of painting is full of ravishing examples in which the physical handling of the paint takes on the qualities of such subjects as silk, satin, lacework, masonry, and foliage. John Constable (1776–1837) was able to lay on paint so that it feels like clumps of leaves, grass, or rocks. Many passages of painting by Velasquez use heavy brushing to remake buckles, embroidered clothing, elaborate hair styles and rich fabrics. Still life painters such as Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin (1699–1779) and Luis Meléndez (1716–1780) built rich paint surfaces that in themselves provide equivalents for the variety of densities and textures within their subjects.
In sculpture, artists such as Antonio Canova (1757–1852) were able to manipulate the polished delicacy of marble to become an extraordinary equivalent for flesh. Sculpture also offers the artist the option of using multiple materials in a single work in order to render a more powerful sense of the varying natures of elements within the subject.
Plasticity is not the same property as direct mimicry or trompe l’oeil. It is possible, as in the case of waxworks, to build a sculpture that will more or less deceive the eye and be taken for the subject itself. But with plasticity, viewers are invited to enjoy the spectacle of transmutation taking place, to entertain the notion that what they are looking at is the subject as built in the medium.
See also: Trompe l’Oeil on page 200
Diego Velázquez (1599–1660)
Portrait of a Bufoon with a Dog, (Detail) c. 1650, Oil on canvas, 55 7/8 × 42 1/8 in (142 × 107 cm)
The artist uses lively layers of brushing to recreate the texture and density of the clothing with paint itself.
