Oscar Wilde once said, “Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.” Turkish painter Taner Ceylan, previously covered on our blog, has sought to find the connect between sitter and artist in his latest exhibition, “We Now Must Say Goodbye” at Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York. The exhibit gets right to the point, containing just two original oil portraits and a sampling of drawings based on works by 19th century master portrait artist of the fashionable elite, Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres. Ingres became famous in his time for his portraits which captured the exquisite beauty and romanticism of his subjects, qualities that Ceylan’s art shares. However, towards the end of his career, Ingres became bored with portraits. The last commissioned portrait he painted was of Princesse Albert de Broglie in 1853. Ceylan’s homage to Ingres’ portrait is surreal; He places the head of Ingres on the Princess’ body, which mirrors a closeup of her face hung across the room. Ceylan creates a sort of infinity as he becomes an active participant in the portrait making with Ingres the artist now posed as the sitter. The piece is a continuation of Ceylan’s “Unfinished Series”, featuring iterations of other Ingres works, seen below.
“We Now Must Say Goodbye” by Taner Ceylan is now on view at Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York through October 31st, 2015.
Portrait of Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres by Taner Ceylan, based on Ingres’ portrait of Princesse Albert de Broglie.
Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres’s original portrait of Princesse Albert de Broglie.
Taner Ceylan
Taner Ceylan
Taner Ceylan
Taner Ceylan, “Unfinished Painting 3”, 2013
“The Turkish Bath” by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Taner Ceylan, “Unfinished Painting 1”, 2013
