Wayne Thiebaud – A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (after Georges Seurat), 2000. Photograph: Wayne Thiebaud Foundation. [Guardian caption and illustration]
This copying work helped Thiebaud figure out his own solutions to artistic problems.
I blush to own it, but I was never keen on pointillism. For all that it purported to be scintillating, it has a diffuseness that feels static. It did show how not to use line to delineate boundaries, which was helpful, but then I liked Degas and Toulouse Lautrec, who outlined deliciously. Thiebaud’s Seurat thrills more than Seurat. Does that make me a frivolous person?
Supper at Emmaus, (after Rembrandt van Rijn), by Wayne Thiebaud. Photograph: Wayne Thiebaud Foundation. [Guardian caption and illustration]
The following quotation is about Thiebaud’s own paintings:
Speaking of light, there is so much glorious negative space in these paintings, largely taken up by whites as thick and delicious as a wedding cake, ranging across so many subtle differences in hue and texture as to be an exhibition within an exhibition. “It’s a symphony of whites,” Burgard enthused again and again as we walked the show’s galleries, pointing out the radiant greens, yellows, blues and reds that Thiebaud subtly layered into the ostensibly “empty” space in his paintings, making his trademark halo effect. “It’s every single white known to humankind is practically how it feels,” Burgard said. “It’s a sea of white that you could fall into…”
Wayne Thiebaud – Three Machines, 1963. Photograph: Wayne Thiebaud Foundation. [Guardian caption and illustration]
(Veronica Esposito, “‘A self-described art thief’: how Wayne Thiebaud channeled other artists,” The Guardian, 4-16-25)
(c) 2025 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved
EthicalDative 
Muy interesante post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gracias, me alegro que te haya gustado. Un saludo!
LikeLike
Without a doubt – trying to copy and imitate is one of many great ways to find your own way. It should be encouraged.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m always inspired to copy when I see a true artist doing it. Greetings, Josie, and thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You have found another fascinating artist, Jim!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think he lived to be 100!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah yes! A long productive life indeed. (I am embarrassed to confess that I had not known of him before, but your post has rectified that!) Thanks Jim!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No worries, Sue, as they’re reputed to say Down Under! I’m pleased to have opened a door to your discerning eye.
LikeLiked by 1 person