Leo Martínez
Chuck Close was an American painter, visual artist, and photographer known for his massive-scale photorealist and abstract portraits. Close often painted portraits of himself, his family, and his friends, most of whom were fellow artists. Close's work is known for its large scale, with some of his paintings reaching sizes of 102x86 and 108x84. Close's large-scale portraits allow viewers to interact with the work in different ways, as the artist himself stated, I don't want the viewer to see the whole head at once and assume that that's the most important aspect of my painting.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Average size of paintings | Large-scale |
| Height | 72" to 108" |
| Width | 60" to 86" |
| Height in cm | 182.9 cm to 273 cm |
| Width in cm | 152.4 cm to 243.8 cm |
| Techniques | Acrylic on canvas, oil on canvas, airbrush, finger painting, graphite, pastel, watercolour, conte crayon, stamp-pad ink on paper |
| Subjects | Himself, family, friends, artists, composers |
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What You'll Learn
Photorealism and abstract expressionism
Chuck Close (1940-2021) was an American painter, visual artist, and photographer. He was known for his massive-scale photorealist and abstract portraits of himself, his family, and friends. Close's early works were very large portraits based on photographs, using photorealism or hyperrealism. He worked from large Polaroid photographs of his subjects, projecting them onto a canvas and painting them in color.
Close's work is often associated with Photorealism, a movement that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Photorealism, also known as super-realism or hyper-realism, involves creating paintings that appear to be photographs. Artists like Richard Estes, Denis Peterson, and Audrey Flack, alongside Close, worked from photographic stills to create these hyper-detailed works.
Close's unique approach to portraiture was influenced by his lifelong learning difficulties, including dyslexia and prosopagnosia (face blindness). He used a grid system, breaking down images into small sections and scaling them up to paint inch by inch onto large canvases. This method allowed him to focus on individual parts without being overwhelmed by the whole, resulting in photorealistic images that also revealed the process of their creation.
Interestingly, Close's early artistic trajectory was shaped by Abstract Expressionism, the first major art movement to originate in America. As a student, he emulated Willem de Kooning and Arshile Gorky, considering himself a third-wave Abstract Expressionist. However, he eventually rejected this style in favor of Photorealism, abandoning the freedom of Abstract Expressionism for more controlled subject matter and techniques.
Close's large-scale portraits, often measuring over 7 feet tall, allowed viewers to interact with the works in different ways, encouraging multiple interpretations depending on the viewer's perspective in the room. From a distance, these portraits appeared indistinguishable from high-resolution photographs, but up close, they took on abstract qualities, challenging the viewer's perception.
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Portraits of self and others
Charles Thomas Close, also known as Chuck Close, was an American painter, visual artist, and photographer. He was born in Monroe, Washington, on July 5, 1940, and passed away on August 19, 2021. Close is known for his massive-scale photorealist and abstract portraits of himself and others.
Close's early works were very large portraits based on photographs, using photorealism or hyperrealism, of family and friends, who were often other artists. He created photo portraits using a very large-format camera. Close's work is characterized by his use of a grid system, which he overlays on Polaroid photographs to divide the image into small sections that he then methodically scales up and paints inch by inch onto a large canvas. This technique allowed him to focus on small incremental units of the image, avoiding being overwhelmed by the whole.
One of Close's most notable self-portraits is the 'Big Self Portrait', created between 1967 and 1968. This painting measures 107.5 inches by 83.5 inches, or 273 cm by 212.1 cm, and is a massive 9 feet high, characterizing Close's early work. The large scale of this portrait is intentional, as Close wanted viewers to interact with the work in different ways depending on their distance from the piece. Up close, the painting becomes more ambiguous and takes on the characteristics of a landscape or abstract painting, while from a distance, it resembles a high-resolution photograph.
Close's self-portraits were driven by his lifelong learning difficulties, including dyslexia and prosopagnosia (face blindness). He felt compelled to create portraits as a way to commit faces to memory. His learning difficulties influenced his working methods, including his use of the grid system.
In addition to his self-portraits, Close also painted portraits of his friends and family, most of whom were fellow artists. He chose this group for their anonymity, believing that celebrity recognition in his subject matter would distract the spectator from the aesthetics of the work. To reinforce this, he titled all his portraits with only the subject's first name. Close also refused commissions for portraits, stating that "Anyone vain enough to want a nine-foot portrait of themselves would want the blemishes removed."
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$82.73
Use of grids
Chuck Close is known for his large-scale photorealist and abstract portraits, often created using a grid method. Close suffered from prosopagnosia (face blindness) and dyslexia, and he felt that his work was driven by these lifelong learning difficulties. He used art as a means of navigating his learning disabilities, and his grid method was a way to break down images into small, incremental units so that he could focus on each part and not be overwhelmed by the whole.
The grid method involves drawing a grid over a reference photo and then drawing a grid of equal ratio on the work surface. The image is then drawn onto the canvas, focusing on one square at a time until the entire image has been transferred. This results in an accurate line drawing, reducing the subject to a series of small squares that are easier to draw within. This technique is particularly useful for students who may feel overwhelmed by drawing realistic pictures, as it helps to ease some of that stress.
Close experimented with the effect of the grid in his art, applying it in different ways—horizontally, diagonally, and sometimes rotating it around a point. He used the grid as a compositional device, with its scale and placement in relation to the image being crucial. The size of his grids increased over time, resulting in a lower-resolution image but amplifying the abstract qualities of colour and pattern. This meant that what was lost in descriptive detail was gained in the colourful impact of each individual section.
Close's use of the grid was more explicit after 1988, when he adapted his painting style and working methods after being paralysed by an occlusion of the anterior spinal artery. His brushwork became less constrained by the grid, and his colour palette became more dynamic.
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Scale of paintings
Chuck Close is known for his massive-scale photorealist and abstract portraits, which he paints on large canvases. Close's paintings typically range from 72" × 60" to 108"x84". For example, his 2019-2020 "Arne" painting measures 72" × 60" (182.9 cm × 152.4 cm), while his 1969 "Frank" painting measures 108"x84".
Close's large-scale portraits are intended to create a sense of interaction with the viewer, allowing them to engage with the work in different ways depending on their distance and perspective. His ""Big Self Portrait," measuring 107.5" x 83.5", is a notable example of his massive-scale works.
Close often worked on a grand scale, and his portraits were frequently larger than life-size. This scale was not only a defining characteristic of his work but also served a practical purpose. Close suffered from prosopagnosia, or face blindness, and his large-scale portraits were a way for him to intimately study and commit faces to memory.
Close's choice to work on a large scale also had a technical rationale. He employed a grid system to break down his compositions into small, manageable units. By scaling up each incremental unit onto a large canvas, he could focus on painting inch by inch, avoiding the overwhelming task of capturing an entire face at once.
Close's massive-scale portraits are a defining aspect of his artistic practice, offering both a unique viewing experience for audiences and a functional approach to his artistic process, accommodating his learning difficulties and personal connection to his subjects.
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Learning difficulties
Chuck Close is an American painter, visual artist, and photographer known for his massive-scale photorealist and abstract portraits. Close's work is often large in scale, with some of his paintings reaching over 8 feet in height. For example, his 'Big Self Portrait' from 1967-68 is 107.5" x 83.5" (273 cm x 212.1 cm), and his 'Self Portrait' from 2004-05 is 102" x 86". Close's large-scale portraits allow viewers to interact with the work in different ways, as the artist himself has stated.
Close has attributed his success as a portraitist to his lifelong learning difficulties, such as dyslexia and prosopagnosia (face blindness). Close's dyslexia went undiagnosed during his school years, and he struggled academically as a result. However, he found solace and a means of expression in art, taking private art lessons and drawing and painting from live models. Close's learning difficulties also influenced his working methods. He developed a technique of using a grid to break down each image he painted into small, manageable units, allowing him to focus on one part at a time without feeling overwhelmed by the whole. This incremental approach made even the most complex problems solvable.
Close's prosopagnosia, or face blindness, also played a significant role in his artistic development. He has suggested that this condition first inspired him to do portraits, as he felt compelled to commit faces to memory. Close's portraits are often based on Polaroid photographs, which he overlays with a grid to divide the image into small sections. He then meticulously scales up and paints each section inch by inch onto a large canvas. This process allows him to create incredibly detailed and lifelike portraits that, from a distance, are indistinguishable from high-resolution photographs.
Close's learning difficulties, rather than hindering his artistic career, became a source of inspiration and innovation. They shaped his unique approach to portraiture and contributed to his success as one of the most renowned portraitists of his time. Close's story serves as a testament to the transformative power of art in overcoming learning difficulties and as a means of expression and creativity.
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Frequently asked questions
Chuck Close's paintings are large-scale, with some measuring over 7 feet in height. His paintings typically feature monumental close-ups of human faces, and he is known for his photorealist style.
Chuck Close's painting 'Shirley' from 2007 measures 96" x 84" (243.8 cm x 213.4 cm).
'Big Self-Portrait' measures 107-1/2" x 83-1/2" (273 cm x 212.1 cm).
