David Hockney – Secret Knowledge Discussion Questions
Portion 1/8
What do the words real, natural, photographic, true to life mean when we use them to describe paintings?
Why did the size of the drawings of people at the fair spark David’s hunch?
When he compared the fair drawings to those of Andy Warhol, he thought they were comparable. Why?
What was the benefit of arranging European paintings in chronological order?
What explanations were given for the large change in painting appearance (a sudden change)?
Portion 2/8
Why did David think the “sun on the faces” of the people in the paintings was a big clue?
Why did the fact that these paintings were commissioned in Bruges and Ghent matter?
How did the paintings of armor and fabric provide clues?
How long did David Hockney wonder about and study this issue?
There are records of painters of Van Eyck’s time using a string grid frame to assist them with their paintings. How did this work?
How did the chandelier in Van Eyck’s The Arnolfini Wedding painting provide clues?
Portion 3/8
Canaletto and Joshua Reynolds used camera obscuras in the 1900s. One is in a London museum. Why does it look like a book?
Why did the “optical” paintings look strange to people of the time period?
How do items in paintings, like Lotto’s table cloths, going out of focus provide a clue?
How did physicist Charles Falco (optics professor) aid David in supporting his argument?
Glass was a poor quality and could not be formed into a lens in Van Eyck’s time, but Falco (the physicist) provided a new piece of information. What did he suggest?
A burning mirror was a fairly common item in Van Eyck’s time; where were they made?
Many acclaimed paintings of the time were 30 cm2 (about one square foot) in size. Was this a coincidence?
Why does David suggest the painters kept this secret?
Portion 4/8
How large of a mirror was necessary to project an image of the size seen in the paintings?
Filippo Brunelleschi made an astonishing painting of a baptistery in Florence – he claimed he used abstract geometry, but how did he really provide the amazing perspective in such a large size?
In Bruges, they used a different technique as seen in The Last Supper by Dieric Bouts. What did they do?
Portion 5/8
Van Eyck’s masterpiece at the altar in Ghent is remarkable in that there is exquisite detail in the crowd of people, giving it incredible depth. What clues did this painting provide?
How did David interpret pencil marks made by the painters?
What clue was provided by all the left-handed people in paintings?
Portion 6/8
How were the “wrong proportions” of people’s legs a clue that optics were involved?
Why did the painting precision of Frans Hals and Diego Velazquez make David think optics were involved?
How could the use of optics free up time for the rich and important people who commissioned portrait work?
What clues were found in Caravaggio’s painting Cardsharps?
Portion 7/8
Why did the artists get the “sight lines” wrong of their subjects when painting multiple people?
Why did David think the perceptual errors were acceptable to the painters?
Portion 8/8
What big change impacted portrait painting in 1839?
What reaction did premier artists make in response to this invention?
What change did Adolphe Bouguereau make?