Robert Rowland

Art 211

Portrait Artist Handout

James Jean

1979-

  • James Jean was born in Taiwan and was raised in Parsipony-Troy Hills, New Jersey.
  • He attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City and he graduated in 2001.
  • Known for both his commercial work and fine art gallery work.
  • He is known in the American comics industry as a cover artist for various books published by DC Comics as well as for his work for Prada, ESPN and Atlantic Records.
  • He has acquired seven Eisner awards, three consecutive Harvey awards, two gold medals and a silver from the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles, and a gold medal from the Society of Illustrators of New York.
  • Has contributed to many national and international publications including: Time Magazine, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Spin, Target, Playboy, and Knopf.
  • Jean currently has seven published works, all of which collect his illustrations and art: Process Recess volumes 1 – 3 (v2 & v3 have both a regular and a special edition), Fables: Covers, XOXO and Kindling:12 Removable Prints. Kindling is an oversized poster book featuring works from Jean's 2009 gallery show of the same name.
  • Jean's work is reminiscent of Chinese silk scroll paintings and Japanese wood block prints and evoke a strong sense of fantasy and imagination. His mark making is loose and gentle with harmonious use of contoured lines, but detailed enough to come across as realistic.
  • His influences include Japanese Woodblock prints, Northern Renaissance paintings and etchings, Chinese scroll paintings, Shanghai advertising posters, comics, anatomical charts, and vintage printed ephemera.




  • James Jean Kindling: New Works. (n.d.). Jonathon Levine Gallery. Retrieved March 18, 2013, from jonathanlevinegallery.com/?method=Exhibit.ExhibitDescriptionPast&ExhibitID=63485F0C-19DB-5802-E0993469955A3542
  • Jean, J. (2009). Kindling. San Francisco, Calif.: Chronicle Books.
  • Jean, J. (2010). Rift. San Francisco, Calif.: Chronicle ;.

Ivan Albright

(February 20, 1897 – November 18, 1983)

  • “I hope to control the observer, to make him move and think the way I want him to… I want to jar the observer into thinking—I want to make him uncomfortable.”
  • Chicago native. Born in North Harvery, Illinois. Died in Woodstock, Vermont.
  • Best known for his piece that accompanied the film by the same name, The Picture of Dorian Gray, directed by Albert Lewin. Based on the novel by Oscar Wilde.
  • American magic realist, most renowned for his self portraits, character studies, and still lifes. With themes that focused on death.
  • Incredibly real and detailed work with heavy use of strong shadows and silhouettes.
  • Extremely meticulous painter andwas obsessive about lighting to the point that he painted his studio black, and wore black clothing to cut out potential glare.
  • Also an accomplished draftsman and printmaker.
  • Attended the Art Institute of Chicago and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts along with his brother Malvin. While attending The Art Institute of Chicago, Ivan and Malvin flipped a coin to see who would study painting and who would study sculpture.
  • Ivan, along with his twin brother, was encouraged to become an artist at a young age by his father Adam Emory Albright, a successful landscape painter who had studied under Thomas Eakins. Ivan had actually refused at first.
  • Ivan loved his paintings and often would only sell them for ridiculous prices because he had such a hard time parting with them.
  • Albright, I., & Sweet, F. A. (1974). Ivan Albright: a retrospective exhibition(Rev. ed.). Chicago: Institute].


  • Albright, I., & Croydon, M. (1978).Ivan Albright. New York: Abbeville Press.
  • Ivan Albright (American painter) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia. (n.d.).Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 3, 2013, from

Sofonisba Anguissola

(1532-1625)

  • Born in Cremona, Italy.
  • Lived to be 93.
  • The first of seven children. Six girls, one boy.
  • One of the first women to gain a international reputation as a painter
  • Extremely prolific painter. One of the most well respected artists of the Renaissance.
  • Michelangelo sent her drawings for criticism and advice.
  • She was sent by her father, along with her sister Elena, to study art with Bernardino Campi, a well known artist and religious painter in Cremona.
  • Self-portraiture and family members were the focus of Sofonisba's earliest work with virtue being a common theme that she attempted to convey.
  • Very classical and “old master” style mark making. Balanced and unified compositions.
  • Years later, Sofonisba completed a painting of Campi painting her, which has drawn a lot of criticism with the attention that it brings to male artists having dominance over female artists.
  • She never sold a single painting
  • Her father did not send her to learn to paint for the purposes of becoming a working artist. He sent her because it had become an essential part of humanist education.
  • Traveled to Madrid to be the private tutor to the Queen of Phillip II of Spain, Elizabeth of Valois.
  • Later became an official court painter to Phillip II.




  • Pagden, S., Anguissola, S., & Kusche, M. (1995). Sofonisba Anguissola: a Renaissance woman. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of Women in the Arts.
  • Perlingieri, I. S. (1992). Sofonisba Anguissola: the first great woman artist of the Renaissance. New York: Rizzoli.
  • Sofonisba Anguissola (Italian artist) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 3, 2013, from