Use of Technology by the Artist of the Renaissance Period - Assignment Example

Old artists were not able to make realistic- drawings, then which means that they were worse at drawing than contemporary art students are and this invalidates Hockney's claim thus his search for a "better" explanation is left unjustified.

Contemporary artists record what they have done and the general methods used to demonstrate how they undertake their business. Dictionary of the human form by Ted explains how to make accurate human drawings in a broad variety of poses. (Ted, 5-35). Hockney explains that medieval artists feared being burned as witches for making images with lenses and mirrors, but does not explain how contemporary artists publish information and how they do that. He dismisses past centuries' evidence which indicates that old artists did not use optical because they actively hid secrets by falsifying evidence. He does not put into consideration dismissing the living artists who work in the way that he claims is impossible. He is similar to conspiracy theorist that supports their theories because there is no evidence to their negation.

Ateliers are not new and they present unbroken chains stretching back to the Renaissance. Books written by pre-20th-century painters do not mention the use of optical aids in drawing and painting. These books are still in existence but Hockney did not study them to discover how the Old artists did their work. He selectively choose writing that mention optical devices and went ahead to present the claim as if the rest didn't exist and that, artists lied about the methods they used to avoid being burned as witches. His claim is not convincing because the painters he claims could not paint lived in an era where there was no chance of being condemned.

Sculpture during the olden days was realistic and lively just the same way drawings and painting were and there were similarities in styles used. Hockney doesn't explain how it can be possible to eyeball it when sculpting but not when drawing or painting. There are cases where sculptures being made originated from paintings and images. For example, the abduction of psyche sculpture was based on Bouguereau’s drawings and paintings.
Self-portraits made by major painters during their careers clearly show that there was no way to be on both sides of a camera. Hockney does not explain the existence of such works but he just ignores them as he concentrates on counter-evidence.

Whatever the reasons, Hockney’s conclusions cannot be justified. The denial of the existence of the quality of work of artists -living and dead, reports of people that have seen how paintings and drawings are all teachings, artists, books,s and the existence of people who can draw and paint without the use of optical aid tells us volumes about Mr. Hockney hatred of excellence in the arts and the lengths they will go to fallaciously pretend that great art can't exist. Read More