ARTISTS’ USE OF MIRRORS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXIII, Issue XXII, 25 November 1899, Page 972

ARTISTS’ USE OF MIRRORS.

DIFFICULTY OF PAINTING ONE'S OWN PORTRAIT. It has been a common practice with artists of all ages and countries to paint their own pictures, and at the Uffizi gallery, in Florence, can be seen a magnificent collection of portraits of the world's great painters done by themselves. It is a coveted honour to be invited to contribute one’s own portrait to this collection, for one must be eminent before this compliment is paid. As may be easily understood, painting one's own portrait is a somewhat troublesome task, for the painter must do a good deal from memory, especially if he puts himself in an attitude which it is difficult to reflect in a mirror. A straightforward portrait looking out of the picture is obviously the easiest to manage, for the painter has only to place the mirror in front of him to see his model. Triple and quadruple mirrors must ■be employed when the attitude is in any way removed from full face. A profile would be more difficult to see for oneself, but a three-quarter face would be no less so, as in both cases the artist would be working from a reflection of a reflection, which, to say the least of it, is a bothering condition. The looking at oneself for a long time is one of the strange and trying conditions of painting one’s own portrait, for difficulties and complexities appear to grow the more one tries to grapple with them. Like the road to the tired traveller, which seems to lengthen as he goes, so the difficulties of painting oneself appear to increase rtaher than diminish the more one looks at oneself. Apart from painting one's own portrait, artists largely draw from themselves, for a man can more easily assume a particular attitude than get another person to do so. Then for details, such as a hand, arm, nose, eye, the artist and a mirror supply all that is required. Another of the many uses of a mirror is to reverse the work during its progress, as reversing a drawing will often reveal an awkwardness, want cf balance or

faulty drawing, which might <rt her wise go undetected. TRAVEL IN SIMPLE CLOTHES. The same rule of avoiding, conspicuous effects applies to travelling as well as walking in the street. When a woman travels alone she should try never to attract attention in any way. The best sort of costume to wear when going on a journey is a dark blue or black serge skirt and jacket with cotton or silk shirt waist and dark hat or bonnet. For summer a delightfully cool travelling costume is made of brown linen and worn with a darkblue muslin shirt waist or any cotton or wash-silk waist.