Ledger’s behaviours and idioms, noticed by his friend Fantauzzo, inspired the artist to represent these personality traits physically in a portrait. Fantauzzo told Us Weekly magazine that Ledger “… was the most charismatic person I’ve ever met” (as cited in Agresti, & Bartolomeo, 2008). Fantauzzo told the magazine that he had been begging the actor to let him paint his portrait for years. "I asked him to do it a few years ago, but he's so private he felt a bit vulnerable being painted." Gabriella Coslovich, 2008 reports in the Sydney Morning Herald, Fantauzzo intended the painting to be indicative of the scrutiny that celebrities experience in the public eye. In addition communicating the emotional effects that celebrity status inflicts on
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Whistler, Warhol and Fantauzzo highlight aspects of the sitter’s personality and character pertinent of the individual at the time the portraits were created. These artists convey the physical attributes of the sitter, presenting each subject in a faithful and identifiable manner. Moreover, these artists incorporate selected elements and principals of design to express idiosyncrasies of the sitter. In the painting Whistler’s Mother, Whistler harnessed a monochromatic palette to symbolize the loss his mother endured. Simultaneously Whistler implemented strong horizontal and vertical planes to comfortably frame the figure in the composition. In a similar approach to Whistler, Warhol used colour and line to emphasize the celebrity ‘veneer’ of Monroe; contrasting bright colours with black outline and shading to define the features that made her iconic. In addition, Fantauzzo triplicated Ledger emphasizing the intricacies of the actor’s mind. Furthermore, the rapport between artist and subject generates significant meanings to the portrait, allowing the viewer an intimate snapshot into who the sitter is. Whistler admired and loved his mother, Warhol marveled at Monroe’s celebrity influence and the friendship between Ledger and Fantauzzo inspired artistic creation. By making conscious aesthetic choices, these artists give the viewer a thorough sense of who each subject is, what makes them unique and why the artist thought of them as worthy subjects to depict in art. In these portraits the individual is model, theme and muse; the identity and physical impression of the person intrinsically connect at the artist’s
Whistler, Warhol and Fantauzzo highlight aspects of the sitter’s personality and character pertinent of the individual at the time the portraits were created. These artists convey the physical attributes of the sitter, presenting each subject in a faithful and identifiable manner. Moreover, these artists incorporate selected elements and principals of design to express idiosyncrasies of the sitter. In the painting Whistler’s Mother, Whistler harnessed a monochromatic palette to symbolize the loss his mother endured. Simultaneously Whistler implemented strong horizontal and vertical planes to comfortably frame the figure in the composition. In a similar approach to Whistler, Warhol used colour and line to emphasize the celebrity ‘veneer’ of Monroe; contrasting bright colours with black outline and shading to define the features that made her iconic. In addition, Fantauzzo triplicated Ledger emphasizing the intricacies of the actor’s mind. Furthermore, the rapport between artist and subject generates significant meanings to the portrait, allowing the viewer an intimate snapshot into who the sitter is. Whistler admired and loved his mother, Warhol marveled at Monroe’s celebrity influence and the friendship between Ledger and Fantauzzo inspired artistic creation. By making conscious aesthetic choices, these artists give the viewer a thorough sense of who each subject is, what makes them unique and why the artist thought of them as worthy subjects to depict in art. In these portraits the individual is model, theme and muse; the identity and physical impression of the person intrinsically connect at the artist’s