Making Of A Mural (1947)

[Music] [Music] one evening long after business hours two men alone on the main floor of a great Midwestern store discussed the making of a mural to adorn the space above the elevator entrances these men president of the store and leading painters having decided on a sub degree on an immediate start of the work the artist in accepting the Commission could live five by twenty two feet the first experiments with rhythmic designs or dynamic patterns working to create an interesting composition for the area to be covered mr. Benton makes many of these before he is satisfied he has a good basic pattern the final sketch is then elaborated in a rough pencil drawing of mr. Fenton's idea or plan for the mural the lines of the drawing follow the bass rhythms of the sketch next the pencil drawing is given third dimension in a clay model the emphasis is not yet on fine detail but on the overall effect modeling and clay is a necessary step in the Benton style of painting strongly a three dimensional sun's period it depends in large part on the use of light and shadow the clay model under diffused light is flat and uninteresting the group has not drawn together as it is when a strongly directed light radiates from a central overhead point thus wood right the artist makes the figures stand out from the background and centers the interest this effect is obvious conferred to a small year for the mural appears for the first time in color based on a theme from Greek mythology at portrays the struggle for the fable of a Greek princess between Hercules and the river guard a Caloris who has assumed the shape of a bull and ears in this instance symbolic of man's struggle with the Missouri River and conquest of its broad and fertile valley this small-scale color panel completes the artist's basic work except with the tails it appears that the finished mirror will appear and will be submitted for the patrons approval now details become important and the artist calls in live models he catches tenseness and movement shading indicates attention to the third dimension which is further developed in additional clay models both of single figures and groups they show in their greater detail the artists careful preparation all of these aids the clay models and the sketches are consulted by the artist as he prepares a cartoon or outline drawing of the mural every line every form that will appear on the finished mural is here indicated in miniature if Corrections are to be made they must be made at this time the cartoon is of the exact proportions of the planned mural it is marked off in two squares to simplify the transfer of the drawing to the large panel the squares are numbered in letter the completed cartoon also shows the flat colorful ends which roughly define the areas of light and shaved and now with the mural panel set up in his studio mr. Benton checks the alignment of the frame which supports the canvas then he begins the squaring of the panel because of its extreme length he uses tightly stretched threads for the horizontal lines for the verticals lightly drawn charcoal lines the content of each small square on the cartoon will occupy a corresponding larger square on the mural in areas where there's a great amount of detail the squares are subdivided to assure accurate transfer then square by square the cartoon is transferred to the canvas after the scaling up process is completed mr. Benton prepares his paints he uses the yolks of eggs as the binder for his pigments his paint must drag quickly because he's working to meet a time limit [Music] the solvent is made by mixing the yolks with distilled water it is thoroughly blended with the raw pigment making a quick drying temperature the mixed paints will not exactly match those of the original small painting but they must appear to do so at the average viewing distance which will be about 30 feet the charcoal lines of the drawing gradually give way to color in areas of complicated form mr. Benton uses brown and white tone masses technically known as under painting to determine the three-dimensional effect on the flat surface the artist makes frequent reference during the course of the painting to his claim models and sketches to protect detail square by square pate fills in the outlines of a drawing then after the figures and landscape are filled in mr. Benton goes over his work death touches a paint bring out the luminous three-dimensional character of his painting mr. Benton uses a diminishing grass for regular appraisal of his colors through the glue to the size of a small color sketch from which is working thus even though working in the confines of the effects of the 30 foot viewing distance seven distinct tones of blue are required for the sky from the deep blue of the dome to the hazy blue of the horizon this sky paint is mixed with a binder of final light and beeswax although it dries as rapidly as tempera this binder permits the brushing out and even blending of the paint mr. Benton paints in his sky after the figures and objects along the skyline of virtually completed painting the figures over the sky background would cause the colors to lose their proper you again the artist compares his colors to the original and not to match them but to make sure they will appear the same on the mural in the finished sky all seven shades of blue are smoothly blended Ahmir all is apparently complete but the hand of the master Paynter is disclosed in a few finishing touches [Music] now of a full three-dimensional effect is realized the rhythmic movement of the form shows clearly facial expressions of fully developed and all the colors of the mural are gathered together in the fruits [Music] the result of nearly eight months of dreaming planning and hard work an old legend man struggled to master his environment is brought to life again in Missouri [Music] finally the last of several protective coats of wax before the mural is moved to the store and now framed and not of in the stores wall the mural fulfills its function [Music] a lasting contribution to the art of America and of the world [Music]