Description
In addition to photographic portraits, Chuck Close has also created series of nudes and flowers.
The first painting Close made based on photographs was Big Nude which was completed in 1967. He began with a single photograph of his model that was just over 6 x 13 inches. This was much too small for him to get the level of detail he needed for a painting planned to be 21 feet long. His solution, only recently discovered in his archive, was to photograph the model in minute detail and piece together the photographs as a composite image. This process can be seen in the contact sheet and selection of prints on view here.
Close was ultimately unsatisfied with the painting BIG NUDE, but this initial effort to paint the photographic likeness of a subject became the essential feature of his painting practice.