Earlier this week, I went to the Thomas Eakins exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The best time to go is apparently on a weekday afternoon, if you can squeak in between school groups.

One of the reasons Eakins is such a convincing realist was his dedication to "getting it right." He would paint several studies, and even sculpt clay models to perfect the composition and perspective. I was especially impressed with a painting he did of a rower on the Schuylkill River, in which the front of the boat is coming straight at the viewer. Next to it in the exhibit is Eakin's study for the painting, and elaborate grid of lines he used to formulate the perspective.

Eakins also did many of his paintings from photographs--typically combining figures from several pictures into the final painting. The result is incredibly natural poses.

Eakins' emphasis on the human figure as the basis of art got him into trouble, however. He brought in a man to model nude for a class with both male and female students and got kicked out of the PA Academy of Fine Arts. He formed a rival school with likeminded artists and he and his students were in a lot of nudie photos they later painted from. After seeing this exhibit, you'll be intimately acquainted with Eakins. Hee hee.