Fame 1889

Luc-Olivier Merson painted this study, Fame, using oil on canvas. Merson here makes use of classical allegories, but translated through an academic painting process. What I mean by this is that while he is representing an abstract concept – fame – the way that he does it is anything but free. Consider the way that he has built the image. It is highly controlled, with precisely modeled figures. Note also the monochrome palette, which allows for very fine gradations of tone. This degree of control is what was expected of artists trained in the French academy. The method of layering oil paint allowed Merson to revisit and refine his composition repeatedly, gradually building up to a highly polished final product. It is important to understand that this was skilled work, not just artistic inspiration. Paying close attention to the materials and making of Fame helps us appreciate the amount of labor and training involved in this seemingly effortless and ethereal depiction.