David Molesky on Apelles, Pliny and the Superiority of the Rough Painting Technique

David Molesky is a former student of Odd Nerdrum, based in North Carolina. He is concerned with the rough manner of late Rembrandt and Titian — a painting method first employed by the Ancient Greek painter Apelles. Molesky contrasts this technique with so-called photo-realism, which he asserts leaves no room for the viewer. But art historians typically interpret the rough technique as "modern", so whose interpretation is accurate? And can you be influenced by this manner of painting without compromising clarity of form and thus wind up as a modernist? Topics from the conversation: 01:12 Molesky's painting "Man in the Forrest" 03:52 The Apelles palette and pre-mixing of colors 06:47 Odd Nerdrum's interest in Pompeii murals, Pliny and Apelles 10:24 Apelles' technique 12:01 Pliny establishes an ideal for painters 14:20 Titian's Flaying of Marsyas 16:57 Reflecting how peripheral vision works 21:00 Apelles' unfinished Aphrodite 26:10 Painterly vs illustrative: David Ligare, Rembrandt and Sargent 31:54 Apelles and Protogenes: A "pre-modernist" technique? 36:19 Having details too! Titian, Rembrandt and Nerdrum 38: 46 Modern art: A poor imitation of classical works? 41:40 Recreating matter with paint 43:40 When Nerdrum painted a scarf in one stroke 49:14 Leaving space for the viewer 55:03 Hoogstraaten on what to keep as you go along 59:48 The "Default Mode Network" 1:06:08 Rembrandt's hermaphrodite self-portrait 1:09:27 The blind seer Tiresias (Metamorphosis and Odyssey) 1:14:50 Rembrandt's references to Tiresias and Apelles 1:18:35 Reading Pliny as a painter makes you aware This episode was filmed and edited by Bork Nerdrum. The centerpiece was a "Man in the Forrest" (2007) by David Molesky. SHOUTOUT to our TOP SPONSORS! Fergus Ryan Shaun Roberts Matthias Proy Eivind Josten Børge Moe Dean Anthony Alastair Blain Anders Berge Christensen Erik Lasky Iver Ukkestad Jack Entz Warner Jared Fountain Jon Harald Aspheim Marion Bu-Pedersen Maurice Robbins Misty DeLaine Richard Barrett Stacey Evangelista Trym Jordahl Yngve Hellan Would you like to get premium access? Become a patron: https://patreon.com/caveofapelles/ Subscribe to our newsletter. It is the only way to make sure that you receive content from us on a regular basis: https://bit.ly/2L8qCNn Check out our other channels: https://www.youtube.com/c/SchoolofApelles https://www.youtube.com/c/CultureWarsNow Podcast available on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Spotify: https://soundcloud.com/caveofapelles https://spoti.fi/2AVDkcT https://apple.co/2QAcXD6 Visit our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/caveofapelles Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/CaveOfApelles For inquiries — [email protected]