TONALISM

Recently a reference was made on Facebook to Tonalism as regards a Monet seascape which moved me to ask for a definition of the term. At the time none was forthcoming but having studied what is called tonal realism for the last 50 years I thought I would have a go at explaining my own perception of the subject.

Tonalism as a form of representation has existed in various guises for centuries and is often said to have reached its pinnacle with the likes of Rembrandt, Velasquez and Caravaggio.

My understanding is that any painting which contains a variety of lights and darks could be said to be tonal. If those tonal shapes in various colours represent a form that is recognisable  it could be said to be tonal realism, sometimes called Tonalism.

Therefore, the term Tonalism could apply to all forms of realist painting, whether Photo Realism, Impressionism or any other ‘ism’ that shows recognisable forms such as landscapes, a human figure or portrait or still life etc. I like to call such images a ‘Collage of Ocular Facts.’

Max Meldrum, the Scottish Australian painter and teacher developed or refined a method of oil painting which involved, as far as possible a scientific approach to the mixing and application of tones and colours as a set of patches on the canvas without any preliminary drawing as he believed ‘there are no lines in nature.’

For someone who aspires to be an artist, this method can be seen as restrictive, but for one who practices the craft of painting from life and who is interested in representing reality on canvas and producing work which will last as well in a physical sense, I believe it is the way to go. Once the painter has achieved sufficient skill using this method, moving to the realm of the artist is not just possible but readily achievable as the painter will know how oil paint works, a skill that is sadly ignored by some artists today. They will also be able to ‘see’ which is the skill that Max Meldrum attempted to instil in all of his students and that all teachers of Tonal Realism should be aiming to achieve.

Don James 31st January 2025

WARNING: Please bear in mind that the preceding statements refer to work done from life and do not necessarily apply to works done from two dimensional references such as photographs.

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