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RE: More on Knight etc



Besides which, it was E. D. Cope's design to begin with that influenced Knight. 
 Jane D 
 










Dr. Jane  P. Davidson
Professor of History of Art
University ofNevada, Reno
Reno, NV  USA  89557
775-784-6561
fax 775-784-6655
 
replies to: jdhexen@aol.com  or to jdhexen@unr.edu
 

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu [mailto:owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu] On Behalf Of Ilja 
Nieuwland
Sent: Friday, March 18, 2011 11:33 AM
To: GSP1954@aol.com
Cc: dinosaur@usc.edu
Subject: Re: More on Knight etc

Hm, I wouldn't call Knight's Laelaps painting 'static' in any way - on the 
contrary. And probably one of the single most influential paintings in shaping 
even modern audience's attitude to dinosaurs. As much as being useful to 
scientists, that is where 'paleo-art' (and other forms of scientific 
illustration) becomes relevant: as a mode of communicating information to the 
public.

Ilja

On 18 mrt 2011, at 16:27, GSP1954@aol.com wrote:

> The best painting Knight ever did is his saber toothed cat on the top of 
> the cliff. When I saw it in a show at the Smithsonian it really hit me how it 
> is a magnificent masterpiece. Also wonderful are a number of his murals. But 
> it may be best to not always overstate his artistry. He had vision 
> problems, and although it is remarkable how he overcame them it might have 
> hurt. His 
> work really degraded. His Nat Geo pieces were nice but nothing to write 
> home about. Some pieces in the late 40s are not good. 
> 
> And his dinosuar paintings are rather static (he was able to put a lot more 
> action in his mammals), all footsies usually on the ground. Dinos rather 
> drab. Bodies sometimes flat (maybe from a real lack of full 3-D vision). 
> 
> Still I like and admire most of his stuff. 
> 
> I like to think that some of my art is comparable artsy wise to Knights'. 
> Or maybe it isn't. As for current artists I don't claim to be the very best 
> in sheer artistic technique (and am way behind Matternes when he is doing 
> mammals, his attempts at dinosaurs did not work very well). What is true is 
> that I consider myself the best at the combination of art quality PLUS 
> scienctific accuracy in dinosaurs and certain other extinct beasts. As for 
> other's 
> art these days I do have a problem because I think my versions are more 
> accurate so everyones else's dinos look kind off to me. It is a sad and 
> tragic 
> curse. Feel for me. 
> 
> Now let's see if any rant at me for being an evil ogre for stating my 
> professional views. 
> 
> G Paul</HTML>