VCUQatar Professor renders Leonardo da Vinci’s grotesque heads

Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar Art & Design Foundation Assistant Professor Jesse Payne’s carefully rendered and imagined graphite drawings of Leonardo da Vinci’s grotesque heads have been published in the online version of Juxtapoz, a leading monthly contemporary and underground art and culture magazine.

Jesse Payne rendering a Grotesque Head
The drawings were previously published in American Artist: Drawing edition, (Summer 2009) in an article entitled “Fleshing Out Leonardo’s Grotesque Heads” by Bob Bahr.

Jesse Payne developed a fascination with Leonardo da Vinci’s grotesque heads, a series of caricature drawings of disfigured people, and decided to render these busts but with a slight difference from the Renaissance master’s.

“In most cases Leonardo’s drawings were small, no more than two inches in height, but my drawings are all rendered life size, that is, the heads in my drawings are the same size as ours,” says Payne who began working on the project in 2008 using da Vinci’s images as a starting point to complete his final images. He completed the project in 2010.

No one knows what da Vinci’s intentions were for the grotesque heads or whether they were drawn from life, from imagination, or both. Nevertheless, these pieces were immediately popular and often copied, even while da Vinci was still alive. Some art historians speculate that it was da Vinci’s intention that developing artists copy his grotesque heads and at some point in his life, the master did at least 100 of them.

A comparison of Jesse Payne’s Grotesque Head entitled ‘The Condition’ on the right with Leonardo da Vinci’s original on the left
Payne’s interpretations expand beyond da Vinci’s sketches. Da Vinci’s grotesque heads are mostly done in pen and brown ink while Payne’s drawings were made using various graphite pencils, materials that more easily allow variations in value and erasure.

Payne however retained da Vinci’s basic rules for the heads’ presentation – the people are seen from the top of the head to the middle of the sternum or a line just below the shoulder, and no backgrounds are suggested.

Jesse Payne pairs his Grotesque Heads The Patient (left) and The Biter (right) on a page to reflect how da Vinci or the copyists, from as far back as 1506, could have placed them
The people depicted in da Vinci’s sketches are almost never facing the viewer, a point that Payne considers important. It fits with some opinions that da Vinci secretly observed the models, instead of engaging with them face-to-face. Payne also believes that viewers would have a much tougher time approaching the drawings if the figures were looking straight ahead, suggesting eye contact.

He preserved this aspect of da Vinci’s drawings, in part because he wanted viewers to feel comfortable taking a close look at his drawings. “I made my drawings life-size to help achieve a life-like quality to the work and to engage the viewer more so in terms of interacting with the work.


Jesse Payne’s complete Grotesque Heads as a ‘Grotesque Last Supper’
Furthermore, I took it upon myself to embellish these heads with various skin conditions to make them more grotesque, pushing the level of deformities, the blisters and psoriasis to the point that they might seem transferable, to the point where you don’t want the subject to turn his or head and look at you or breathe on you. But I want people to come closer to see the detail I put in there.”

“Leonardo’s heads are some of the most copied drawings of all time, so perhaps in some cases I am doing copies of copies,” says Payne whose elaborately detailed drawings clearly suggest he’s doing a bit more than copying. Where da Vinci suggested bad skin, Payne depicted a particular dermatological condition in great detail. While da Vinci showed the basics of a garment, Payne illustrated the texture of the fabric.

“Leonardo’s self-portrait – shown next to my rendition – is believed to be his only surviving self-portrait and perhaps the only one he ever made. It is very faint and I strived to keep that quality in my final drawing,” says Payne. This attention to detail is partly a result of Payne’s apprenticeship, while working on the project, to Odd Nerdrum, the noted Norwegian figurative artist who he considers the greatest technical painter of our time.

Da Vinci’s self-portrait (left) - shown next to Jesse Payne’s rendition (right) - is believed to be the Renaissance master’s only surviving self-portrait
“I came back from my apprenticeship a much better artist and improved all the grotesque heads I had already done,” he recollects adding he spent five more hours on a section of a shirt in one of the drawings.

Payne’s grotesque heads can be presented in three different ways: by themselves (one hung in a gallery by itself); in pairs (as show in the attached image Couple #2.); and as a complete “Grotesque Last Supper” (as show in the attached image). They can all be viewed at his website www.jessepayne.com

Jesse Payne graduated with an MFA in Painting from Northern Illinois University in 2003. Previous to that, he received his BFA in Painting/Drawing in 2001 from Indiana State University.

Payne has presented papers on the topics of drawing, design thinking, idea development, creativity, curriculum development and assessment at national and international art and design conferences over the past three years. He’s been assistant professor in the Art & Design Foundation Department at VCUQatar since August 2010.

Payne is also vice president for Development for the national organization FATE (Foundations in Art: Theory and Education) which is dedicated to the promotion of excellence in the development and teaching of college-level foundation courses in both studio and art history.

Strathmore Pad #1

Strathmore commissioned professional artist Jesse Payne to draw the cover for their artist grade paper 400 series (smooth) bristol pad.

Strathmore Cover #2

Strathmore commissioned professional artist Jesse Payne to draw the cover for their artist grade paper 400 series (smooth) bristol pad.

Arts Organization Elects VCU Qatar Professor to Lead

Assistant Professor of Art at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar - Jesse Payne - was elected by the membership of the national arts organization Foundations in Art: Theory and Education (FATE) to serve on their Board of Officers.

On Friday, April 1, at the 2011 FATE Biennial Conference, the membership held a business meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. At this annual meeting, a new position was created and approved to begin immediately - Vice President for Development. Jesse Payne was elected unanimously to pilot this signal leadership position. Mr. Payne will oversee the advancement and development of new revenue and support opportunities for this growing organization."

"I can't say enough about Jesse Payne's passed participation on our board and his new mission as Vice President for Development" said Scott Betz, President of FATE. "Jesse has that rare combination of talented artist and tenacious entrepreneur. We all have good ideas but too few know how, where and when to engage others to make these ideas come to fruition. FATE moves forward with this new position and leader!

"I am looking forward to continuing my involvement on the board of FATE and hopefully building a relationship between FATE and VCUQatar in the future," said Mr. Payne about his appointment. Vice President for Development, Jesse Payne, will serve FATE through the upcoming biennial conference that will be held at Savannah College of Art and Design in the spring of 2013.