Note: I found surprisingly little published material on this
subject. Therefore, please take this post as a preliminary outline about, and a
personal reaction to tempera architectural rendering. Yes, the title is somewhat ironic.
The decades after World War Two produced many design trends,
but the central stream of architectural design in the United States was what
I’d call “Mass Modern”. The outlines of design in the 30s (clean lines &
minimal ornament) were mixed with the large scale mass production of the war
effort, and the modern materials which were also developed in the war. Style
setters advocated a simpler (and cheaper) way of building, using modern methods
and fewer hands. There was an emphasis on machine made things, and a rejection
of handmade ornamentation. Natural materials were still used, but they were
always mixed with glass, steel and concrete, and always modeled in a simple geometric
way. The emphasis was on efficiency, logic and simplicity.
The Seagram Building is an icon of the period. With its
undifferentiated slab shape and its use of structural shapes for ornament, it
was the antithesis of design in the 30s.
Elliot Glushak, the creator of the image above, was one of a
number of architectural illustrators who worked in tempera (a quick drying, water
soluble, opaque paint). Tempera was a very popular medium at this time, due to
the quick execution and bright colors. It lost much of its popularity by the
end of the 60s.
Tempera happens to be the paint I gave my kids for art
projects because of the easy clean-up (I still have a large box full sitting in
the basement). Contrarily, I used tempera for only a short period at the
beginning of my rendering career, moving quickly to acrylics. I never followed
the style of tempera renderers from the 50s, seeing them as old hat. Indeed,
I’ve heard renderings from that period described as “hack work”, and lacking
sophistication. But tempera can produce amazing results, and there are still
renderers who use the technique.
Following is a sampling of art from the heyday of tempera
rendering (mostly found in a book from 1960 called Architectural Rendering, by Albert O. Halse). There is a dearth of
sources on this media and period of architectural rendering, and so my comments
will be quite limited. No doubt someone with access to art and artists from
that time, will do a better job eventually.
This rendering of a church by Robert Schwartz is a good
example of a vignette composition; a trick regularly used by tempera renderers.
This image doesn’t show it well, but the effect of the solid colors on the
neutral illustration board creates a nice tension between the abstract paint on
board, and the illusion of reality.
Both Schwartz and his partner Emil Kempa were award winning
architects, as well as tempera artists. Kempa’s rendering of the Iberia and
Icelandic Airlines Passenger Facility is shown above.
This student project by Harry B. Mahler has an awkward
composition and color palette, but it does show the impact of tempera.
Now days an automobile showroom is out of place on Park Avenue
in New York City, but in the 50s it seemed perfectly natural. This proposal by Carson
& Lundin Architects and Kahn & Jacobs Architects makes me think of the glass
cube Apple Store on Fifth Avenue. Pierre
Lutz, the project’s renderer, displays a fine flare that is often lacking in
architectural rendering.
The returning GIs needed millions of homes to raise their
families in; so was invented the mass produced suburban developments. Model
homes were built to entice buyers, and colorful, quick renderings were needed
to illustrate the various options. The paintings above by Peter Rahill were
done for Leisure Time Developers of Rock Hill, New York.
Tempera was also used for custom designs such as for this modular
house.
But, in the end tempera renderings were most often used for
large scale developments, corporate headquarters and skyscrapers. This
rendering of the United Fuel & Gas Company Headquarters by George Cooper
Rudolph is a good example of the typical corporate headquarters rendering.
A list of active tempera renderers from the 50s and 60s would include,
Vincent Furno, Elliot Glushak, Kenneth A. Licht, Pierre Lutz, Marcel Mutin,
Robert C. Nelsen, Peter Rahill, George Cooper Rudolph, and Charles J. Spiess,
Jr. (this list does not include young artists who continued to work through the 80s and
90s).
So, why has this period been ignored? My own opinion on the
fading memory of tempera architectural rendering in the 50s is that it was too
closely connected with the modern style of architecture in the 50s. Being THE
style during an era of a dominant style brings rejection from the next
generation. The 60s brought new music, new art, new lifestyles; and
specifically rejected the entire world of the 50s. While tempera continued to
be used through the 60s, 70s and 80s, it was largely relegated to the
“provinces”. The Avant Garde projects which expected to be discussed, awarded
and published, used the new techniques.The shopping center in Dubuque used the
old tried and true tempera, while the latest Manhattan skyscraper did not.
All right. But why is tempera as a medium fading away, long
after 1960? Tempera is remarkable in terms of speed and impact when practiced
by a master, why not revive it? The answer here I think, is that the feel of
tempera has been taken up in computer rendering. Computer rendering is nothing
if not fast and powerful.
There are still masters of tempera working out there, but
they are getting old. Not only that, but aspiring architectural illustrators
are opting for watercolor or the computer. The skill is not being passed on.
This is tragic. When done well a tempera rendering is truly
breathtaking. While most of the examples above are rather pedestrian, the best
artists produced, well, Art! And I should not get too depressed: the best of the
color sense and composition found in that era’s art is still being emulated by
young artists and illustrators.
The best of the old is remembered. Which is as it should be.
Really informative.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very nice post!
ReplyDeleteArchitectural Rendering
An exceptional post and overview of our profession, via your astounding works! Thanks Lee, for your time to put this together. I'll let people know to resource this site, and its deep and comprehensive content.
ReplyDeletePeter Rahill was a friend, and quite talented outside of his vocational format(s).
ReplyDeleteIf you’re interested in seeing some of Vincent Furno’s renderings, I have about 20 of them including an interior sketch of the General Motors Building. Lynn Furno, granddaughter
ReplyDeleteI am Robert Schwartz's daughter in law, and I have renderings of my father in law's. He is still alive at 95, and still painting.
ReplyDeleteHi there, I am a graduate student in the Princeton School of Architecture, engaged in ongoing research about architect Norma Merrick Sklarek, whom I believe worked with Robert Schwartz in the mid-1950s. (see article from the NMAAHC Museum in D.C. https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/sova_nmaahc.a2018.23?destination=edan-search/collection_search%3Fedan_q%3D%252A%253A%252A%26edan_fq%255B0%255D%3D-date%253A%25221810s%2522)
DeleteI would very much like to research Norma Merrick Sklarek's time collaborating with the notable architect, Robert Schwartz. Can you direct me to someone who might be able to speak further about this?
Thank you!
my email address is phazle@princeton.edu
DeleteI am Elliott Glushak's daughter and I have some of my father's renderings. My father and Robert Schwartz were very good friends. I wondered what happened to Bob. Would of liked to have gotten in touch with him and his wife. Please contact me at aliglsh@yahoo.com and I will give you my number. Is Margaret still alive. I understand that one of his sons also does Architecture am I right? I also have another email which is below but I am not in that much as I am in the one I gave you.
ReplyDeleteI will contact you!
DeleteVincent Furno was my uncle and I watched him as a child, working on his paintings in his home office on Long Island.
ReplyDelete