David Hockney's Theory.

Last week we watched an incredibly interesting film by David Hockney; it was riveting. In my opinion, Hockney's theory of great master painters using the camera lucida to better their work, really makes sense. Granted, a lot of his evidence was circumstantial, but I strongly believe after the entirety of the film, that optics were used to some extent.

A lot of controversy was raised by this film; some people felt that Hockney's thesis was completely wrong, some felt it was completely right, and some felt cheated - as if the camera lucida's possible use made the great masters of the past 'cheaters'. I don't feel this way. If the camara lucida was in fact used to the extent Hockney supposes it was, it only helped in accuracy, not talent. I found this qoute from Hockney on this website ( http://painting.about.com/od/oldmastertechniques/ss/camera_lucida_4.htm ) and it explains my point perfectly;
"The lens can't draw a line, only the hand can do that ... look at someone like Ingres, and it would be absurd to think that such an insight about his method undercuts the sheer marvel of what he achieves."
There's really no way to say it better; even if the camera lucida was used, you can not call our master painters cheaters. They were still masters of their craft, still impecable artists with great insight and talent. If anything, their great use and mastery of the camera lucida itself can be seen as an accomplishment if it was in fact used so much.

In short, I found Hockney's video to be enlightening and interesting. I took no offence from it, and hope those who did will be able to look at it positively and see that no injustice was done.