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Karl R Rittmann didn't have far to look for advice and inspiration. Both his parents were fine artist in their own right.
His dad did free-lance artwork that covered a wide range of subjects, and also worked as an illustrator for the Providence Journal. His mother was a wonderful portrait painter. So skilled was she, that at an impressionable age, his father showed him a portrait painted by his mother of a soldier in uniform. He said, "Son, when you can paint like that, you will have made it as a portrait painter."
Because his dad is also named Karl, there is sometimes confusion about who was the author of a Rittmann work. Karl R. Rittmann always included his middle initial in his signature, whereas his father signed them "Karl Rittmann" or simply "Rittmann". Karl R. Rittmann's oeuvre included literally hundreds of portraits. Above, there are 6 works painted by Karl R. Rittmann of his family. There is also one portrait each, composed by his father and mother. In the top row are two portraits of his favorite subject, and wife of 55 years, Margery. Between these works is the portrait of his father reading the Bible to his son, Larry. In the second row are the 3 Rittmann boys, Larry, Don, and Guy. In row 3 is a study of a young Karl R. Rittmann at the easel done by his father. The final work is a self-portrait by Karl's mother, Sara Burge Rittmann, which she rendered while a student at the Rhode Island School of Design. - Guy Rittmann - |
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