Tony Curtis and
the old masters

When Tony Curtis all but confessed a decade ago that he had traced images from photographic transparencies onto a canvas to paint scenes from Hawaii, the practice seemed, well, a tad tawdry, akin to painting by the numbers. Now it seems that Curtis -- only in that respect, mind you -- can claim to have been merely applying the techniques of the old masters.

Famed British artist David Hockney and optical scientist Charles Falco contend that artists for more than 500 years have been using optical devices to help them produce realistic images.

"It is inconceivable that artists wouldn't have used such devices," says Hockney, who recently published his findings in a book, "Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters."

Hockney says his theory should not denigrate the artists who used optical aids. However, essayist Susan Sontag, who joined two dozen artists, scientists and others in debating the controversy last weekend in New York's Greenwich Village, scoffed, "If David Hockney's thesis is correct, it would be a bit like finding out that all the great lovers of history have been using Viagra."

No offense, Mr. Curtis.

--Lee Catterall

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