4 museomag   01 ‘ 2016 
After acquiring in 2015 Arrangement of Dancers, 
a majestic painting of the Amercian artist H. Craig 
Hanna, the Musée national d’histoire et d’art 
will exhibit more than fifty of his recent works 
(2007-2014). This is the first museum exhibition 
dedicated to his œuvre. Thematic interview. 
renaissance artists and their legacy 
While visiting Italy, you studied the great masters of 
the Renaissance. The quality of your own drawings 
is remarkable. Which artists did influence you most? 
Where did you find your inspiration? 
When I started to paint with a model, from life, the end 
result of my painting was very average. When I looked 
at the masters like Titian, Lotto, Preti, the quality of 
their draughtsmanship was so much more refined and 
better observed that it pushed me to better improve 
myself. By comparing your average drawing to their 
more accomplished works, you want to push it further 
and get better. I’m trying to reach the highest level of 
expertise in draughtsmanship. 
technique 
In many of your works you combine traditional 
painting techniques with a process reminiscent of 
reverse glass painting. By not only applying paint to 
the underlying panel but also to the superimposed 
acrylic glass surface you partially invert the 
traditional painting process, creating a tantalizing 
effect. Since when do you follow this approach and 
can you tell us more about it? 
I reached a level with the traditional medium of oil and 
canvas that made me feel I couldn’t go any further 
because I wasn’t being modern. It wasn’t representing 
the time I lived in. You have to bring your own 
contemporary brushstroke, just like Van Gogh did. 
Choosing to paint on plastic was a way of introducing a 
new look on an old subject. There was a progression. It 
started with me trying on many surfaces before plastic. 
I started with plywood, foam… I always experimented 
with modern materials. The Perspex itself was probably 
in 2007-2008. It really worked well, I was really hooked, 
it was exciting. 
“you have to bring your own 
contemporary brushstroke “ 
h. craig hanna’s first museum exhibition will take place 
at the mnha from march 4 to june 6, 2016. 
H. Craig Hanna: “I’m trying to reach the highest level of expertise in draughtsmanship.“ 
© 
éric chenal