More beautiful than reality !!!
08/08/2024
No sooner do you dedicate a small article to the glory of "Iris Mist" than a car in this color is advertised the next day. However, it is not a Pontiac GTO, but the larger Grand Prix - which is not a disadvantage. On the contrary: the more curved bodywork makes the delicate shimmer of the lily's breath stand out even more.
But it is not the paint color alone that makes this '65 Sports Coupe look so seductive. It's also the photo, which looks like it was painted by Art Fitzpatrick and Von Kaufmann.
It's usually a compliment to call an illustration photorealistic. In the case of a Pontiac, however, things are different. The greatest compliment is when a photo looks like a drawing by Fitz & Von. These two gentlemen were responsible for Pontiac brochures and advertising graphics from the late fifties onwards and gave their motifs a luminous glow that no camera in the world could capture.
The cars were always razor-sharp and with mirror-smooth paintwork, the surroundings always a little more sketchy, they knew how to draw the eye to the actual motif without distracting from the backdrop. Colors were always strong, but never obtrusive. The plate was always tonal, but never monotonous. And there was a warm romanticism in every picture without appearing kitschy.
The fact that photography won out in the end was not due to its artistic superiority. It was just faster. But sometimes it does manage to capture the slightly supernatural perfection of illustration.
