Embedded Files
This page covers posts for many of the artists and art movements of the twentieth century. Elsewhere:
This page covers posts for many of the artists and art movements of the twentieth century. Elsewhere:
Surrealist painters are discussed in "The Surrealists" post, which also covers writers and other artists.
Surrealist pioneer Joan Miró is discussed on the Spanish Art webpage at this link.
Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and the art of the Works Program Administration can be found here.
Kandinsky, Spirituality, Music and Abstract Art
Kandinsky, Spirituality, Music and Abstract Art
POSTED FEB 9, 2019
Wassily Kandinsky, one of the pioneers of abstract modern art, was born in Moscow in 1866. In his early years he benefited from a range of influences - on his father's side to drawing and art; on his mother's to painting and music. [1] He spent much of his painting career in Germany and France and became one of the most influential individuals on the contemporary art scene. Kandinsky was a theorist who believed that painting was deeply spiritual and that abstract art was the ideal visual mode to express the "inner necessity" of the artist and to convey universal human emotions and ideas. He saw a connection between painting and music, which he considered the most transcendent non-objective art, and he "strove to produce similarly object-free, spiritually rich paintings that alluded to sounds and emotions through a unity of sensation". (The Art Story)
Wassily Kandinsky, one of the pioneers of abstract modern art, was born in Moscow in 1866. In his early years he benefited from a range of influences - on his father's side to drawing and art; on his mother's to painting and music. [1] He spent much of his painting career in Germany and France and became one of the most influential individuals on the contemporary art scene. Kandinsky was a theorist who believed that painting was deeply spiritual and that abstract art was the ideal visual mode to express the "inner necessity" of the artist and to convey universal human emotions and ideas. He saw a connection between painting and music, which he considered the most transcendent non-objective art, and he "strove to produce similarly object-free, spiritually rich paintings that alluded to sounds and emotions through a unity of sensation". (The Art Story)
Beginning in 1909, Kandinsky started painting works whose titles linked his painting to musical terms: Impressions, Improvisations, and Compositions. We'll just concentrate on these three forms in this post - Kandinsky's work was far too varied and eventful to do it justice in a single post.
Beginning in 1909, Kandinsky started painting works whose titles linked his painting to musical terms: Impressions, Improvisations, and Compositions. We'll just concentrate on these three forms in this post - Kandinsky's work was far too varied and eventful to do it justice in a single post.
In his book of art theory Concerning the Spiritual in Art (published in 1912), Kandinsky defined these three types of paintings. "Impressions [were] a direct impression of outward nature, expressed in purely artistic form. Improvisations [were] a largely unconscious, spontaneous expression of inner character, the non-material nature. Compositions [were] expressions of a slowly formed inner feeling, which comes to utterance only after long maturing. In this, reason, consciousness, purpose play an overwhelming part. But of the calculation nothing appears, only the feeling." (On Art and Aesthetics)
In his book of art theory Concerning the Spiritual in Art (published in 1912), Kandinsky defined these three types of paintings. "Impressions [were] a direct impression of outward nature, expressed in purely artistic form. Improvisations [were] a largely unconscious, spontaneous expression of inner character, the non-material nature. Compositions [were] expressions of a slowly formed inner feeling, which comes to utterance only after long maturing. In this, reason, consciousness, purpose play an overwhelming part. But of the calculation nothing appears, only the feeling." (On Art and Aesthetics)
"Impressions" were observations of the natural world and are (slightly) less abstract than the other two forms. One example, Impression III (Concert) was painted after Kandinsky attended a Schönberg concert in Munich in 1911. The painting is dominated by the tension between the black and yellow colors. In "On the Spiritual in Art", Kandinsky wrote, “Light yellow… on black… has such a strong effect that it flies off the background, floats in the air and jumps into the viewers’ eyes.”
"Impressions" were observations of the natural world and are (slightly) less abstract than the other two forms. One example, Impression III (Concert) was painted after Kandinsky attended a Schönberg concert in Munich in 1911. The painting is dominated by the tension between the black and yellow colors. In "On the Spiritual in Art", Kandinsky wrote, “Light yellow… on black… has such a strong effect that it flies off the background, floats in the air and jumps into the viewers’ eyes.”
Impression III (Concert) - 1911, 30.5" x 39.4"
Impression III (Concert) - 1911, 30.5" x 39.4"
"At the time he heard the Schoenberg concert, [Kandinsky] was working on series entitled Impression. The first painting he made after the concert was Impression III: Konzert (Impression III: Concert). Kandinsky’s use of the word ‘impression’ referred to paintings that reproduce a direct expression of an internal nature. This picture is not the particular concert he heard, but his overall impression of the music performance. But, the central image of the painting is the piano – the black angular block – so this particular concert is at the heart of this picture.
"The piano, shown as the black block, seems to float on a yellow sound. The listeners, shown as circles and arcs are covered in the sound but, at the same time, are focusing on the piano. The difference between art and reality is that we know that the piano would never have been set on a stage so that the performer’s back would have been to the audience, but the identity of the piano – that black monolith – and its position is clear in Kandinsky’s interpretation." ("Music and Art: Schoenberg and Kandinsky")
Kandinsky's "Improvisations" are expressions of inner processes that occur suddenly, mostly unconsciously. His Improvisations are more abstract than his Impressions but still have recognizable symbolic elements within them. Improvisation 28 is an example. Painted in Russia during the tumultuous years prior to World War I and the Russian Revolution, it is an allegory of destruction followed by a new, redeemed world.
Kandinsky's "Improvisations" are expressions of inner processes that occur suddenly, mostly unconsciously. His Improvisations are more abstract than his Impressions but still have recognizable symbolic elements within them. Improvisation 28 is an example. Painted in Russia during the tumultuous years prior to World War I and the Russian Revolution, it is an allegory of destruction followed by a new, redeemed world.
Improvisation 28 (second version) - 1912, 43 7/8" x 63 7/8"
Improvisation 28 (second version) - 1912, 43 7/8" x 63 7/8"
"By 1910 many of the artist’s abstract canvases shared a common literary source, the Revelation of Saint John the Divine; the rider came to signify the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who will bring epic destruction after which the world will be redeemed. In Improvisation 28 (second version) Kandinsky depicted—through highly schematized means—cataclysmic events on one side of the canvas and the paradise of spiritual salvation on the other. In this painting, for instance, images of a boat and waves (signaling the global deluge), a serpent, and, perhaps, cannons emerge on the left, while an embracing couple, shining sun, and celebratory candles appear on the right." (Guggenheim.org)
Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker discuss Improvisation 28 and Kandinsky in the embedded link to right.
His large "Compositions" are the most complicated - the ones that required the most planning, sketches and techniques.
His large "Compositions" are the most complicated - the ones that required the most planning, sketches and techniques.
Kandinsky considered compositions as main declarations of his artistic ideas. They have a number of characteristics expressing this monumentality: impressively large size, conscious planning of composition and transcendence of presentation expressed by development of an abstract image. Just as symphonies are milestones in the career of a composer, the compositions of Kandinsky represent the culmination of his artistic vision at every moment of his creative career.
Kandinsky considered compositions as main declarations of his artistic ideas. They have a number of characteristics expressing this monumentality: impressively large size, conscious planning of composition and transcendence of presentation expressed by development of an abstract image. Just as symphonies are milestones in the career of a composer, the compositions of Kandinsky represent the culmination of his artistic vision at every moment of his creative career.
"From the very outset," the artist wrote, "that one word "composition" sounded to me like a prayer." The first composition dates from 1910, the last one from 1939. Thus, the Compositions are a common thread running through all the work of Kandinsky, from his first steps on the way to abstraction to the last "biomorphic" Paris period. Unfortunately, the first three compositions were destroyed during the Second World War, and only their photos survived. (WassilyKandinsky.net)
"From the very outset," the artist wrote, "that one word "composition" sounded to me like a prayer." The first composition dates from 1910, the last one from 1939. Thus, the Compositions are a common thread running through all the work of Kandinsky, from his first steps on the way to abstraction to the last "biomorphic" Paris period. Unfortunately, the first three compositions were destroyed during the Second World War, and only their photos survived. (WassilyKandinsky.net)
Composition VII - 1913, 78.7" × 118.1"
Composition VII - 1913, 78.7" × 118.1"
Composition VII (1913) is considered the pinnacle of Kandinsky's pre-World War I artistic achievement. Bekah O'Neill writes [2]: "Despite the seeming spontaneous and arbitrary look of this painting, like all Kandinsky's Compositions it involved many preliminary sketches and studies, and in this case many different techniques - over 30 drawings, glass paintings, watercolours, woodcuts and oils. The theme is catastrophe, containing motifs referring to both the creation and the end of the world. We can decipher some of these motifs from his preliminary work....[In the final painting, the] most distinct motif is a boat, a semi-circular shape, with three parallel black oars. Harder to decipher is an angel playing a trumpet, as if in the Last Judgement."
Others consider the central oval "almost the eye of a compositional hurricane, surrounded by swirling masses of color and form. In Composition VII's final form, Kandinsky has obliterated almost all pictorial representation." Art scholars, through Kandinsky's writings and study of the less abstract preparatory works, have determined that "Composition VII combines the themes of The Resurrection, The Last Judgment, The Deluge and The Garden of Love in an operatic outburst of pure painting". (Artchive.com)
Kandinsky popularized his artistic ideas at the best-known art school of all time, the Bauhaus which he joined in 1922. He left Germany for France after the Nazis closed the Bauhaus in 1933, and he remained in France until his death in 1944.
Kandinsky popularized his artistic ideas at the best-known art school of all time, the Bauhaus which he joined in 1922. He left Germany for France after the Nazis closed the Bauhaus in 1933, and he remained in France until his death in 1944.
"While his ultimate ambition to create an all-encompassing theory of painting, elevating the form to equal the cerebral purity of music and logic, might not have been wholly successful, it’s hard to underestimate the influence of his work. Before passing away in 1944, Kandinsky personally influenced Tachisme, the French abstract painting school, while his paintings, exhibited in 1939 at New York’s MoMA, inspired the city’s Abstract Expressionists. So while he might not have been the first artist to paint non-figurative forms [humans have been creating non-figurative art for millenia], the beauty and ambition of his work helped ensure that he certainly wasn’t the last." (Phaidon.com)
"While his ultimate ambition to create an all-encompassing theory of painting, elevating the form to equal the cerebral purity of music and logic, might not have been wholly successful, it’s hard to underestimate the influence of his work. Before passing away in 1944, Kandinsky personally influenced Tachisme, the French abstract painting school, while his paintings, exhibited in 1939 at New York’s MoMA, inspired the city’s Abstract Expressionists. So while he might not have been the first artist to paint non-figurative forms [humans have been creating non-figurative art for millenia], the beauty and ambition of his work helped ensure that he certainly wasn’t the last." (Phaidon.com)
[1] DK Art Book: Kandinsky
[2] Bridgman Art Library's "The Life and Works of Kandinsky"
Piet Mondrian: Abstract art as an expression of "pure reality"
Piet Mondrian: Abstract art as an expression of "pure reality"
POSTED MARCH 29, 2019
“Every true artist has been inspired more by the beauty of lines and color and the relationships between them than by the concrete subject of the picture.” - Piet Mondrian
“Every true artist has been inspired more by the beauty of lines and color and the relationships between them than by the concrete subject of the picture.” - Piet Mondrian
Like Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) was a pioneer of 20th century abstract painting. Like Kandinsky, he believed that art had a spiritual dimension that could best be expressed in abstraction. The two are considered to be the first artists to have achieved a truly abstract visual language in painting.
Like Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) was a pioneer of 20th century abstract painting. Like Kandinsky, he believed that art had a spiritual dimension that could best be expressed in abstraction. The two are considered to be the first artists to have achieved a truly abstract visual language in painting.
While Kandinsky was inspired towards abstraction by the Impressionists - in particular, Claude Monet(1) - Mondrian was taken with the Cubists. Inspired by an exhibition of French Cubist paintings in Amsterdam, he left for Paris in the spring of 1912 to "confront their sources more directly...Thoroughly committed to [the principles of Cubism], Mondrian worked to suppress the solids and voids of natural subjects in favor of their flat, geometric equivalents." Realizing his works were "still vaguely natural in form and color", Mondrian wrote that he gradually became aware "that Cubism did not accept the logical consequences of its own discoveries: it was not developing abstraction towards its ultimate goal, the expression of pure reality."(2)
While Kandinsky was inspired towards abstraction by the Impressionists - in particular, Claude Monet(1) - Mondrian was taken with the Cubists. Inspired by an exhibition of French Cubist paintings in Amsterdam, he left for Paris in the spring of 1912 to "confront their sources more directly...Thoroughly committed to [the principles of Cubism], Mondrian worked to suppress the solids and voids of natural subjects in favor of their flat, geometric equivalents." Realizing his works were "still vaguely natural in form and color", Mondrian wrote that he gradually became aware "that Cubism did not accept the logical consequences of its own discoveries: it was not developing abstraction towards its ultimate goal, the expression of pure reality."(2)
Along with many artists of the time, Kandinsky and Mondrian thought that representational art was too imitative and that other arts were more ideal and more distinctively creative. To express this higher reality, Kandinsky looked to music; Mondrian, to architecture.(3) And in a beautifully reciprocal manner, Mondrian has influenced architecture for decades. "Mondrian’s lasting influence on architecture is still present today—from the Mondrian Hotel in LA and the Mondrian Residences in Muntinlupa, Philippines to the cladding of Richard Meier’s 1955 City Hall of the Hague Netherlands, which was repainted in early 2017 to celebrate De Stijl's centennial." (Arch Daily, 1 April 2018)
Along with many artists of the time, Kandinsky and Mondrian thought that representational art was too imitative and that other arts were more ideal and more distinctively creative. To express this higher reality, Kandinsky looked to music; Mondrian, to architecture.(3) And in a beautifully reciprocal manner, Mondrian has influenced architecture for decades. "Mondrian’s lasting influence on architecture is still present today—from the Mondrian Hotel in LA and the Mondrian Residences in Muntinlupa, Philippines to the cladding of Richard Meier’s 1955 City Hall of the Hague Netherlands, which was repainted in early 2017 to celebrate De Stijl's centennial." (Arch Daily, 1 April 2018)
Mondrian spent the World War I years in his native Netherlands. When the war ended, Mondrian returned to Paris, where "an atmosphere of intellectual freedom enabled him to embrace an art of pure abstraction. Mondrian began producing grid-based paintings in late 1919, and in 1920, the style for which he came to be renowned began to appear."(4)
Mondrian spent the World War I years in his native Netherlands. When the war ended, Mondrian returned to Paris, where "an atmosphere of intellectual freedom enabled him to embrace an art of pure abstraction. Mondrian began producing grid-based paintings in late 1919, and in 1920, the style for which he came to be renowned began to appear."(4)
Thus, Mondrian was in his late 40's before he began painting in the noncolor:primary color:straight line style that he is known for and which make these paintings instantly recognizable as "Mondrians".
Thus, Mondrian was in his late 40's before he began painting in the noncolor:primary color:straight line style that he is known for and which make these paintings instantly recognizable as "Mondrians".
An excellent summary of Mondrian's thinking about the planes of color and non-color is given in Grange Book's Piet Mondrian (2):
An excellent summary of Mondrian's thinking about the planes of color and non-color is given in Grange Book's Piet Mondrian (2):
The colors of these planes stood for the intensities and values of nature, cleansed and rendered to their primal color states - red, yellow, and blue - and primal noncolor states - black, white, and gray. Black planes performed multiple roles. In addition to their noncolor function, they were structural, determinate, and active. By creating paths of movement for the eye, black planes also added a sense of energy.
As for the his love of horizontal and vertical straight lines, Mondrian wrote, "Vertical and horizontal lines are the expression of two opposing forces; they exist everywhere and dominate everything; their reciprocal action constitutes 'life'. I recognized that the equilibrium of any particular aspect of nature rests on the equivalence of its opposites."
As for the his love of horizontal and vertical straight lines, Mondrian wrote, "Vertical and horizontal lines are the expression of two opposing forces; they exist everywhere and dominate everything; their reciprocal action constitutes 'life'. I recognized that the equilibrium of any particular aspect of nature rests on the equivalence of its opposites."
In September 1938, Mondrian left Paris in the face of advancing fascism and moved to London. After the Netherlands was invaded and Paris fell in 1940, he left London for Manhattan, where he would remain until his death in 1944. Mondrian "had long held a dream of the United States as a land of the future and his paintings as harbingers of a new world image."(2) He is buried in Cypress hIlls Cemetery in Brooklyn.
In September 1938, Mondrian left Paris in the face of advancing fascism and moved to London. After the Netherlands was invaded and Paris fell in 1940, he left London for Manhattan, where he would remain until his death in 1944. Mondrian "had long held a dream of the United States as a land of the future and his paintings as harbingers of a new world image."(2) He is buried in Cypress hIlls Cemetery in Brooklyn.
Composition A (1920) is an early example of Piet Mondrian's trademark style.
One of his best known works is Composition with Red Blue and Yellow (1930)
Broadway Boogie-Woogie (1942-3)
Mondrian style paintwork covers Richard Meyer's City Hall in The Hague (de zeen, 23 Feb 2017)
This video spans Mondrian's career with examples of the various stages of his art - from his impressionistic early paintings through his brief cubist period to the total abstraction of his later years. The paintings are not in chronological order but the title and year of each painting are given.
(1)Kandinsky saw one of Claude Monet's paintings of haystacks at an exhibition in Moscow. He was so moved by the color and composition of the work, that he went closer to find out more about the painting. When he saw the title, he was s bit disappointed - it was then that he realized that the color and composition were far more important than its depiction of a physical landscape.
(2)Piet Mondrian (Grange Books, 2004)
(3)Kandinsky, Mondrian and Rothko are discussed in a paper by James Aksman-Glosz at the University of Sydney. He proposes that their inspirations came from music, architecture, and sound, respectively.
(4) Wikipedia
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Art Nouveau: the fin de siècle movement that took Europe by storm
Art Nouveau: the fin de siècle movement that took Europe by storm
POSTED FEBRUARY 10, 2020
Art Nouveau was a short-lived* movement that captured the imagination of architects, artists and designers primarily in Europe from about 1890 to the First World War. A reaction to industrialization, Art Nouveau works are characterized by sinuous lines and "whiplash" curves inspired by the natural world, often arranged in a decorative scheme that would allow for the repetition of stylistic patterns. The Catalan architect Antonio Gaudi, the French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and the Czech illustrator Alphonse Mucha are among its most famous and influential practitioners.
Art Nouveau was a short-lived* movement that captured the imagination of architects, artists and designers primarily in Europe from about 1890 to the First World War. A reaction to industrialization, Art Nouveau works are characterized by sinuous lines and "whiplash" curves inspired by the natural world, often arranged in a decorative scheme that would allow for the repetition of stylistic patterns. The Catalan architect Antonio Gaudi, the French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and the Czech illustrator Alphonse Mucha are among its most famous and influential practitioners.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Toulouse-Lautrec was a Post-Impressionist painter whose career lasted just a decade. He died at the age of 36 but had a long-lasting influence on the art world. His career coincided with two major developments in 19th-century Paris - "the birth of modern printmaking and the explosion of nightlife culture" made more attractive because of the recent electrification of the city of light. He was the first painter to promote entertainers as celebrities and "elevated the popular medium of the advertising lithograph to the realm of high art."(1)
Toulouse-Lautrec was a Post-Impressionist painter whose career lasted just a decade. He died at the age of 36 but had a long-lasting influence on the art world. His career coincided with two major developments in 19th-century Paris - "the birth of modern printmaking and the explosion of nightlife culture" made more attractive because of the recent electrification of the city of light. He was the first painter to promote entertainers as celebrities and "elevated the popular medium of the advertising lithograph to the realm of high art."(1)
His posters were heavily influenced by Japanese prints and his celebration of entertainers is "similar to the depictions of famous actors, actresses, and courtesans from the so-called floating world of Edo-period". In turn, his style with its "script writing and exaggerated outlines in these posters and paintings became an emblem of the Art Nouveau movement." (2)
His posters were heavily influenced by Japanese prints and his celebration of entertainers is "similar to the depictions of famous actors, actresses, and courtesans from the so-called floating world of Edo-period". In turn, his style with its "script writing and exaggerated outlines in these posters and paintings became an emblem of the Art Nouveau movement." (2)
Above: "At the Moulin Rouge" (1892-1895). The painting includes portraits of dancers and artists at the Moulin Rouge cabaret. The short man center left is Toulouse-Lautrec himself. Right top: several of his posters. Fascinated by the capital city’s colorful nightlife, the French artist created a collection of 363 posters featuring Paris’ most popular cafés, cabarets, and entertainers. Right: Khan Academy discussion of "At the Moulin Rouge."
Alphonse Mucha
Alphonse Mucha
Alphonse Mucha was a Czech painter, illustrator and graphic artist, who lived in Paris during the Art Nouveau period. His decorative panels and posters are his most renowned works, but Mucha's artistic range extended to painting, drawing, and photography and he "dabbled in other mediums such as furniture, theatrical sets, and jewelry." Women were his primary subject, specifically the “new woman,” which celebrated femininity and the socially empowered and engaged woman. (2) His stylized combination of vegetation and beautiful women in his series of decorative panels was an expression of his joyful vision of life, one greatly appreciated by his audience at the time. (3)
Alphonse Mucha was a Czech painter, illustrator and graphic artist, who lived in Paris during the Art Nouveau period. His decorative panels and posters are his most renowned works, but Mucha's artistic range extended to painting, drawing, and photography and he "dabbled in other mediums such as furniture, theatrical sets, and jewelry." Women were his primary subject, specifically the “new woman,” which celebrated femininity and the socially empowered and engaged woman. (2) His stylized combination of vegetation and beautiful women in his series of decorative panels was an expression of his joyful vision of life, one greatly appreciated by his audience at the time. (3)
Mucha's most famous works are probably his posters of the Parisian actress Sarah Bernhardt. The first of these, created at Christmastime in 1894, portrayed Bernhardt starring in the role of Gismonda. The story of how he came to do the poster is related on the Mucha Museum website:
Mucha's most famous works are probably his posters of the Parisian actress Sarah Bernhardt. The first of these, created at Christmastime in 1894, portrayed Bernhardt starring in the role of Gismonda. The story of how he came to do the poster is related on the Mucha Museum website:
Mucha was doing a favour for a friend, correcting proofs at Lemercier’s printing works when Sarah Bernhard called the printer with an urgent order for a new poster for Gismonda. All of the artists who normally worked for Lemercier were on holiday and so he turned to Mucha. A demand order from “the divine Sarah” could not be ignored. The poster that Mucha produced was revolutionary in its genre. The long, narrow shape, soft pastel colours and the stillness of the figure captured in a near-life size produced a surprising sense of dignity and gravity which was quite startling.
Although Mucha rejected the "Art Nouveau" label for his work, there is no question that he saw the hand of fate in the circumstances which led to the creation of this poster and its enormous success. Sarah Bernhardt was so taken by the work that she offered Mucha a six-year contract for the creation of stage and costume designs and posters.
Although Mucha rejected the "Art Nouveau" label for his work, there is no question that he saw the hand of fate in the circumstances which led to the creation of this poster and its enormous success. Sarah Bernhardt was so taken by the work that she offered Mucha a six-year contract for the creation of stage and costume designs and posters.
Above: One of Mucha's decorative panel cycles: "The Four Times of Day"
Right: The Sarah Bernhardt "Gismonda" poster. The poster became so popular among the Parisian public that some collectors would bribe the bill stickers to get it, while others would even cut them out from the hoardings at night. (3)
Antonio Gaudi
Antonio Gaudi
Nestled on the Mediterranean, encircled by wooded mountains, Barcelona is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is also an outdoor museum for the work of the Antonio Gaudi. Besides the Sagrada Familia basilica, there are 20 buildings, monuments and designs by the Catalan architect. His buildings are immediately recognizable and are distinctive examples of Art Nouveau architecture (or, as it is known in Spain, Modernismo or Modernista architecture).
Nestled on the Mediterranean, encircled by wooded mountains, Barcelona is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is also an outdoor museum for the work of the Antonio Gaudi. Besides the Sagrada Familia basilica, there are 20 buildings, monuments and designs by the Catalan architect. His buildings are immediately recognizable and are distinctive examples of Art Nouveau architecture (or, as it is known in Spain, Modernismo or Modernista architecture).
La Padrera, with its famous chimneys, is a sculptured residential building completed in 1911 for the wealthy Mila family.
La Padrera, with its famous chimneys, is a sculptured residential building completed in 1911 for the wealthy Mila family.
The Casa Batlló , built between 1904 and 1906, in the heart of the Passeig de Gràcia, is a colorful jewel. It is not only unique, it is beautiful; the originality and creativity of its form has earned it the nicknames “the house of bones” or “dragon house”. (4)
The Casa Batlló , built between 1904 and 1906, in the heart of the Passeig de Gràcia, is a colorful jewel. It is not only unique, it is beautiful; the originality and creativity of its form has earned it the nicknames “the house of bones” or “dragon house”. (4)
Besides modernism, Gaudi's work was informed by his Catholic faith. Nowhere is this more obvious than in his masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia basilica, which is approaching completion after nearly 150 years of design and construction. This modernist church is in the grand tradition of cathedrals through the ages - but unique in almost every respect from the earlier structures.
Besides modernism, Gaudi's work was informed by his Catholic faith. Nowhere is this more obvious than in his masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia basilica, which is approaching completion after nearly 150 years of design and construction. This modernist church is in the grand tradition of cathedrals through the ages - but unique in almost every respect from the earlier structures.
Symbolism is everywhere in the design of La Sagrada Familia. When complete, the basilica will have 18 towers - representing Jesus and Mary. the twelve apostles, and the four evangelists. The tallest tower (that representing Jesus) rises to a height of 172.5 meters - the same height as Montjuic, the highest point in Barcelona. Gaudi did not want the towers to exceed what God had created in the natural world. The basilica has three grand facades representing the Nativity (east - sunrise), the Passion (west - sunset), Glory (the Resurrection - south). The Nativity facade has three doors, representing Faith, Hope, and Charity. There are two columns with turtles at the base - one on the land side of Barcelona, the other on the sea side.
Symbolism is everywhere in the design of La Sagrada Familia. When complete, the basilica will have 18 towers - representing Jesus and Mary. the twelve apostles, and the four evangelists. The tallest tower (that representing Jesus) rises to a height of 172.5 meters - the same height as Montjuic, the highest point in Barcelona. Gaudi did not want the towers to exceed what God had created in the natural world. The basilica has three grand facades representing the Nativity (east - sunrise), the Passion (west - sunset), Glory (the Resurrection - south). The Nativity facade has three doors, representing Faith, Hope, and Charity. There are two columns with turtles at the base - one on the land side of Barcelona, the other on the sea side.
Art Nouveau artists design with an eye towards nature. The many sculptors who have worked on La Sagrada Familia use geometric (especially curved lines) and nature-based forms inside and out. The columns in the interior of the basilica were created to mimic the branching arms of trees. The light coming through the stained glass windows cascades through the branched columns as light would filter through a forest canopy. The stained glass provides different effects as through the day. Sunrise (Nativity) is filtered through the blues and greens of the stained glass on the east and sunset (Passion) is filtered through the reds, oranges,and yellows of the stained glass on the west. Gaudi spent more than 40 years working on La Sagrada Familia, including 15 years where he lived onsite. In 1926, he was killed in a tram accident and is now buried in a crypt in the basilica. The target completion date is 2026 - the hundredth year of Gaudi's death.
Art Nouveau artists design with an eye towards nature. The many sculptors who have worked on La Sagrada Familia use geometric (especially curved lines) and nature-based forms inside and out. The columns in the interior of the basilica were created to mimic the branching arms of trees. The light coming through the stained glass windows cascades through the branched columns as light would filter through a forest canopy. The stained glass provides different effects as through the day. Sunrise (Nativity) is filtered through the blues and greens of the stained glass on the east and sunset (Passion) is filtered through the reds, oranges,and yellows of the stained glass on the west. Gaudi spent more than 40 years working on La Sagrada Familia, including 15 years where he lived onsite. In 1926, he was killed in a tram accident and is now buried in a crypt in the basilica. The target completion date is 2026 - the hundredth year of Gaudi's death.
Notes:
*Art Nouveau had a brief comeback in the 1960's - influencing the artists who designed the psychedelic rock posters and album covers of that time.
(1) Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History; (2) In Good Taste blog; (3) Mucha Museum website; (4) Barcelona Guide Bureau website
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Art Deco: skyscrapers, locomotives, and 20th century design
Art Deco: skyscrapers, locomotives, and 20th century design
POSTED FEBRUARY 20, 2020
After World War I, Art Nouveau began to feel dated. Contemporary life had become very different from a few decades earlier. It was time for something new, something more "20th century." The response was a movement that came to be known as Art Deco.
After World War I, Art Nouveau began to feel dated. Contemporary life had become very different from a few decades earlier. It was time for something new, something more "20th century." The response was a movement that came to be known as Art Deco.
From this desire to move into the new century in step with innovation rather than being held back by nostalgia, a group of French artistic innovators formed an organization called the Societé des Artistes Décorateurs (The Society of Decorative Artists). The group was comprised of both well-known figures [from the Art Nouveau movement]...along with emerging decorative artists and designers. One of the major goals of the new group was to challenge the hierarchical structure of the visual arts that relegated decorative artists to a lesser status than the more classical painting and sculpting media.
While Art Nouveau was a reaction to industrialization, Art Deco embraced the influence of the industrial revolution. Where Art Nouveau used sinuous lines and curves inspired by the natural world, Art Deco designs were symmetrical and streamlined, attempting to make machine-made objects more aesthetically appealing.
While Art Nouveau was a reaction to industrialization, Art Deco embraced the influence of the industrial revolution. Where Art Nouveau used sinuous lines and curves inspired by the natural world, Art Deco designs were symmetrical and streamlined, attempting to make machine-made objects more aesthetically appealing.
The term Art Deco comes directly from the "Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes" held in Paris in 1925. Its influence is most spectacularly seen in skyscrapers (including the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building and the Chicago Trade Center) but Art Deco practitioners included furniture and lighting designers, decorative artists, sculptors, and architects of more modest buildings. The industrial design pioneer Henry Dreyfuss, known for designing some of the most iconic devices found in American homes and offices in the twentieth century, even designed streamlined Art Deco locomotives.
The term Art Deco comes directly from the "Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes" held in Paris in 1925. Its influence is most spectacularly seen in skyscrapers (including the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building and the Chicago Trade Center) but Art Deco practitioners included furniture and lighting designers, decorative artists, sculptors, and architects of more modest buildings. The industrial design pioneer Henry Dreyfuss, known for designing some of the most iconic devices found in American homes and offices in the twentieth century, even designed streamlined Art Deco locomotives.
Other avant-garde art movements - in particular Bauhaus and De Stijl -influenced the early years of Art Deco's development.
Other avant-garde art movements - in particular Bauhaus and De Stijl -influenced the early years of Art Deco's development.
Art Deco was an exuberant...counterpoint to the more cerebral Bauhaus and De Stijl aesthetics. All three shared an emphasis on clean, strong lines as an organizing design principle. Art Deco practitioners embraced technological innovation, modern materials, and mechanization and attempted to emphasize them in the overall aesthetic of the style itself. (Art Story)
The Great Depression left its mark on Art Deco with later buildings (and their "mostly unornamented exteriors, graceful curves, and horizontal emphases") symbolizing sturdiness, quiet dignity, and resilience.
The Great Depression left its mark on Art Deco with later buildings (and their "mostly unornamented exteriors, graceful curves, and horizontal emphases") symbolizing sturdiness, quiet dignity, and resilience.
Avant-garde movements that influenced Art Deco
Avant-garde movements that influenced Art Deco
A New York Central "Hudson" locomotive given a Henry Dreyfuss-designed streamlined casing
Chrysler Building, New York City, completed in 1931 is an Art Deco–style skyscraper. At 1,046 feet, the structure was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State Building. In 2007, It ranked ninth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects
Empire State Building, New York City, has a roof height of 1,250 feet and stands a total of 1,454 feet (443.2 m) tall, including its antenna. The Empire State Building stood as the world's tallest building for nearly 40 years until the construction of the World Trade Center's North Tower in Lower Manhattan in late 1970.
"Miami's famed South Beach is an architectural treasure chest thanks to over 800 examples of art deco, all of which were built in the years following a devastating hurricane that razed the city in 1926...This towering, neon-lit façade is pure South Beach. At night it’s a glowing blue beacon...The Breakwater Hotel's clean, colorful lines and emphasis on symmetry are emblematic of the stylistic qualities of Art Deco design. Built in 1936, the 99-room boutique hotel was extensively renovated in 1999, making it one of the jewels of Ocean Drive." (Fodor's)
The Art of Jackson Pollock - from Thomas Hart Benton to the "Drip"
The Art of Jackson Pollock - from Thomas Hart Benton to the "Drip"
POSTED MARCH 17, 2020
Jackson Pollock's iconic "drip" paintings, created between 1947 and the mid 1950's, are world-renowned. Their unmistakable style makes them easy to recognize. The technique employed by Pollock is reminiscent of the Surrealist notions of the subconscious and automatic painting.
Although he developed a strong early interest in painting, Pollock was not a naturally-gifted artist. And so, in 1930, the eighteen-year-old Pollock made his way from Cody, Wyoming, to New York City and enrolled in Thomas Hart Benton’s Art Students League class. He struggled to learn the techniques of the Old Masters that Benton taught. Still, the older artist liked Pollock and became a mentor and father figure to him— and Pollock grew to idolize Benton. Writing to his father, Pollock said that Benton “is beginning to be recognized as the foremost American painter today. He has lifted art from the stuffy studio into the world and happenings about him, which has a common meaning to the masses.” (1)
Benton wanted to create a distinctly American form of art that drew on the richness of the objective world and that would appeal to the common man and address universal themes. In 1935, Benton left New York to become the head of the painting department at the Kansas City Art Institute. With his mentor gone, Pollock unraveled personally, but he also began finding his own voice as an artist. (1) Benton had declared himself an "enemy of modernism" and became a leader in the naturalistic and representational art movement known as Regionalism. Pollock, influenced by Picasso, Miro, and the Surrealists, started experimenting in abstract painting and became a leading figure in the American abstract expressionist movement - achieving in a very different way the American art movement that Benton had tried to establish.
The New Deal's WPA and, later, Peggy Guggenheim provided Pollock with a source of income as he developed his unique style. An admirer of the murals of the Mexican artists José Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera, Pollock himself produced murals and paintings for the WPA Federal Art Project from 1935 to 1942. Although the Federal Art Project favored more realistic styles, many of the younger artists, such as Pollock, were able to execute more abstract designs in their murals. (4) In 1943, Pollock briefly worked as a maintenance man at the Museum of Non-Objective Painting (forerunner to the Guggenheim Museum). Later that year, Peggy Guggenheim gave him a contract that lasted through 1947, permitting him to devote all his time to painting. (3)
Two works from this period that illustrate Pollock's artistic development are "Pasiphaë" and "Mural"
"Pasiphaë" (1943) gets its name from the myth of the Cretan princess Pasiphae who gave birth to the half-man, half-bull Minotaur. The Minotaur had been a favorite motif of Picasso and of the Surrealists, whose literary magazine was "Minotaure." The Metropolitan Museum of Art describes this large painting (8' wide x almost 5' tall) as a forerunner of the drip paintings:
"Pollock’s Pasiphaë confronts the viewer with a maelstrom of swirling and angular lines and broken forms, all pressed up to the front of the picture plane—an allover effect later seen in his "drip" canvases. The painter developed this novel interpretation of the Surrealist technique of automatism (which taps the artist’s unconscious to compose the image) by creating dozens of colored drawings, a selection of which is on view nearby. Amid the chaos are barely discernible sentinel-like forms on both sides of a prostrate figure in the center."
In 1943, Pollock received a commission to create a mural for the entryway to Peggy Guggenheim's townhouse. The resulting "Mural" was immediately recognized as a turning point in American art. Jackson-Pollock.org describes the differences between this and his earlier works as well as the influences that moved him to this direction:
"Where Pollock's early works were dark interpretations of Thomas Hart Benton's figurative Regionalism, Mural displays an abstract, expressionist vigor. There are many influences from Pollock's life and studies present in Mural - Benton's energetic rhythms, the swirling colors of the American artist Albert Pinkham Ryder, and even the harsh blacks of the Spanish Baroque artist El Greco. The work of the Mexican muralists Diego Rivera inspired him, as did the abstraction bordering on the figurative that originated with the artist to whom Pollock owed the most, Pablo Picasso. We can also see influences from his Jungian psychoanalysis, from the Native American art he had seen as a child, and from the surrealist technique of automatism, which attempted to abandon conscious control in order to allow the unconscious mind to guide the hand.
"When Pollock painted Mural, he redefined not only the limits of his own abilities but also the possibilities of painting. Pollock's innovation provided a new direction for artist - he had combined the method of easel painting and an abstract style into the large scale of the traditional mural."
Pollock admitted Benton's influence as well as his own frustration at not being able to create the effect he wanted in a conversation with his friend, fellow artist Henry Jackson:
Around 1947 he told a friend, artist Harry Jackson, that his intention for Mural was to paint a stampede of horses, but he lost control of the painting because he lacked the discipline and skill to execute a figurative mural. “He got mad,” Jackson recalled Pollock saying, “and started to sling the paint onto the canvas to create the driving, swirling action and thrust the composition and the heroic size demanded.” Jackson said that Pollock “admired Tom Benton, and he wanted to be able to do what Tom dreamed of doing, that is, to make Great and Heroic paintings for America. He was painfully aware of not being able to do it the way he wished and he was determined to do it the way he could.” (1)
And so we come to Pollock's drip paintings, which are among the most valued on the art market. Jackson-Pollock.org (2) describes the technique and Pollock's comments regarding it:
"Pollock's method was based on his earlier experiments with dripping and splattering paint on ceramic, glass, and canvas on an easel. Now, he laid a large canvas on the floor of his studio barn, nearly covering the space. Using house paint, he dripped, poured, and flung pigment from loaded brushes and sticks while walking around it. He said that this was his way of being "in" his work, acting as a medium in the creative process. For Pollock, who admired the sand painting of the American Indians, summoning webs of color to his canvases and making them balanced, complete, and lyrical, was almost an act of ritual."
One of the earliest of the genre is "Full Fathom Five" from 1947.
New York's MOMA has the painting in its collection. MOMA describes "Full Fathom Five" thus:
While its lacelike top layers consist of poured skeins of house paint, Pollock built up the underlayer using a brush and palette knife. A close look reveals an assortment of objects embedded in the surface, including cigarette butts, nails, thumbtacks, buttons, coins, and a key. Though many of these items are obscured by paint, they contribute to the work’s dense and encrusted appearance. The title, suggested by a neighbor, comes from Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, in which the character Ariel describes a death by shipwreck: “Full fathom five thy father lies / Of his bones are coral made / Those are pearls that were his eyes.”
Another is "One: Number 31" from 1950, considered by some as his greatest drip painting.
Also at MOMA, One: Number 31 "exemplifies at a grand scale the radical 'drip' technique":
One is among the largest of his works that bear evidence of [his] dynamic gestures. The canvas pulses with energy: strings and skeins of enamel—some matte, some glossy—weave and run, an intricate web of tans, blues, and grays lashed through with black and white. The way the paint lies on the canvas suggests speed and force, and the image as a whole is dense and lush—yet its details have a delicacy and lyricism...although works like One have neither a single point of focus nor any obvious repetition or pattern, they sustain a sense of underlying order. This and the physicality of Pollock’s method have led to comparisons of his process with choreography, as if the works were the traces of a dance. Some see in paintings like One the nervous intensity of the modern city, others the primal rhythms of nature.
I'll close with what, as of now, is the fifth most expensive painting ever purchased, "Number 17A" from 1948. The painting is in a private collection and is not on public display at this time.
This 1948 piece was executed a year after the artist introduced his famous drip technique. The abundance of paint creates a complex color vortex where top and bottom layers are impossible to differentiate. Smudges of yellow, blue, and black on the fiberboard help soften the image, while three nearly-parallel white brushstrokes grab our attention and direct our gaze diagonally up the image. Jackson's method conveyed a liberating spontaneity sought after in 20th-century art, while appealing to critics eager to identify the essence of "pure painting." (curious.com)
References and "Fair Use" Notice
(1) Artists Network ; (2) Jackson-Pollock.org ; (3) Guggenhein.org ; (4) The Art Story
Images and quotes on this website may be subject to copyright. Their inclusion on this site is within the fair use doctrine of copyright law.
Dadaism: artists respond to World War I
Dadaism: artists respond to World War I
POSTED AUGUST 12, 2020
Refugee artists escaping to neutral Switzerland reacted to the senseless slaughter of World War I by developing a unique style - one that rejected reason, rationality, and order of the emerging capitalist society, instead favoring chaos, nonsense, and anti-bourgeois sentiment.
Refugee artists escaping to neutral Switzerland reacted to the senseless slaughter of World War I by developing a unique style - one that rejected reason, rationality, and order of the emerging capitalist society, instead favoring chaos, nonsense, and anti-bourgeois sentiment.
If the world was going to wage a senseless war, the Dadaists would respond with absurdity. Shelley Esaak at ThoughtCo puts it this way:
If the world was going to wage a senseless war, the Dadaists would respond with absurdity. Shelley Esaak at ThoughtCo puts it this way:
"Banding together in a loosely knit group, these writers and artists used any public forum they could find to challenge nationalism, rationalism, materialism, and any other -ism that they felt had contributed to a senseless war. If society was going in this direction, they said, we'll have no part of it or its traditions, most particularly artistic traditions. We, who are non-artists, will create non-art since art (and everything else in the world) has no meaning anyway."
Although it had a brief life - from about 1915 to 1923 - dadaism spread from its Zurich origins to Berlin, Paris, Hanover, Cologne, the Netherlands and New York. Among the most famous members of the movement (or non-movement as its adherents said) were Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray and Max Ernst. [1, 2]
Marcel Duchamp was the first artist to use a "readymade," a work of art made from manufactured materials. His Fountain from 1917 (sidebar), an upside down urinal labeled with a fictitious name, became iconic of the irreverence of the Dada movement towards both traditional artistic values and production techniques. By removing the urinal from its everyday environment and placing it in an art context, Duchamp was questioning basic definitions of art as well as the role of the artist in creating it. The ironic title is a sideswipe at the famous fountains of the Baroque and Renaissance eras - a step he would take further by painting a mustache on a copy of the Mona Lisa. [3]
Hannah Höch was a key creator of the self-conscious practice of collaging diverse photographic elements from different sources to make art. This strategy of combining formerly unrelated images to make sometimes startling, sometimes insightful connections was one that came to be adopted by many Dada and Surrealist artists of her era, and also by later generations of "post-modern" conceptual artists. The title of the work in the sidebar, Cut with a Kitchen Knife Dada through the Last Weimar Beer Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany (1919), refers to the decadence, corruption, and sexism of pre-war German culture. Larger and more political than her typical montages, this anti-art work highlights the polarities of Weimer politics by juxtaposing images of establishment people with intellectuals, radicals, entertainers, and artists. The newly enfranchised women of Germany would soon "cut" through the male "beer-belly" culture. Her inclusion of commercially produced designs in her montages broke down distinctions between modern art and crafts, and between the public sphere and domesticity. [3]
Man Ray was an American artist who spent most of his working years in France. He is most known for his black and white rayographs [sidebar], which are "photographs made by placing objects directly on sensitized paper and exposing them to light. These works, with their often strange combination of objects and ghostly appearance, reflected the Dada interest in chance and the nonsensical. As other Dada artists liberated painting and sculpture from its traditional role as a representational art, Ray did the same for photography - in his hands it was no longer a mirror of nature." [3]
Dada influenced future art and political movements for decades after it had passed from the scene. [3, 4, 5]
-Dada's tradition of irrationality and chance led directly to the Surrealist love for fantasy and expression of the imaginary. Several artists were members of both groups since their works acted as a catalyst in ushering in an art based on a relaxation of conscious control over art production.
-The Pop Art movement of the mid-twentieth century is a descendant of Dadaism in the way it mocks the established art world by appropriating images from the street, the supermarket, the mass media, and presents it as art in itself.
-The Cold War Dadas led in the fight for internationalism, peace and anti-militarism during the nuclear Cold War. Mass anti-Vietnam War activism arose in America in the 1960's. The style of these political protests , which came to the forefront in the late 1960s via mock trials, Yippies, and guerrilla theater, can be traced back to the actions of the Dadaists during World War I.
Sidebar images from top: Marcel Duchamp Fountain (1917), Hannah Höch Cut with a Kitchen Knife Dada through the Last Weimar Beer Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany (1919), Man Ray Rayograph 1922
References: [1] "What is Dadaism...?" (ArtWorld) [2] "What is Dada Art?" (ThoughtCo] [3] The Art Story [4] Art Movements [5] Institute for Policy Studies
Fair Use: Images and quotes on this website may be subject to copyright. Their inclusion on this site is intended to be within the fair use doctrine of copyright law.
The many realities of Paul Klee
The many realities of Paul Klee
NOVEMBER 1, 2020
"First of all, the art of living; then as my ideal profession, poetry and philosophy, and as my real profession, plastic arts; in the last resort, for lack of income, illustrations." — Paul Klee
"First of all, the art of living; then as my ideal profession, poetry and philosophy, and as my real profession, plastic arts; in the last resort, for lack of income, illustrations." — Paul Klee
Descriptions of Paul Klee and his work often start with how uncategorizable he is. Klee's highly individualized style has been associated with Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, Surrealism, and Abstraction, but his works are difficult to classify. He worked in many different media— among them oil paint, watercolor, ink, pastel, and etching, and he often combined them in one work. [1]
Descriptions of Paul Klee and his work often start with how uncategorizable he is. Klee's highly individualized style has been associated with Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, Surrealism, and Abstraction, but his works are difficult to classify. He worked in many different media— among them oil paint, watercolor, ink, pastel, and etching, and he often combined them in one work. [1]
Klee was an excellent draftsman who experimented with and deeply explored color theory, writing about it extensively; his lectures "Writings on Form and Design Theory" (published in English as "The Paul Klee Notebooks") are held to be as important for modern art as Leonardo da Vinci's A Treatise on Painting for the Renaissance. [1]
Klee was an excellent draftsman who experimented with and deeply explored color theory, writing about it extensively; his lectures "Writings on Form and Design Theory" (published in English as "The Paul Klee Notebooks") are held to be as important for modern art as Leonardo da Vinci's A Treatise on Painting for the Renaissance. [1]
In his artwork we see reflections of many of the ideas that inform his painting [2, 3]:
In his artwork we see reflections of many of the ideas that inform his painting [2, 3]:
- his personal philosophy ("a transcendentalist who believed that the material world was only one among many realities open to human awareness")
- knowledge and love of music (Klee "saw analogies between music and visual art, such as in the transient nature of musical performance and the time-based processes of painting, or in the expressive power of color as being akin to that of musical sonority")
- appreciation of children's art (Paul Klee: "Children also have artistic ability, and there is wisdom in their having it! The more helpless they are, the more instructive are the examples they furnish us; and they must be preserved free of corruption from an early age.")
- obsession with color (Paul Klee: "Color possesses me. I don't have to pursue it. It will possess me always, I know it. That is the meaning of this happy hour: Color and I are one. I am a painter.”)
- willingness to blur the distinction between writing and painting (by "exploring a new expressive, and largely abstract or poetic language of pictorial symbols and signs")
Born in Switzerland, Paul Klee spent much of his professional life in Germany. He was associated with Der Blaue Reiter artists in the 1910's and later taught at the Bauhaus for 10 years and then at the Dusseldorf Academy from 1931 to 1933. In 1933, he was singled out by a Nazi newspaper, his home was searched, and he was fired from his position. The Klee family emigrated to Switzerland later that year. In 1937 in Germany, seventeen of Klee's pictures were included in an exhibition of "Degenerate art" and 102 of his works in public collections were seized by the Nazis.
Born in Switzerland, Paul Klee spent much of his professional life in Germany. He was associated with Der Blaue Reiter artists in the 1910's and later taught at the Bauhaus for 10 years and then at the Dusseldorf Academy from 1931 to 1933. In 1933, he was singled out by a Nazi newspaper, his home was searched, and he was fired from his position. The Klee family emigrated to Switzerland later that year. In 1937 in Germany, seventeen of Klee's pictures were included in an exhibition of "Degenerate art" and 102 of his works in public collections were seized by the Nazis.
Paul Klee died from an autoimmune disease in Switzerland in 1940. His legacy comprises about 9000 works of art. His paintings, which are at times "fantastic, childlike, or otherwise witty", served as an inspiration to the abstract expressionists of the New York School, as well as many other artists of the 20th century. [1, 3]
Paul Klee died from an autoimmune disease in Switzerland in 1940. His legacy comprises about 9000 works of art. His paintings, which are at times "fantastic, childlike, or otherwise witty", served as an inspiration to the abstract expressionists of the New York School, as well as many other artists of the 20th century. [1, 3]
Below are a few of Paul Klee's most famous paintings along with a YouTube video highlighting his works [bottom left]. For more on Klee's influence on the New York School, see link bottom right.
Below are a few of Paul Klee's most famous paintings along with a YouTube video highlighting his works [bottom left]. For more on Klee's influence on the New York School, see link bottom right.
Completed in 1922, Senecio [below left] is a manifestation of Paul Klee's sense of humor and appreciation of African culture. The portrait is also called "Head of a Man Going Senile" and intentionally mimics children's artwork by using ambiguous shapes and forms with minimal facial details. [2]
Completed in 1922, Senecio [below left] is a manifestation of Paul Klee's sense of humor and appreciation of African culture. The portrait is also called "Head of a Man Going Senile" and intentionally mimics children's artwork by using ambiguous shapes and forms with minimal facial details. [2]
Red Balloon, also completed in 1922, is at once a cluster of delicately colored, floating geometric shapes and a charming cityscape. The colorful display of geometric shapes seemingly floating in the air, offers a unique image. The cityscape background compliments the vision of vibrant shades of red, yellow, blue and green. Klee skillfully directs the eye to the lone red circular balloon set center stage with his use of shape and form. [2, 4]
Red Balloon, also completed in 1922, is at once a cluster of delicately colored, floating geometric shapes and a charming cityscape. The colorful display of geometric shapes seemingly floating in the air, offers a unique image. The cityscape background compliments the vision of vibrant shades of red, yellow, blue and green. Klee skillfully directs the eye to the lone red circular balloon set center stage with his use of shape and form. [2, 4]
Fish Magic (1928) is set within the tradition of German Romanticism, with its blend of fantasy and natural empiricism, of poetry and pragmatics. In this painting, made in the middle of the artist's period at the Bauhaus, the aquatic, celestial, and earthly realms intermingle. They do so in an inky black atmosphere of indeterminate scale and scope, where fish and flora float among human beings and clock towers. [2]
Fish Magic (1928) is set within the tradition of German Romanticism, with its blend of fantasy and natural empiricism, of poetry and pragmatics. In this painting, made in the middle of the artist's period at the Bauhaus, the aquatic, celestial, and earthly realms intermingle. They do so in an inky black atmosphere of indeterminate scale and scope, where fish and flora float among human beings and clock towers. [2]
In Greek mythology, Mount Parnassus was the abode of goddesses who inspired artists and Klee’s Ad Parnassum (1932) has been an inspiration for many modern artists. Considered his masterpiece, the painting "highlights the skills with color of the master of color." Inspired by a trip to Egypt, the composition is dominated by the shape of a pyramid outlined with stamped lines. The structure could also be interpreted as the roof of a house or a mountain and was likely inspired by the Egyptian pyramids, the Niesen that overlooks Lake Thun in the artist's home country, and the titular Mount Parnassus. [1, 5]
In Greek mythology, Mount Parnassus was the abode of goddesses who inspired artists and Klee’s Ad Parnassum (1932) has been an inspiration for many modern artists. Considered his masterpiece, the painting "highlights the skills with color of the master of color." Inspired by a trip to Egypt, the composition is dominated by the shape of a pyramid outlined with stamped lines. The structure could also be interpreted as the roof of a house or a mountain and was likely inspired by the Egyptian pyramids, the Niesen that overlooks Lake Thun in the artist's home country, and the titular Mount Parnassus. [1, 5]
References: [1] Wikipedia [2] paulklee.net [3] The Art Story [4] Totally History [5] Learnodo-Newtonic
Mark Rothko's Color Fields
Mark Rothko's Color Fields
POSTED AUG 4, 2021
Mark Rothko (1903-1970) was a prominent figure in the New York School of Abstract Expressionists of the mid-twentieth century. He created works in many styles from the figurative to the surrealist before his search for new forms of expression led to his Color Field paintings, which employ shimmering bold blocks of color to convey a sense of spirituality. Heavily influenced by mythology and philosophy, he was insistent that his art was filled with content, and brimming with ideas. His thoughts on art are expressed in books such as The Art of Transcendence and The Artist's Reality. [sidebar] A champion of social revolutionary thought and the right to self-expression, Rothko also expounded his views on these topics in numerous essays and critical reviews. [1]
When Rothko was 10 years old, spurred by the anti-Semite pogroms sweeping the region, his family emigrated to America from Latvia, which was then part of the Russian Empire - a jarring shift that left him with the perpetual feeling of being an outsider. Less than a year after his arrival, Rothko’s father died. Although he studied briefly at Yale, Mark Rothko was a voracious reader and a primarily self-taught artist. [2, 3]
The signature style of Mark Rothko's paintings was termed Color Field painting. He spearheaded this movement with an approach that reduced art to a series of regions of single colors, loosely blended into each other where ever they met. Bold blocks of color were given featured edges and together made up these abstract compositions. Rothko produced many of these artworks on huge canvases which he hoped would encourage the viewer to become immersed in color, by actually stepping nearer the piece than they might otherwise have done. [4] To fully appreciate the paintings, one should view them in person. PBS provides a list of locations where you can see Rothko's paintings.
That said, below are several of Rothko's paintings and extracts from the museum sites where they can be seen.
Sources: [1] The Art Story [2] Artsy.net [3] Wikipedia [4] MarkRothko.org
Fair Use Notice: Images and quotes on this website may be subject to copyright. Their inclusion on this site is intended to be within the fair use doctrine of copyright law.
Mark Rothko on art and other subjects
Mark Rothko on art and other subjects
"If you are only moved by color relationships, you are missing the point. I am interested in expressing the big emotions - tragedy, ecstasy, doom."
"The most important tool the artist fashions through constant practice is faith in his ability to produce miracles when needed."
"Pictures must be miraculous... a revelation, an unexpected and unprecedented resolution of an eternally familiar need."
“A painting is not a picture of an experience, but is the experience.”
“The romantics were prompted to seek exotic subjects and to travel to far off places. They failed to realize that, though the transcendental must involve the strange and unfamiliar, not everything strange or unfamiliar is transcendental.”
“A picture lives by companionship, expanding and quickening in the eyes of the sensitive observer."
"Silence is so accurate."
“It is really a matter of ending this silence and solitude, of breathing and stretching one's arms again.” ― Mark Rothko
“You’ve got sadness in you, I’ve got sadness in me – and my works of art are places where the two sadnesses can meet, and therefore both of us need to feel less sad.” ― Mark Rothko
"Violet, Black, Orange, Yellow on White and Red" (1949)
81 1/2 x 66 inches (207 x 167.6 cm)
Guggenheim, New York City
"For the next 20 years he would explore the expressive potential of stacked rectangular fields of luminous colors. Like other New York School artists, Rothko used abstract means to express universal human emotions, earnestly striving to create an art of awe-inspiring intensity for a secular world...Some art historians have cited their compositional similarity to Romantic landscape painting and Christian altar decoration. Anne Chauve suggests...that the stacked rectangles may be read vertically as an abstracted Virgin bisected by horizontal divisions that indicate the supine Christ."
"Earth and Green" (1955)
91 x 73 1/2 inches (231.5 x 187 cm)
Museum Ludwig, Koeln, Germany
"From 1950 on [Mark Rothko] painted floating, monochrome planes focused...on the impact of color. Along with Barnett Newman he is one of the leading exponents of Color Field Painting of the 1950s. In this painting two rectangles are arranged parallel to one another on a blue background. Through their blurred and hazy contours the forms seem to float in a blue space and to almost disappear in it. As such, the dissolution of the chromatic structure creates a meditative, supernatural effect."
"Black on Gray" (1969 - 70)
80 1/8 x 69 1/8 inches (203.3 x 175.5 cm)
Guggenheim, New York City
"For art historian Anna Chave, Rothko's mature paintings metaphorically encompass the cycle of life from cradle to grave, in part by harboring an oblique reference to both adorations and entombments. ..The Black Paintings...confirm Rothko’s belief that his work encompassed tragedy. The desolation of canvases such as Untitled (Black on Gray), drained of color and choked by a white border—rather than suggesting the free-floating forms or veiled layers of his earlier work—indicate that, as Rothko asserted, his paintings are [also] about death."
Pop art sculptor Claes Oldenburg
Pop art sculptor Claes Oldenburg
POSTED JULY 26, 2022
Claes (pronounced klahs) Oldenburg, one of the icons of the Pop Art movement, passed away July 18 at the age of 93. Best known for his monumental scale works featuring ordinary objects, his "audacious, witty, and profound works changed the way we understand and see art in the world." [1]
The son of a Swedish diplomat stationed in New York, Oldenburg was born in Stockholm in 1929, spent much of his youth in America, studied literature and art history at Yale, and became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1953. In the 1960's he became identified with the Pop Art movement, which had emerged in Great Britain and the United States during the mid- to late-1950s. A reaction to Abstract Expressionism, the Pop Art movement included imagery from popular and mass culture, such as advertising, comic books and mundane mass-produced objects and aimed to blur the boundaries between "high" art and "low" culture. The concept that there is no hierarchy of culture and that art may borrow from any source has been one of the most influential characteristics of Pop Art. Unlike his better known Pop Art contemporaries, such as the painters Andy Warhol and Ray Lichtenstein, he was one of the first Pop Art sculptors.
In 1961 Claes Oldenburg rented a storefront, called it The Store, and stocked it with stuffed, crudely-painted forms resembling diner food, cheap clothing, and other mass-manufactured items that stupefied an audience accustomed to the non-representational forms in Abstract Expressionist sculpture. These so-called "soft-sculptures" are now hailed as the first sculptural expressions in Pop art.
Pastry Case, 1 from 1961-62 is on display at MOMA in New York City. It gives us an idea of what a visitor to The Store might have seen.
"A plate of frosted cookies, two sundaes, a cake, an oversized rack of ribs, and a half-eaten caramel apple vie for our attention inside a display case. Roughly to scale, these unappetizing models of classic American diner fare reach out to us, rather like embarrassing relatives...[Oldenburg's] brilliance is in the balance he strikes between irony and earnestness in his references to American culture." [3]
Unlike most of his Pop art peers, Oldenburg's work conveyed an unambiguously anti-war message at the height of U.S. military intervention in Vietnam. Amidst the 1969 student protests against the Vietnam War, a monumental tube of lipstick sprouting from a military vehicle appeared, uninvited, on the campus of Yale University. Oldenburg had engaged students at his alma mater to create "Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks" and it became the site of antiwar protests in the ensuing months. The original [below left] was not intended to be permanent and remained in Beinecke Plaza for ten months before Oldenburg removed it in order to remake the form in metal. The resulting sculpture [below right] was placed in a less-prominent spot on Yale’s campus, where it remains to this day. The first public artwork installed by the artist, it solidified his alignment with the peace movement, and shaped his goals for his larger future works. [3, 5]
" In the original version, the lipstick was capped with a flimsy fabric peak that required the activation of a mechanical pump to inflate, and rose over twenty feet in the air from the plywood base, fashioned in the shape of an army tank which functioned as a speaker platform. The double reference to female excitement and male impotence was designed to call attention to the absurdity of U.S. military aggression, and served as a rallying point for the fierce, impassioned anti-war demonstrations of that year. It was removed, ostensibly for the purposes of structural maintenance, and later replaced with the painted metal version shown here, reinstalled on campus outside the Morse College building." [3]
Claes Oldenburg's most memorable works are the monumental works, often created with his wife Coosje van Bruggen, scattered across the country. See link below for Clothespin (Philadelphia, 1976), Spoon Bridge and Cherry (Minneapolis, 1988), Binoculars (Venice California, 1991), Shuttlecocks (Kansas City, 1994), Saw, Sawing (Tokyo, 1996), and Cupid's Span (San Francisco, 2002).
The creative process that led to "Shuttlecocks" is detailed on the Oldenburg-van Bruggen website. Asked to design a large-scale project for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Oldenburg describes how the work evolved from Native American headdress feathers to tennis balls to shuttlecocks:
"What if, as Coosje suggested, feathers were combined with the ball form to become a shuttlecock, a lyrical object, with the ability to float, spin, fly, and land in many different ways? We proposed three 17-foot-high shuttlecock sculptures for the lawn, each in a different position. Although their placement appeared to be random, the shuttlecocks were actually located at strategic points that would bring the far reaches of the site together. A fourth shuttlecock, in an inverted position reminiscent of a tepee, 'landed' on the other side of the museum." [4]
The link below to MOMA's tribute includes his iconic 1961 artist statement and some words from those who knew him.
Sources: [1] MOMA [2] The Art Story-1 [3] The Art Story -2 [4] Oldenburg Van Bruggen website [5] Smart History Wikipedia
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