 |
| Tuchiya Koitsu - Full Moon at Akashi Beach, 1934 |
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Henri-Joseph Harpignies - Moonrise, 1885
 |
| Henri-Joseph Harpignies - Moonrise, 1885 Oil on canvas, 87.6 x 163.2 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
Henri Rousseau (1844-1910) - La Seine à Suresnes
 |
| Henri Rousseau (1844-1910) - La Seine à Suresnes oil on canvas, 46,1 x 55,2 cm Private collection |
Rousseau painted this moonlit landscape in Suresnes, a suburb west of Paris just beyond Puteaux which would later become the epicenter of the Salon Cubists. The artist angles the composition towards the city, juxtaposing the relative calm of these riverbanks with an icon of the industrial age - the Eiffel Tower. Gustave Eiffel constructed his tower in 1889 as an entrance to the World's Fair. Shortly after its conception, writers and artists such as Guy de Maupassant and Adolphe Bougereau viewed the tower as a monstrosity and vehemently protested its construction. The completed structure, originally meant to be temporary, was viewed with such controversial awe that it remained, becoming one of the most important landmarks in Europe. Rousseau celebrates the controversial emblem of France in this painting, softening its harsh angularity into a gently bending form that appears part of the organic landscape.
Though he is often referred to as an untrained artist, Henri Rousseau put forth a sophisticated approach to representation in his paintings. Though La Seine à Suresnes is characterized by the childlike honesty of Rousseau's style, the work also presents a tactility of form that would become a beacon for future generations of artists - Picasso and Derain, for example would turn to Rousseau's example in the early stages of Cubism. The simplified geometries of the domestic structures, fortress and rolling hills in the present composition are indeed startling and their influence can be seen in art of the avant-garde. The contemporary critic Gustave Coquiot wrote that Rosseau had “such style, such inventiveness, such a rare deployment of qualities; and above all he offers such a love, such personal generosity, such a gift of his naked heart, such absence of falsehood, of insincerity, that we can rightly speak of Rousseau’s contribution to painting as both generous and unique” (quoted in Henri Rousseau (exhibition catalogue), The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1985, p. 37).
Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) - Uttewalder Grund, 1825
 |
| Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) - Uttewalder Grund, 1825 oil on canvas, 91,5x70,5 cm Lentos Art Museum, Linz |
Enchanted moonlight beams dully over a dramatic rocky landscape. A man is on the left in the picture and it seems that he is most affected by the scenery. This image by Caspar David Friedrich was created in 1825. It is known that the painter himself repeatedly went to the scene to absorb the fascination of this rustic rock landscape of the remote Saxon Switzerland. Today, this location is part of the national park and retreat area for endangered species such as the eagle owl.
Now the painter was first and foremost an artist and not a naturalist. That is why the motif of the picture is to be understood in such a way that the dramatic and the size of the landscape interested him as a symbol for the emotional romance. The gloomy and eerie gorge cast a spell over the painter. The strong effects of contrasts light and dark are created by the full moonlight and the dark pine forest. In between lies a deep forest, covered in clouds of fog, and the fuzzy outline of the steep mountain walls is an intangible location.
The man is standing in the backlight of the moonlight. His body contours are surrounded by light light. The creek in front of him comes from a waterfall that lies magically hidden in the depths of the landscape. Large boulders have been placed in the creek by the artist. Whether it is a natural image or artistic composition? In any case, the stones guide the viewer's gaze from the front back into the picture. The unspoiled scenery is additionally increased dramatically by fallen trees on the right side of the stream. The image Uttewalder reason initially oppressive and melancholy. On closer inspection, however, the moonlight on the illuminated cloud at the top of the picture and on the watercourse gives a conciliatory light on the landscape. It seems as if the world is at a standstill and the gloomy gorge with the green firs is changing into a protective, self-contained nature. The picture stands for the greatness of nature, the loneliness and the initially perceived menacing darkness. It also brightens up in the romantic sense for a glimpse of the next morning, which will again be supported by the sun's rays.
Aert van der Neer - A wide river landscape with four cows, 1677
 |
| Aert van der Neer - A wide river landscape with four cows, 1677 Oil on oak panel, 26 x 25 cm Private collection |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)