Tag Archives: color

Artists in Italy: Maurice Prendergast and John Graham

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New installation of works inspired by Italy in Gallery C. Photo: Joshua Navarro.

New installation of works inspired by Italy in an upstairs gallery in the house. Photo: Joshua Navarro.

From the ancient Romans to the Renaissance, Italy has attracted and inspired artists from around the world for centuries. Many considered their artistic training incomplete without a trip to study from the great masters and to record the beautiful surrounding landscapes of Italy. The styles of art created and employed were just as diverse as the nationalities of the artists that Italy inspired. In a new permanent collection installation in the house, artists both Italian and foreign from the late 19th to the mid-20th century use the common thread of Italian inspiration to interpret landscapes and still life themes that reflect their unique visual vocabulary. This week, I will explore the foreign artists attracted to the beauty of Italy that are represented in the gallery.

Maurice Prendergast, Pincian Hill, Rome, 1898. Watercolor over graphite pencil underdrawing on thick, medium-textured, off-white watercolor paper, 21 x 27 in. (53.34 x 68.58 cm). The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., Acquired 1920.

Maurice Prendergast, Pincian Hill, Rome, 1898. Watercolor over graphite pencil underdrawing on thick, medium-textured, off-white watercolor paper, 21 x 27 in. (53.3 x 68.6 cm). The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., Acquired 1920.

Maurice Prendergast and John D. Graham were two such examples of painters drawn to Italy for its beautiful landscapes. Prendergast, an American born in Newfoundland in 1858 and raised in Boston, studied painting in Britain and Paris before making his grand tour through Italy. In 1898, he traveled to Florence, Siena, Rome, Capri, and Venice, taking in the sights and colors. Pincian Hill, Rome (1898), created on this trip and shown above, shows a street view of Rome depicting not only Italian scenery, but also daily life.

Graham  similarly came upon his Italian source of inspiration by way of travel. Born in Ukraine in 1886, Graham escaped Bolshevik imprisonment and immigrated to the United States in 1920. After moving to America, he visited Asia, Africa, and Western Europe. His works Mountain Village (1927), seen below,  and Palermo (1928) depict beautiful Italian landscapes defined by vivid colors and geometric forms.

Tomorrow, I’ll discuss works by Joseph Stella and Giorgio De Chirico.

Drew Lash, Curatorial Intern

John Graham, Mountain Village, 1927. Oil on canvas, 16 x 20 in. (40.6 x 50.8 cm). The Phillips Collection, Washington ,D.C., Acquired by 1929, possibly 1927.

John Graham, Mountain Village, 1927. Oil on canvas, 16 x 20 in. (40.6 x 50.8 cm). The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., Acquired by 1929, possibly 1927.

 

Controlled Disorganization: Ellsworth Kelly at the Barnes

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sculpture for a large wall by Ellsworth Kelly

Ellsworth Kelly (American, b. 1923). Sculpture for a Large Wall, 1956–1957. Anodized aluminum, 104 panels, 136 x 782 1/2 x 12 in. (345.4 x 1987.6 x 30.5 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York, gift of Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder, 1998. © Ellsworth Kelly. Image: © 2013 The Barnes Foundation

Earlier this month, my family and I decided to go on a little getaway to Philadelphia specifically to see the newly revamped Barnes Foundation. The Barnes is one of several major art galleries like MoMA, Detroit Institute of the Arts, the National Gallery of Art and The Phillips Collection celebrating Ellsworth Kelly’s 90th birthday by hosting exhibitions of his work.

Having spent many a lunch break exploring the Phillips’s Kelly exhibition (one of the main perks of being an intern in an art museum) I was definitely interested in seeing the Barnes’s exhibition as a means of comparison. The combination of the two shows, and the differences between them, gave me a unique perspective on an artist whose work I was mostly unfamiliar with until recently.

Walking into the exhibition at the Barnes, the first piece you see is Sculpture for a Large Wall, and this was my favorite piece in the exhibit. The sculpture is massive, taking up the entire back wall of the gallery space, and is composed of 104 aluminum panels colored red, yellow, blue, and black. These panels are lined up in various positions along four rows. One of the reasons why this was undeniably my favorite piece in the show was because of its sense of chaos and mayhem, which juxtaposes the serenity and calmness of the other pieces. The panels are not neatly lined up, but rather pointed in every direction, making it feel like a controlled disorganization, which contrasts to the element of perfection seen in his other pieces. Seeing this piece side by side with his other work gave me perspective on the breadth of his work and his unmistakable style.

And, because I always like to end my posts with an interesting tidbit, this was the first time since 1998 that Sculpture for a Large Wall was shown in Philadelphia. The work was commissioned by the Philadelphia Transportation Building in 1957 where it hung until renovations forced its removal in 1998.

Hannah Hoffman, Marketing Intern