ART “4”
“2”-DAY 13 February
v.9.10 |
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Died on 13 February 1592: Jacopo
(or Giacomo) da Ponte Bassano, Bassano del Grappa Italian
painter born in 1515. |
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Born on 13 February 1941: Sigmar
Polke, German Capitalist Realist painter. — Born at Oels, Lower Silesia, he moved with his family in 1953 from East Germany to Willich, near Mönchengladbach, West Germany. After completing an apprenticeship as a painter of stained glass, he began studying in 1961 under Gerhard Hoehme and Karl-Otto Götz at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf. In 1963 together with Konrad Fischer-Lueg and Gerhard Richter (who was also a student of Götz), Polke launched Capitalist Realism in response to Pop art, exhibiting the first works in this genre in Düsseldorf. In paintings such as Biscuits (1964, 80x75cm) Polke took as his motifs such ordinary food items as chocolate, sausages, or biscuits, isolating them and apparently depriving them of their tactility in order to elevate them to the status of aesthetic signs. At about the same time he began producing a series of sketched faces and stylized mannequin-like figures influenced by the work of Francis Picabia, as in Lovers II (1965, 190x142cm). Such Pop-related images, pictured in various combinations and in a number of techniques, became from this time standard elements of Polke's work. They continued to feature, for example, in two series of paintings that he instituted in 1963, Grid Pictures and Fabric Pictures, in both of which he played with codes, disguises and processes by which familiar things were made to seem strange. The Grid Pictures, such as Vase II (1965), were painted with the aid of epidiascopes and slide projections, usually from crude half-toned newspaper photographs; this technical procedure may have been prompted by the example of Andy Warhol's screenprinted paintings based on similar source material. The scattered dots in more complex works such as Crowd (1969, 180×195cm) form a virtually abstract pattern that makes the imagery almost invisible when viewed from near the surface. Graphic alterations help to increase this sense of unfamiliarity, blurring the boundary between the objective reproduction of reality and the subjective production of art. A different process was used for the Fabric Pictures. In these Polke used printed fabrics, which in their triviality reveal the tastelessness of everyday life, as background patterns for gestures and motifs drawn from earlier art and especially from mainstream modernism. Irreconcilable images are brought together, as in Dürer Hare (1968, 80×60cm), in which a hare as drawn by Dürer nestles in the decorative pattern on a piece of cloth. {Dürer's Young Hare (1502, 25x23cm) is a painting.} In works such as Untitled (Referring to Max Ernst) (1981) he continued to appropriate images and techniques from other artists and found materials. Such examinations of accepted opinions about works from the history of art also prompted Polke to produce pictures in which he quoted characteristic features of modern art and commented on them by giving them the appearance of trademarks, as in the exaggerated and crude brushstrokes in Modern Art (1968, 150×125cm). In other paintings, such as Left Hand Lines (1968, 155×125cm), Polke introduced another variation of his attack on conventional ideas about individuality and innate creativity by altering the lines of his own palm. As if to escape sole responsibility as the author of his own work, he even presented some pictures as dictated by forces beyond his control, as in Higher Beings Commanded: Paint the Top Right Corner Black (1969, 150×120cm). In 1973 Polke initiated a series entitled Original and Forgery, in which he both summarized and extended his concern with questions of evaluation. The series, prompted by the theft in 1973 of a painting by Rembrandt from the Münster Kunstverein, included work in various media: small black and white photographs using the title of the series; large paintings representing, in some cases, stolen works of art; commentary in the form of small collages; rows of mirror fragments and neon tubes; and a text written in collaboration with Achim Duchow, Franz Liszt Likes Coming Round to my House to Watch Television. By such means Polke questioned and re-evaluated concepts of reproduction, copy, imitation and mimicry; authorship and copyright; and the fine line between change and reinterpretation bordering on vandalism. From 1970 to 1971 Polke lectured at the Hochschule für Bildende Kunst in Hamburg, and he was made professor there in 1975. After his recovery from a severe illness he traveled widely for a few years, first in Pakistan and Afghanistan and later in Mexico and Australia, where he was confronted by myths and strange images to which he alluded in double-exposed photographs. In the 1980s he concentrated on large gestural paintings such as The Copyist (1982, 260×200cm), in which he worked both with traditional materials and with chemicals, varnishes and mixtures of pigments, solvents and toxins. Streams of varnish wash into each other, accentuated by harsh colors such as orange and bilious green, giving the impression of a veil held over a visionary apparition or hallucination, with images superimposed or showing through. Rusting and other chemical reactions caused by the mixture of such different materials introduce other textures, materials and surfaces, with the artist himself acting not just as the maker of the marks on the canvas but also as a witness to the physical process of formation. The viewer is encouraged to take an active role in dismantling the hidden layers (both literal and metaphorical) of each picture. Polke's love of experiment, of abrupt stylistic changes and of contradiction, irony and mocking distance thus remained essential to his uncategorizable and innovative art. — LINKS — Audacia — Hannibal with his Armored Elephants — Heron Painting II — Ich mach das schon Jess — Lingua Tertii Imperii — Magnetic Landscape — Measuring Clothes — This is how you sit correctly (after Goya) — Tischruecken (Seance) — Two Palm Trees — Woman at the Mirror — Children's Games (1988, 300x225cm; 533x700pix, 270kb) — Klassenzimmer (1995 4-color offset photolithograph, 55x75cm; 1339x1528pix, 342kb) — Lager (1982; 1600x1005pix, 178kb) — In der Oper aka Entscheidung der Frage, ob den Schwämmen Bewusstsein zukommt (1973 offset lithograph; 1063x1600pix, 226kb) gray on green. —(080212) |
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Died on 13 February 1916: Wilhelm
Hammershøi, Copenhagen painter born on 15 May 1864.
— {was he hammer shy ever since being hit on the head with one?} —
He was the brother and teacher of Svend Hammershøi [10 Aug 1873 –
27 Feb 1948]. — Hammershøi attended the Kongelige Akademi for de Skønne Kunster, Copenhagen, under Frederik Vermehren, between 1879 and 1884. He also studied under Frederik Rohde [1816–1886], Vilhelm Kyhn and Peder Severin Krøyer. Hammershøi's style matured early in his life and did not change much during the 30 years of his career. Hammershøi’s first work to be exhibited officially was Portrait of a Young Woman: The Artist’s Sister Anna Hammershøi (1885). In this picture the main characteristics of his distinctive manner of painting portraits and interiors are already evident. He concentrated on the sitter’s expression and stance and omitted anything not essential. The black gown makes a fine point of departure for the blank face, which contrasts with the expressive, fidgety hands, showing the artist’s sympathetic insight into the dreamy world of his younger sister. The simple backdrop — a brownish wall and a white door — emphasizes the image of an isolated figure in an empty room. — Brother and teacher of Svend Hammershøi [10 Aug 1873 — 27 Feb 1948]. — Pintor impresionista y naturalista, uno de los más importantes de Dinamarca. Sus raices se pueden encontrar en la Era Dorada de la tradición de la primera mitad del siglo XIX, aunque permanece profundamente original. Solo maneja un número límitado de géneros bien definidos: interiores - casi siempre de su propia casa - sin ninguna presencia humana, excepto a veces por un caracter femenino, generalmente visto desde atrás, vistas arquitectónicas, paisajes y unos pocos retratos. Hombre secreto y solitario, tuvo pocos amigos. Diaghilev y Rainer Maria Rilke eran sus admiradores. Su obra muestra un parecido extraordinario con algunas tendencias figurativas contemporáneas. Su técnica suave, cautivan la atención de quien lo ve por su enigmática y secreta cualidad y el uso de un limitado rango de colores. — Vilhelm Hammeshøi durante toda su vida se circunscribió a unos cuantos motivos pictóricos: retratos de familiares y amigos cercanos, pinturas de interior de su hogar, edificios monumentales de Copenhague y Londres, y paisajes de Selandia. Los mismos motivos reaparecen una y otra vez. No hay acción en sus cuadros; a éstos los impregna una actitud fundamental y determinada: tras la calma extrema y la inmovilidad, se percibe el acecho de un elemento indefinible y amenazador. Su escala de colores es muy limitada y la domina una variación de tonos grises. Hammershøi fue alumno en la Academia de Arte en Copenhague de 1879 a 1884 y, en 1883, fue además alumno de Krøyer en la Escuela Libre de Estudios para Artistas. A su debut en Charlottenborg en Copenhague, en 1885, había ya encontrado su forma de expresión. Su arte despertó gran admiración, pero también indignación en los círculos más conservadores de la vida artística, siendo rechazados sus trabajos en 1888 y en 1890 por el comité de censura de las exposiciones de la Academia. Ese rechazo fue uno de los motivos por los que, en 1891, y a iniciativa de Johan Rohde, se organizara la Exposición Libre. No fue sino hasta después de 1900 que recibió un reconocimiento oficial. Hammershøi iba frecuentemente de viaje, especialmente a Paris, Londres, Holanda e Italia. No obstante, y a pesar de que se podía identificar rasgos familiares en la pintura internacional de la época entre diferentes artistas, especialmente J.M. Whistler, no es posible encontrar prototipos propiamente dichos para el arte de Hammershøi. — “Hammershøi is not one of those one need talk about in a rush. His work is long and slow and at whatever moment one turns to it, it will always offer ample reason to talk about the most crucial and fundamental things in art.” (Rainer Maria Rilke, 1905) In his own lifetime he was one of the most celebrated artists in Europe. Thereafter his work descended almost fully into oblivion outside his home country, Denmark. Many of Hammershøi’s paintings are interior views of his own apartment in Copenhagen. Resembling a non-stop inner monologue he portrays in a few muted tones and with decisive geometrical stringency his sparsely-furnished apartment. His doors spit insults, the floorboards remain silent. It’s almost as if painting had departed, leaving the world behind it as an interior. Hammershøi’s paintings also include deserted city views and landscapes, as well as enigmatic nudes and portrait paintings. While Hammershøi’s oeuvre speaks entirely for itself, it nonetheless contains visible references to turn-of-the-century Symbolist art movements that reach far beyond Scandinavia. Accordingly Hammershøi can best be appreciated in the context of contemporaries such as Ferdinand Hodler, Fernand Khnopff, Edgar Degas, Emil Nolde, and Félix Valotton. Among them Hammershøi is a major protagonist of the Symbolist movement. Only in the last few years has Vilhelm Hammershøi’s fascinating oeuvre regained international attention. — Hammershøi modtog tegneundervisning tidligt og hans talent blev dyrket af familien, særligt af moderen, fra otteårsalderen. Som ung blev han optaget på Kunstakademiet, hvor han bl.a. studerede hos Vermehren , for derefter at studere ved Kunstnernes Frie Studieskoler, der på daværende tidspunkt var under P.S. Krøyers ledelse. Han debuterede i 1885 ved Charlottenborgs Forårsudstilling med værket Ung Pige, der var et portræt af hans søster Anna Hammershøi. Maleriet blev ikke særlig godt modtaget, til mange af de yngre kunstneres store fortrydelse. Hans talent skaffede ham allerede i hans levetid en plads i verdenskunsten, bl.a. hos den berømte tyske digter og forfatter Rainer Maria Rilke, der formulerede to berømte og meget rammende sætninger om Hammershøis kunst: at han måtte gense hans værk for at høre ham "tale og tie" og at Hammershøis værk var "langt og langsomt". Hammershøis særegne stil er gennemgående i hele hans öuvre, en stil der ikke ændrede sig synderligt over årene. Han havde allerede i portrættet af søsteren Anna indfanget sit eget talent, og hans udvikling rent stilmæssigt må siges kun at bestå af små forskydninger, ikke radikale brud. Hammershøis æstetiske valørmaleri er renset, både set med datidens og nutidens øjne, hvor tiden og stedet er indhyllet i en drømmende, ofte melankolsk og næsten kvælende, metafysisk stemning. Hans værk er kontemplativt, tænkende, og beskriver ikke farten i det gryende moderne liv. Hans omdrejningspunkt blev de lukkede rum, åbne og lukkede døre og figurer der ikke sjældent vender ryggen til beskueren. Motivkredsen omfatter hjemmet, moderen, søsteren, hustruen, de københavnske huse og pladser og rolige billeder af naturen. Hans værker er aldrig anekdotisk fortællende og referencer til tidlig hollandsk kunst og den danske nationalromantik findes kun stilistisk set; indholdet er et ganske andet. Selvom Hammershøi stilmæssigt ikke ligger så langt fra genremaleriets idealer, var han indholdsmæssigt langt tættere på de nye strømninger der kom til at præge 1890'erne og begyndelsen af det nye århundrede. Han var med i kredsen der startede Den frie Udstillingsbygning, en nær ven af J.F. Willumsen og i kontakt med mange af de kunstnere og forfattere der kaldte sig (og senere har fået betegnelsen) symbolister. — LINKS — Hvile (1905; 700x631pix, 172kb) almost monochrome — Sunlit Room (1905; 600x472pix) — (Girl Embroidering?) (882x833pix, 53kb) — Warning: the following links are to images that are small; and some of them are of inferior quality. — Self Portrait — The painter and his wife (1898; 544x654pix, 16kb) — The painter's sister (1885) — InWeiße Türen/Offene Türen (1904) — Interieur 1904 (part of a dining room) — Gentofter See (1903) — Fredriksborg Castle (1894) — Interior (1906?? =1899 !) — The British Museum (1905) — Specks of Dust in the Sun's Rays (1900) — Ida Isted (1890) — Amalienborg Square (1896) — The Music Room (1907) — Nude (1909) — The four rooms (1914) — Interior (1899, 64x58cm) _ As in this case, the interiors by the Danish artist Hammershøi are usually of his own house in Copenhagen. Several others also include a figure seen from behind, but many are of the empty rooms. He travelled and exhibited in Europe, and was well known in London early in this century. He had lived here in 1896-1897, partly in the hope of meeting Whistler, whom he admired. — In December 1898 Hammershøi moved into the old merchant house at Strandgade 30, Copenhagen, built in 1636. This painting portrays one of its rooms, and the model is his wife Ida, whom he married in 1891. The table was originally larger and filled most of the foreground, and the figure was added at the end. Pencil underdrawing is visible through the paint layer. The artist painted the interior of this house more than sixty times, sometimes portraying empty rooms, sometimes including the figure of his wife in a long black dress. She is either viewed in profile or from the back, often reading a letter or a book. In all the interiors a sense of stillness prevails, and they show the influence of 17th-century Dutch painting, particularly that of Jan Vermeer. — Interiør, Strandgarde 30, med ung kvinde set fra ryggen (1904) _ The symbolism from about 1900 can be seen in works of L.A.Ring, Vilhelm Hammershøi, Ejnar Nielsen and J.F. Willumsen etc. An example is this Hammerhøi picture of a woman standing with her back turned at the observer. The secrecy of the figure, the big empty wall spaces , the asceticism of the architectonic style and the colors gives the picture an evocative character that suggest a number of symbolical meanings surpassing the mere perception of the painting. — Study (Baker shop) (1888, 113x91cm) _ This is Hammershøi's first study in full size. It is characterized by a strict, horizontal composition. In the foreground is the shop counter, in the background the shelves. The room is dark, with a soft light coming in from the left. Behind the counter, separated from the spectator, is a young girl with her back turned. The bread and cakes in the shop are hardly visible, and it is obvious that the composition, not the situation, was what interested Hammershøi. He doesn't paint a girl working, but a soft shape contrasting with the straight lines of the rest of the room. The beauty of the lines and shapes is the real theme of the image. |
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