Paul Sérusier - JEUNE BRETONNE À LA FAUCILLE

-
 

Paul Sérusier
1864 - 1927
JEUNE BRETONNE À LA FAUCILLE
Signed P Sérusier- and dated 1889 (lower right)
Oil on canvas
18 1/4 by 15 1/8 in.
46.1 by 38.4 cm
Painted in 1889

Completed during an important moment in the career of Paul Sérusier, Jeune bretonne à la faucille is the result of the significant stylistic shift that took place in the late 1880s and early 1890s when the artist’s aesthetic became intimately and intrinsically tied to that of Paul Gauguin. Recognized today as a leader of French modernism for his bold experimentations with color, Gauguin first became known to Sérusier in 1888. The two artists would work closely together that year and throughout the summer and fall of 1889 along the coast of Brittany.
Isolated on the extreme western tip of the European continent, the small Breton towns of Pont-Aven and Le Pouldu were virtually untouched by the effects of the rampant industrialization that took hold in many French cities at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Unique for the distinctive cultures and traditions of the local people, their timeless way of life and the raw nature of the landscape, these small towns offered a dramatic contrast to the French capital and were highly romanticized upon their rediscovery. The rich visual material provided by the unspoiled scenery and daily activities of the local peasants would come to preoccupy Sérusier, Gauguin and the other painters known collectively as the Pont-Aven School. Captivated by the simplicity and rustic beauty of this region, Sérusier’s depictions of the local population remain some of his most engaging works.
Painted the year following Sérusier’s initial involvement with Gauguin, Jeune bretonne à la faucille combines the striking palette and bright colorization that are part of a bold artistic vision derived from the influence of Gauguin, with a modern compositional structure that owes much to Japanese printmaking, particularly the work of Utagawa Hiroshige. The decorative treatment of the landscape and the flattening of perspectival space are visible in the present work, where Sérusier has matched a vertiginous view typical of his Breton landscape paintings with a plunging perspective derived from Japanese prints. Sérusier depicts the figure in her traditional dress to the foreground, allowing him to capture the rich color and atmosphere of her environment throughout the background. This dynamic landscape captures the essential character of the rugged landscape setting of Le Pouldu and its inhabitants on the edge of the sea.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pablo Picasso - Nature morte

-
Image
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Nature morte signed and dated 'Picasso 25. Av. 37.' (centre right) oil on canvas 15 x 24 1/8 in. (38 x 61.1 cm.) Painted on 25 April 1937  There is an intensely poetic atmosphere to Nature morte, painted in 1937. Stars are glowing in the night sky, while the foreground is dominated by the accoutrements and accessories of a leisured and contemplative evening. Pipe and book lie alongside a drink and a candelabra, hinting at the passing of an evening of solitary pleasures, both of the mind and of the body. The lyricism of the scene is heightened by the swirling curlicues of the balcony in the background, as though this evening were being spent in the countryside, rather than in Paris. As though it was the Eighteenth Century and a time of peace, rather than a metropolis, with the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. While there is undoubtedly an air of whimsy to Nature morte, the picture - both in terms of composition and content - also reveals...
Read more

gulp - world's largest stop motion animation

-
Image
'gulp' by aardman all images courtesy aardman 'gulp', a short film created by  sumo science  at  aardman , has broken a world record for the 'largest stop-motion animation'. completely shot using a 12-megapixel cellphone camera on a nokia N8, the project was set on 11,000 m2 of sand on south wales' pendine beach. props include a full-scale boat and a rain-jacket clad actor to tell a harrowing episode of a fisherman's time at sea. the short involved a large team that raked and smoothed out patterns on the sand to create a seascape--and the inside of a whale's belly--when viewed from above. shot from a large crane overhead, the images were then compiled to run at 25 frames per second to create the stop-motion effect. make sure to check out the making-up film embedded at the bottom of the page. Gulp. The world's largest stop-motion animation shot on a Nokia N8.  from  Nokia HD  on  Vimeo . camera set up ...
Read more

Paul Cézanne - Ferme en Normandie, été (Hattenville)

-
Image
  Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) Ferme en Normandie, été (Hattenville) oil on canvas 25 5/8 x 31 7/8 in. (65.1 x 81.1 cm.) Painted in 1882  Painted in 1882, Ferme en Normandie, été (Hattenville) is the largest of a series of four works that Paul Cézanne created during a summer sojourn at the home of his friend, the legendary impressionist collector Victor Chocquet, in Hattenville, Normandy. Chocquet, one of the first ardent champions and earliest collectors of Impressionism, was also the first owner of this painting and it remained in his collection until his death. Painted at a time when Cézanne was reaching artistic maturity, Ferme en Normandie, été (Hattenville) exemplifies a crucial moment in the artist’s career, illustrating his move from Impressionism towards his own distinctive and highly influential ‘constructed’ style. With an array of fresh and verdant green tones, the scene is an evocative, poetic vision of a quiet corner of a rural garden bathed in the blissful g...
Read more