There is an immense quantity of art worth seeing and yet, most of us have and will only see a fraction of it. We seem to know some works associated with certain artists because those images are shown over and over again and then there are the artists who deserve to be praised but their output does not get the attention it deserves. I had never before seen any of the works on paper exhibited at Palazzo Zabarella in Padova on loan from the Grenoble Museum in France. I was introduced to two women artists worth of my attention and enriched my knowledge of other better known artists.
This collage, consisting of two drawings glued on to a canvas, show Picasso’s interest in representing the figure in a classical manner but one can already see the Cubism that follows. Everything in this work is of sculpted, monumental proportions.
Léger’s interest with machines and mechanical forms started in 1918. “In the search for vividness and intensity I have made use of the machine as others have of the nude body or the still life”.
Jean Cocteau used common everyday objects to create a striking self portrait - paper, thumbtacks, string and a touch of red color.
The influence of Surrealism and the subconscious are evident in this chaotic, disturbing and comical piece.
Although Chagall came in contact with exponents of Fauvism and Cubism while residing in Montparnasse, he maintained his own individual style. A fairy tale style heavily influenced by his native land and the world of the shtetl.
I see it more as a representation of an animal than a figure and the white rectangle seems to me the beginning of a message that was never quite finished.
Maria Blanchard’s growth was stunted and walked with a limp. At school, she was made fun of and called ‘the witch’. Her parents encouraged her to develop her interest in art. In her time she was critically acclaimed as developing her own form of Cubism. In this outstanding composition on paper, the fruits melt into an almost unrecognizable mass and yet the light gently falls on it while casting the shadows aside.
As the explanation on the card next to this drawing states: “His style is a result of a complex synthesis of different elements, from Etruscan graves to Tuscan Renaissance portraits, to the statuary of the Cyclades to African masks”.
Marie Vassilieff Pietà 1926
Of Russian origin, Marie Vassilieff integrates the art of the Byzantine icons with popular engravings. The composition of this pietà is different from the traditional representation of the dead Jesus on the lap of the Madonna. In those compositions you feel the pain but there is still a distance between the two figures but in this composition which puts the Madonna and Jesus on the same level, the pain is overwhelming. The simplicity of the figures attests to the fact that the loss of a loved one is universal. In those moments, the sun doesn’t shine as attested by the black circle on the left of the composition and even the presence of a rose does nothing to alleviate the situation.
These works were part of the exhibition Matisse, Picasso, Modigliani, Miró Masterpieces of Design from the Grenoble Museum. Palazzo Zabarella Padova, Italy. I saw this exhibition in November 2024.
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