Tubism & orphism

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ART HISTORY 4450 Tubism & Orphism

Fernand Leger (1881‐1955) •

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biography: – 1900: moves to Paris – 1902–03: military service – WW I  gassed while serving as a stretcher‐ bearer on Western front training: – 1897–1899: trained as architect – 1903: failed entrance exam to Ecole des Beaux‐Arts • attended asnon‐enrolled student • described as "three empty and useless years" studying with Gérôme and others – 1903: Ecole des Arts Decoratifs & Academie Julian career: new emphasis on geometry appeared in L’s work after he saw Cézanne retrospective at Salon d'Automne in (1907) art movement: Tubism – forms: curvilinear & tubular – spatial order: flattened – color: vibrant post‐WWI aesthetic: renounces abstraction – forms: defined in simplest terms; clean & precise – color: vibrant – subject matter: cityscape & machine parts • beauty of common objects

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Leger’s Nudes in the Forest (1910)

Leger

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Nude Model (1912‐13) –

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aesthetic: inspired by Cézanne quest to describe 3‐d objects on 2‐d canvas spatial order: flattened • series of splintered planes w/in faceted background • forms integrated into space where objects interpenetrate forms: fragmented • precisely delineated • modelled w/ geometric volumes • arcs predominate color: primaries combined w/ muted grays & browns

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Leger’s Tubist The Card Players (1917)

(Left) CEZANNE’s Post‐Impressionist The Cardplayers (c. 1890) vs. (right) LEGER’s Tubist The Cardplayers (1917)

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Leger

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The City (1919) – – –

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subject: modern city motifs: everyday life aesthetic: Synthetic Cubist vocabulary • collage‐like arrangement • compressed space • flattened volumes • use of signs & letters spatial order: fragmented, overlapping planes narrative: as if city dwellers seeing glimpses of surroundings figures: robotic, machine‐like color: complimentary + black/white

LEGER’s Tubist Three Women (1921)

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(Left) LEGER’s Tubist Three Women (c. 1925 CE) vs. (right) Classical Greek Three Goddesses (c. 450 BCE)

Robert Delaunay (1885‐1941) •

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biography: born in Paris to aristocrats; parents divorced – 1908: after military service, meet Sonia Terk who was married to German art dealer (whom she would soon divorce) training: atelier for decorative arts in Paris career: – contributed six works to Salon des Indépendants (1904) – 1911: invited by Kandinsky to participate in first and second Blue Reiter exhibitions (Munich) – Orphism (c. 1911‐14) • movement name assigned by Apollinaire in 1913 • Orpheus  poet/musician (Greek mythology) • rather than cubes or tubes, experimented w/ color circle • emphasizes “simultaneity” aim: to depict luminous essence of nature light: organizing role of representation aesthetic: coloré tradition – as opposed to Cubists who experiment only in line, giving color secondary role – laws of complementary & simultaneous contrasts – observation of “movement of colors”

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Delaunay

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The Red Tower (1911) – – – – – –

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phase: self‐designated “destructive” motif: Eiffel Tower • sign of modernity and progress light: fractures space & forms forms: disjointed; fractured spatial order: imploding composition: symmetrical • views from awindow framed by curtains • buildings bracketing tower curve like drapery color: • primaries and secondaries located at center • muted hues frame image

(Left) Delaunay’s Orphist The Red Tower (1911) vs. (right) Seurat’s Neo‐Impressionist Eiffel Tower (1889)

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Delaunay

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Simultaneous Windows (1912) –

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title: series derives its name from French scientist Chevreul’s theory of simultaneous contrasts of color • explores how divergent hues are perceived at once influence of Symbolism: • glass panes  metaphors for transition from internal to external states phase: “constructive” • juxtaposes and overlays translucent contrasting complementary colors composition: harmonic forms: green profile of Eiffel Tower significance: one of D’s last salutes to representation leap to complete abstraction

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Premier Disk (1912‐13) – –

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form: prismatic “heretic” of Cubism • great arguments with “commrades” who banned color from their palette • depriving it of all elemental “mobility” • accused of returning to Impressionism & of making decorative paintings first major exhibition in Pairs: • forty‐six (46) works from his early Impressionist works to his Cubist Eiffel Tower painting from 1909– 1911 • Apollinaire  proclaimed Delaunay as “an artist who has monumental vision of the world”

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(Left) Delaunay’s Orphist Premier Disk (1912‐13) vs. (right) Stella’s Minimalist Protractor Series (1967‐69)

Delaunay

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Homage to Bleriot (1914) –

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theme: air flight • first Frenchman to fly over English Channel motif: Eiffel Tower narrative: non‐temporal & simultaneous spatial order: suggests depth through scale composition: lyrical use of circles color: vibrant & complementary • prismatic dispersion evenly across canvas light/shadow: unifies composition brushwork: non‐divisionist

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IMAGE INDEX • •

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Photograph of Fernand LEGER. LEGER, Fernand. Nudes in the Forest (1909-10), Oil on canvas, 47 1/4 x 67 in., Kroller-Muller Museum, Otterlo, Germany.

LEGER, Fernand. Nude Model in the Studio (1912–13), Oil on burlap, 50 3/8 x 37 5/8 in., Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.

LEGER, Fernand. The Card Players (1917), Oil on canvas, Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller, Otterlo, The Netherlands.

(Left) CEZANNE’s Post-Impressionist The Cardplayers (c. 1890); and (right) LEGER’s Tubist The Cardplayers (1917) LEGER, Fernand. The City (1919), Oil on canvas, 7’ 7” x 9’ 1/2”, A. E. Gallatin Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art. LEGER, Fernand. Still Life with a Beer Mug (1921), Oil on canvas, 36 x 23 1/2 in.

LEGER, Fernand. Three Women (c. 1920), Oil on canvas, 6’ 1/2” x 8’3”, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York.

(Left) LEGER’s Tubist Three Women (c. 1925 CE); and (right) Classical Greek Three Goddesses (c. 450 BCE)

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Photograph of Robert DELAUNAY. DELAUNAY, Robert. The Red Tower (1911), Oil on canvas, 160.7 x 128.6 cm., The Art Institute of Chicago.

(Left) DELAUNAY’s Orphist The Red Tower (1911); and (right) SEURAT’s Neo-Impressionist Eiffel Tower (1889), Oil on panel 9 1/2 x 6 in., The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

DELAUNAY, Robert. Simultaneous Windows (1912), Oil on canvas, 21 5/8 x 18 1/4 in., Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.

(Left) Delaunay’s Orphist Premier Disk (1912-13); and (right) Stella’s Minimalist Protractor Series (1967-69) DELAUNAY, Robert. Homage to Bleriot (1914), Oil on canvas, 76 1/2 x 50 1/2 in., Kunstmuseum, Basle, Switzerland.

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