Bend in the Road Through the Forest (1873-75) Paul Cezanne (France, 1839-1906)
Influences: Impressionism
History: Cézanne expanded the impressionist style and based his art on seeing objects in space as interrelated objects. Much as the later Cubists fractured them according to light and shadow, every mottled dab represents a shift in the scene without recreating it exactly. He was obsessed with optical effects, and the splodges and marks were designed to give a greater depth to the image than mere shading ever could.
Show-off comment: ‘Paul Cézanne’s shimmering landscapes may be viewed as the culmination of impressionism’s quest for empirical truth in painting.’
Best left unsaid: ‘Did nobody think to test for cataracts?’
Violin and Palette (1909) Georges Braque (France, 1882-1963)
Influences: Cezanne’s impressionism
History: In 1907, inspired by Cezanne’s geometrized compositions, Braque got together with Picasso and realised they’d created ‘cubism’ (later named by poet and art critic Guillaume Apollinaire). It basically involved fracturing form and space into representative shapes reflecting the different light. ‘Violin and Palette’ was the epitome of this style when it was shown alongside its accompanying piece ‘Piano and Mandola’ at the turn of the century.
Show-off comment: ‘The sheets of music and the artist’s palette are vertically arranged, heightening their correspondence to the two-dimensional surface.’
Best left unsaid: ‘You could have someone’s eye out with that.’
Decisive Rose (1932) Vasily Kandinsky (Russia, 1866-1944)
Influences: Impressionism, pointilism, abstract expressionism
History: One of the pioneers of abstraction and great theorists of modernism, Kandinsky strove to give painting the freedom from nature he felt in music. He also taught at the influential Bauhaus School around the time of painting ‘Decisive Rose’, before the Nazis closed it down. Interestingly, he played a central role in the history of the Guggenheim, when its eponymous founder began collecting his canvases under the advisement of Hilla Rebay. This painting actually featured in the opening New York exhibition in 1959.
Show-off comment: ‘Kandinsky strove to give painting the freedom from nature he felt in music.’
Best left unsaid: ‘He’s not coming anywhere near my garden.’
Green Silver 1949 Jackson Pollock (US, 1912-56)
Influences: Indian sandpainting, Mexican muralists, surrealism
History: The great polarising figure of abstract expressionism, Pollock was the source of much debate in the late 1940s when ‘Untitled (Green Silver)’ was painted, and the ’50s saw his work embraced (to his disgust) by the public. The volatile, reclusive artist largely refused to discuss his work, but instead strove to perfect his ‘drip’ style (once dubbed ‘Jack the dripper’), dividing critics who cried ‘chaos’ and those who preferred the expression of brushstrokes.
Show-off comment: ‘Arising from a confluence of abstraction and figuration, this period is commonly perceived as pure abstraction and represents the culmination of his art form.’
Best left unsaid: ‘Wait ’til Ian Brown sees this. There’ll be hell to pay!’
Composition (1955) Willem De Kooning (Holland, 1904-97)
Influences: Cubism, surrealism, abstract impressionism
History: Kooning flicked an aggressive middle finger at his ‘abstract impressionist’ cronies in the ’50s with his more formal ‘women’ portraits. However, ‘Composition’ was a return to the aggressive painting of before – a painting without any given viewpoint, just a hectic rush of urban life.
Show-off comment: ‘The violent reds, yellows and chromes suggest a frantic city life without defining any identifiable urban inhabitants or forms.’
Best left unsaid: ‘Hahaha! Haaaaaahahaha!’
If you like the Guggenheim, you’ll love this…
The Louvre is back with an exhibition entitled ‘Mona Lisa Funeral’, which shows paintings by Franco-Chinese artist Yan Pei-Ming inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci portraits. The five works include a large grey Mona Lisa, framed by two images that portray grey clouds dotted with images of skulls modelled on scans of the painter’s head. At either end are a portrait of Yan’s father and a self-portrait in a death-like pose.
Emirates Palace, Nov 19-22.
