Pentimento

 

Pentimento:  it's an Italian word, meaning "repentance".  In the art world, it refers to marks and areas that have been superseded and worked over, but which still can be discovered in the finished work.  One might say that the artist "repented" of his original marks, and made changes to them. Some pentimento is not visible to naked eye, and is only found via X-rays or infrared scans.  A famous example is in Jan van Eyck's painting shown at the top of this post, in which he reworked one of the male figure's hands.

"Seated Nude, 1966:

Charcoal on Paper, 33 x 23.5 inches

Richard Diebenkorn, 1966

But the pentimenti that most interest me are those which are intentionally left visible in the final artwork.  I find it fascinating to see these marks, because they show the thought process and the myriad decisions made by the artist during the creation of the work.  Sometimes these pentimenti are drawing marks left visible, and other times they are actual changes to the composition.  

"J.A.D.I., 1966"

Charcoal on Paper, 25 1/8 x 19 inches

Richard Diebenkorn, 1966

Richard Diebenkorn was a master at revealing, rather than hiding, his process.  As Thomas Larson wrote in Art Revue Magazine, Diebenkorn's "expressions of form and color collect and compound the residue of the many impulses it takes him to complete (or abandon) a painting.  No other American artist has kept the covered over decisions which make a painting as Diebenkorn has, and made them his unmistakable style."

Ocean Park No. 79

Oil on Canvas, 93 x 81 inches

Richard Diebenkorn, 1975

Diebenkorn famously said that he intentionally did things wrong at first, in order to set them right later.  For him, the process of making art was a process of correcting, and the correcting was joyful.  No wonder his work embodies the magic of pentimento!  His two charcoals shown above are intriguing for their searching lines. The mark-making shows Diebenkorn's journey of discovery as he explored the motif.  His large abstract Ocean Park paintings (such as the one immediately above) are also layered with shapes and colors that are applied, then abandoned and painted over.  The surface texture of the canvas speaks of the accumulation of time, and of the many decisions that have been made and revisited, over and over again.  I for one like to see this evidence of the painter's struggle--it makes me appreciate the hard fought battle of painting.  Enjoy!

Under the Influence

"Under the Influence"-- I'm not talking about alcohol, but rather the sway of another person. We are all subject to various influences, and lately the idea of how one artist influences another has been at the front of my mind. My thoughts were first stimulated by seeing the wonderful Matisse/Diebenkorn exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The entire show is an exploration of the influence that Matisse had on Diebenkorn--even though they never met! 

Left: Diebenkorn; Right, Matisse

The catalog for this show included an essay about "influences" in the world of art. I especially loved the words from the great poet T.S. Eliot: "A poet cannot help being influenced, therefore he should subject himself to as many influences a spossible, in order to escape from any one influence." I love this idea. It is too easy, especially for a visual

When Less is More

"My Dining Room"
Oil on Canvas, 29 x 23 3/4
John Singer Sargent

For a variety of reasons, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous, I have recently launched into a new series of paintings using only three colors. Yes, that's right, only three tubes of paint. I have been working exclusively with white, black and burnt sienna. It's amazing how much you can say with just these three.

"Morning Light"
Oil on Paper, 8 x 6
(c) Lesley Powell 2017

As soon as I finished my first painting with this extremely limited palette (immediately above), I was hooked! Flooding into my mind came images of paintings I have loved over the years, which I remembered as virtually monochromatic.  Perhaps my all time favorite in this category is John Singer Sargent's painting of his dining room, seen at the top of this

They Meet at Last!

Photo: Mitro Hood, Baltimore Museum of Art

Some months ago, I wrote with great anticipation about the upcoming Matisse/Diebenkorn exhibit. The reviews are in, and they are glowing! The exhibition has just finished its run at the Baltimore Museum of Art, and will open March 11 at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. 

Left, Matisse; Right, Diebenkorn

Reviews call the exhibition "deeply stirring", "important", "radiant", "glorious".  It pairs paintings by Diebenkorn with relevant works from all periods of Matisse's life. Diebenkorn was in his 20's when he first discovered Matisse, and was deeply impacted by the work of the French master. Throughout his entire career, Diebenkorn sought out works by Matisse, collected books on Matisse, and stuffed sketchbooks with clippings and postcard reproductions of Matisse's works. The current exhibit has been called a celebration of the influence of Matisse on Diebenkorn.

Left: Diebenkorn, Untitled (Ocean Park), 1971
Right: Matisse, View of Notre Dame, 1914

I have read that the pairings of the two artists' works are "not too literal", but illustrate the deep connection between the two painters. As Sebastian Smee wrote for the Boston Globe, "When you love an artist...your feeling for what he wanted to do, and for the temperament and the thinking behind those ambitions, becomes so engaged that everything he or she attempted interests and involves you. Richard Diebenkorn had that feeling for Henri Matisse." Amen.

Diebenkorn, "Recollections of a Visit to Leningrad", 1965

Luckily for me, I plan to visit friends in California this spring, and that means I may have an opportunity to see the exhibit in San Francisco. Can't wait!  Meanwhile, for Diebenkorn fans, check out the newly released catalog raisonne' from Yale University Press that covers all works throughout his entire career, and gets great marks as a "monumental work" done with "meticulous care".  Oh, and by the way, the book review for these volumes is headlined "The Heir to Matisse...". 

Art with a Will of its Own

Robert Frost

I recently re-read Robert Frost's wonderful essay, "The Figure A Poem Makes". I was struck by how much of what Frost says about poetry also pertains to visual arts, and especially to painting. Frost speaks of a poem as a living thing, one that "finds its own name as it goes".  The idea of an artwork as an independent being--something with a mind of its own-- is so striking. I think Frost would say that the poet is caught up in the poem, and that the poem is leading the way (not the poet).

Richard Diebenkorn
from his Ocean Park series

I know it's an unlikely comparison, but as I read Frost, I could not help but think of Richard Diebenkorn's remarks about painting. Diebenkorn said "I don't go into the studio with the idea of 'saying' something. What I do is face the blank canvas and put a few arbitrary marks on it that start me on some sort of dialogue." This comment suggests that, like Frost, Diebenkorn sees the art as having a life of its own--it is the other party to the dialogue.

I think that Diebenkorn would also agree that what Frost calls "the wonder of the unexpected" is what fuels the artistic process. For example, Frost writes that a poem "discovers the best waiting for it in some final phrase at once wise and sad..."  Ah yes, that moment of discovery at the end. Is there a painter out there who has not struggled at length with a painting, and only at the very end come upon the stroke that brings the entire work to fruition?

I will conclude with the last few sentences of Robert Frost's essay. "Like a piece of ice on a hot stove the poem must ride on its own melting. A poem may be worked over once it is in being, but may not be worried into being. Its most precious quality will remain its having run itself and carried away the poet with it. Read it a hundred times: it will forever keep its freshness as a petal keeps its fragrance. It can never lose its sense of a meaning that once unfolded by surprise as it went."

Don't you wish we could all create art like this!?!

Diebenkorn/Matisse

Left: Diebenkorn, Untitled (Ocean Park), 1971
Right: Matisse, View of Notre Dame, 1914

Great news! While researching Richard Deibenkorn for a recent post, I learned that there will be a major exhibit coming soon to both coasts of the US. It will show works of Diebenkorn alongside those of  the great French painter Henri Matisse. Much has been written about the influence of Matisse on Diebenkorn. It will be so exciting to see their work hanging together, and to look for the connections and inspirations running between them!

"Studio: Quai St. Michel"
Henri Matisse, 1916

Diebenkorn first encountered the work of Matisse in the early 1940's, when he was in the military. While stationed at Quantico, Diebenkorn visited the Philips Collection in Washington, D.C., where he saw Maitisse's "Studio, Quai St. Michel" (above). Diebenkorn later said that he was quite stuck by this painting, especially by the sense of space it created. He was also intrigued by the problem of representing both interior and exterior light in the same painting. This inside/outside approach was something that Diebenkorn would return to time and time again. Here's one example:

"Interior with Doorway"
70 3/8 x 59 1/2, Oil on Canvas
Richard Diebenkorn, 1962

Diebenkorn studied Matisse throughout his career. I have read that seeing Matisse's  "French Window at Collioure" (below) must have been an epiphany for Diebenkorn. They say that that this Matisse painting was a touchstone for for Diebenkorn's wonderful and extensive series of Ocean Park paintings.  

"French Window at Collioure"
Henri Matisse, 1914

"Ocean Park #79"
Oil on Canvas
Richard Diebenkorn, 1975

The curators of this new exhibit had access to Diebenkorn's own collection of books on Matisse--wouldn't you love to see and touch those? I wonder if he scribbled notes in them, or made sketches. Maybe I will find out, because I really hope to see this exhibit. Mark your calendars: it will be at the Baltimore Museum of Art from October 23, 2016 to January 29, 2017, and at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from March 11, 2017 to May 29, 2017.

Richard Diebenkorn

"Cityscape I"
60 1/4 x 50 1/2, Oil on Canvas
Richard Diebenkorn, 1963

Travel often leads to new discoveries, was well as to the rekindling of old interests. My recent trip to California was no exception. As a painter, I often seek out areas where the "greats" have painted. I have tracked down the spots that Cezanne painted around Aix-en-Provence, and found it fascinating to see the landscapes that he immortalized. This time, I didn't go to California in quest of an artist's habitat. But while I was there I came across a new book featuring the landscapes and still lifes of Richard Diebenkorn. There I was, right within shouting distance of the places Diebenkorn had lived and painted. The little book seemed like a prod to delve into a deeper study of his work. 

"Interior with Book"
70 x 64, Oil on Canvas
Richard Diebenkorn, 1959

I have always been attracted to Diebenkorn's paintings. He moved through several distinct phases in his painting career, from Abstract Expressionism, to more representational and figurative work, and back to abstraction. Over the past few weeks, I have been studying his more representational landscapes, such as those pictured in this post. I love them for their clarity of color, for their geometry, for their sense of depth, and perhaps above all for their marvelous simplification. How can he leave out so much, and yet tell so much, at the same time??

"Bridge"
36 x 39 1/4, Oil on Canvas
Richard Diebenkorn, 1961

I have read that Diebenkorn had a pivotal experience one day when flying in an airplane between Albuquerque and San Francisco. From that vantage point, he saw the fields below as organized patterns of horizontal and vertical grids. We can see how that point of view affected his landscape painting forever after. Diebenkorn used geometry and color relationships to create a sense of vast scale, spacial depth, and wide open spaces in his landscapes. Looking at them, I almost feel like I am standing on a precipice looking out.

"View from the Porch"
70 x 66, Oil on Canvas
Richard Diebenkorn, 1959

Diebenkorn lived and painted for the vast majority of his life in California, eschewing the popular New York "scene". In fact, many say that his paintings are unique and notable precisely because they portray the luminous light and color of Northern California. In an interview shortly before his death, Dieibenkorn acknowledged this point, but noted that it was not something that he consciously sought. He said, "I arrive at the light only after painting it, not by aiming for it." Spoken like a true artist and seeker. 

"Ocean from a Window"
70 x 64, Oil on Canvas
Richard Diebenkorn, 1959

Stay tuned for more on Diebenkorn. I hope to write separately about his wonderful still life paintings...