R.B. Kitaj was an American artist who championed figuration in the aftermath of expressionism. Kitaj was an influential figure in the London art scene and was intimate with Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon, coining the term “London School” for this group. His art was unabashedly erudite and often accompanied with explanatory obscure texts that many critics saw as a testament to the artist’s egoism.
The art of Kitaj is characterized by his insatiable intellect and excellent draughtsmanship. The art critic Robert Hughes wrote that “[he] draws better than almost anyone else alive.” His works are preoccupied with history and attempt to make the viewer aware of the historical reality of their situation. Kitaj linked past to present with a sometimes overwhelming array of references to paintings by artists such as Motherwell, Van Gogh, Degas, Cezanna and Michelangelo and the writings of figures ranging from Frakz Kafka to mystics such as Ramon Lull and philosophers like Erasmus and Nietzsche. His travels in Europe shortly after WWII had a profound influence on his “Jewishness” and his art.
Read more about Kitaj on the original post here. Check it out.
There’s a lot of illuminating information on this page.
Cecil Court, London W.C.2. (The Refugees) 1983-4 R.B. Kitaj 1932-2007 Purchased 1985 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/T04115
“I have no idea how to finish a picture… I don’t see any reason why you should finish a picture, for instance, because I’m not finished with my life I see no reason why I should be finished with a picture.” – Ronald Kitaj
Below: 3 minute video of Kitaj interviewed in his studio, cuts off a bit at the end, but still lovely. https://youtu.be/0VpkLS1Baxo Below: 10 minute video showing still images of Kitaj’s paintings. Some great paintings, some just meh, and some are absolutely awful. It’s as if the video maker went into Kitaj’s studio and gathered up whatever was on the walls, the tables, and in the garbage bin, then displayed them all equally. Fantastic!
Fridays are comic day for our 30 day challenge, and today your challenge is to show a progression. People who draw and paint often feel like everything they make needs to be completely different and original to what they made before. This isn’t true for paintings, and it’s definitely not true for comics, in which …
Exercise your creativity This SAL Challenge is a vocabulary based creative challenge every day for January. Materials are artist’s choice. You can draw, paint, sew, collage, sculpt your food, anything you want. See below for today’s creative challenge. Set the timer for 20 minutes and see what happens. AGASTOPIA n. – admiration of a particular …
Today is the Memory/Imagination day of our 30 Day Creative Challenge. Look at “The Desperate Man” by Gustave Courbet. Your challenge today is to imagine what he’s looking at, and recreate that. Medium is artist’s choice. You can draw, paint, collage, assemblage, assemble a diorama, or dress in drag. Set a timer for 20 minutes. When the timer chimes, continue if you wish, …
Art 21 by Michael Neault | Jan 7, 2013 Ilya Repin, “Unexpected Visitors” (or “They Did Not Expect Him”), 1884-1888. Oil on canvas. 63.19 x 65.95 in. The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia. When you approach a painting in a gallery, it feels like you’re looking at the entire piece all at once, but what your …
R. B. Kitaj
R. B. Kitaj
1932 – 2007
Edited from https://artbios.net/5-en.html
R.B. Kitaj was an American artist who championed figuration in the aftermath of expressionism. Kitaj was an influential figure in the London art scene and was intimate with Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon, coining the term “London School” for this group. His art was unabashedly erudite and often accompanied with explanatory obscure texts that many critics saw as a testament to the artist’s egoism.
The art of Kitaj is characterized by his insatiable intellect and excellent draughtsmanship. The art critic Robert Hughes wrote that “[he] draws better than almost anyone else alive.” His works are preoccupied with history and attempt to make the viewer aware of the historical reality of their situation. Kitaj linked past to present with a sometimes overwhelming array of references to paintings by artists such as Motherwell, Van Gogh, Degas, Cezanna and Michelangelo and the writings of figures ranging from Frakz Kafka to mystics such as Ramon Lull and philosophers like Erasmus and Nietzsche. His travels in Europe shortly after WWII had a profound influence on his “Jewishness” and his art.
Read more about Kitaj on the original post here. Check it out.
There’s a lot of illuminating information on this page.
Below: 3 minute video of Kitaj interviewed in his studio, cuts off a bit at the end, but still lovely. https://youtu.be/0VpkLS1Baxo Below: 10 minute video showing still images of Kitaj’s paintings. Some great paintings, some just meh, and some are absolutely awful. It’s as if the video maker went into Kitaj’s studio and gathered up whatever was on the walls, the tables, and in the garbage bin, then displayed them all equally. Fantastic!
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