Nicolas de Staël was a French painter of Russian origin known for his use of a thick impasto and his highly abstract landscape painting. He also worked with collage, illustration and textiles.
After suffering from depression, in the wake of a disappointing meeting with a disparaging art critic on March 16, 1955 he committed suicide. He leapt to his death from his eleventh story studio terrace, in Antibes. He was 41 years old.
In the US, his name is rarely cited as an influence. The first reason for his relative absence is simply bad timing. As Eliza Rathbone explained in 1997: “The very fact that [de Staël] began to achieve fame and recognition during the same years as the New York School was establishing its reputation on native soil, made a challenging environment for the work of an artist steeped in artistic culture and traditions of France.”The romantic image of the New York School remains powerful today. Struggling inwardly in a studio on 10th Street continues to capture the imagination of young American painters more than painting light and heat on a beach in Antibes.
PAINTINGS
IN MUSEUMS
On screen these compositions look small, but look at the size of these works in context.
Yesterday I talked about trace monotypes: “Trace monotypes are made by laying paper down on an inked piece of plexiglass, then drawing a design on the back of the paper. The drawing tool presses the paper against the ink, making a dark line on the front of the paper.” – Ruthie V, circa yesterday Today …
I like to overlap figures, and use the shadow shapes to carve out abstracts within the body. This doesn’t just introduce abstraction, it also introduces a sense of time, and movement within a static image, in which I am fascinated. I asked my model how she felt about having her head cut off in …
[image_with_animation image_url=”8958″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] In the April 13, 2018 V. Note, I was Looking Closely at JS Sargent’s Portrait of Henry James. In the post I got all up in that portrait, and guessed at Sargent’s palette, his brushes, and his process. Everything seemed to make sense except for a diagonal stroke of blue …
Take a class with SAL – anywhere! In previous V. Notes, I’ve posted work by our sumi instructor Angie Dixon, Huang Yongyu, Pan Gongkai, and stuff you didn’t know about sumi. Today I wanted to broaden my view of sumi painting. I wanted to see more works that are being created in the medium today. …
Nicolas de Staël
Nicolas de Staël was a French painter of Russian origin known for his use of a thick impasto and his highly abstract landscape painting. He also worked with collage, illustration and textiles.
After suffering from depression, in the wake of a disappointing meeting with a disparaging art critic on March 16, 1955 he committed suicide. He leapt to his death from his eleventh story studio terrace, in Antibes. He was 41 years old.
In the US, his name is rarely cited as an influence. The first reason for his relative absence is simply bad timing. As Eliza Rathbone explained in 1997: “The very fact that [de Staël] began to achieve fame and recognition during the same years as the New York School was establishing its reputation on native soil, made a challenging environment for the work of an artist steeped in artistic culture and traditions of France.” The romantic image of the New York School remains powerful today. Struggling inwardly in a studio on 10th Street continues to capture the imagination of young American painters more than painting light and heat on a beach in Antibes.
PAINTINGS
On screen these compositions look small, but look at the size of these works in context.
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Yesterday I talked about trace monotypes: “Trace monotypes are made by laying paper down on an inked piece of plexiglass, then drawing a design on the back of the paper. The drawing tool presses the paper against the ink, making a dark line on the front of the paper.” – Ruthie V, circa yesterday Today …
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I like to overlap figures, and use the shadow shapes to carve out abstracts within the body. This doesn’t just introduce abstraction, it also introduces a sense of time, and movement within a static image, in which I am fascinated. I asked my model how she felt about having her head cut off in …
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[image_with_animation image_url=”8958″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] In the April 13, 2018 V. Note, I was Looking Closely at JS Sargent’s Portrait of Henry James. In the post I got all up in that portrait, and guessed at Sargent’s palette, his brushes, and his process. Everything seemed to make sense except for a diagonal stroke of blue …
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Take a class with SAL – anywhere! In previous V. Notes, I’ve posted work by our sumi instructor Angie Dixon, Huang Yongyu, Pan Gongkai, and stuff you didn’t know about sumi. Today I wanted to broaden my view of sumi painting. I wanted to see more works that are being created in the medium today. …