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.
Last week Nikki Barber and I surprised my drawing classes with an unexpected session of printmaking. After a few weeks of drawing practice, Beginning and Figure Drawing students made monotypes for the first time, and LOVED IT. Yesterday I posted still life monoprints by the beginning drawing students. Today are figurative monoprints by the figure …
The leaves of this chrysanthemum were an excuse for me to play with deep dark velvety burrs and light clean lines, the delights of drypoint. I have covered every table, easel, and palette-stand with my paintings and prints for this show. 12 tables, all covered with colorful paints, images of flowers, fabrics, drypoint plates, ink, …
If you’ve gone into instagram or padlet to see some of the creative responses to these challenges, you have probably seen some of the fabulous contributions from artists. From out of the dozens of interesting artworks, here are a few. Day 8: Reverse Collage The instructions were to stack materials, then reveal layers.
A strong relationship between the arts and politics, particularly between various kinds of art and power, occurs across historical epochs and cultures. As they respond to contemporaneous events and politics, the arts take on political as well as social dimensions, becoming themselves a focus of controversy and even a force of political as well as …
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.
Related Posts
Figurative Monotypes
Last week Nikki Barber and I surprised my drawing classes with an unexpected session of printmaking. After a few weeks of drawing practice, Beginning and Figure Drawing students made monotypes for the first time, and LOVED IT. Yesterday I posted still life monoprints by the beginning drawing students. Today are figurative monoprints by the figure …
Some Pretty Paintings: Two Chrysanthemums
The leaves of this chrysanthemum were an excuse for me to play with deep dark velvety burrs and light clean lines, the delights of drypoint. I have covered every table, easel, and palette-stand with my paintings and prints for this show. 12 tables, all covered with colorful paints, images of flowers, fabrics, drypoint plates, ink, …
#30SAL Faves: Reverse Collage
If you’ve gone into instagram or padlet to see some of the creative responses to these challenges, you have probably seen some of the fabulous contributions from artists. From out of the dozens of interesting artworks, here are a few. Day 8: Reverse Collage The instructions were to stack materials, then reveal layers.
Art Trumps Politics
A strong relationship between the arts and politics, particularly between various kinds of art and power, occurs across historical epochs and cultures. As they respond to contemporaneous events and politics, the arts take on political as well as social dimensions, becoming themselves a focus of controversy and even a force of political as well as …