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.
[image_with_animation image_url=”10515″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Photo and painting of JS Sargent’s teacher Carolus-Duran. Painting not made from photo. Photo taken (possibly?) to resemble the painting. Posted by James Gurney Would you be surprised to see that a painter who depended on patrons’ funds applied a bit of painterly flattery to his portraits? Take a …
Sometimes I work on a painting for hours, only to look down and realize my palette is the most beautiful thing in the room. Artist’s Paint Palettes by Matthias Schaller Article and photo source: Kate Sierzputowski Palette of Marc Chagall Since 2007 photographer Matthias Schaller has photographed raw, abstract paintings. The paintings however are not found on …
[image_with_animation image_url=”6644″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Installation view of work by Raúl de Nieves, in the 2017 Whitney Biennial Raúl de Nieves What does it mean to be an American artist today? From his basement studio in Ridgewood, Queens, artist Raúl de Nieves creates an epic stained glass mural for the 2017 Whitney Biennial. Born …
The most recent V. Notes post had some personal favorites from the many Seattle Artist League Portrait Awards submissions we received. One of the artworks featured yesterday piqued my interest, so I contacted the artist, and raided his website and Instagram for images. Akira Ohiso recently moved to Seattle from New York. He paints …
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
The Charismatic Flattery of JS Sargent
[image_with_animation image_url=”10515″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Photo and painting of JS Sargent’s teacher Carolus-Duran. Painting not made from photo. Photo taken (possibly?) to resemble the painting. Posted by James Gurney Would you be surprised to see that a painter who depended on patrons’ funds applied a bit of painterly flattery to his portraits? Take a …
Photographic Portraits of Famous Artist’s Paint Palettes
Sometimes I work on a painting for hours, only to look down and realize my palette is the most beautiful thing in the room. Artist’s Paint Palettes by Matthias Schaller Article and photo source: Kate Sierzputowski Palette of Marc Chagall Since 2007 photographer Matthias Schaller has photographed raw, abstract paintings. The paintings however are not found on …
Raúl de Nieves
[image_with_animation image_url=”6644″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Installation view of work by Raúl de Nieves, in the 2017 Whitney Biennial Raúl de Nieves What does it mean to be an American artist today? From his basement studio in Ridgewood, Queens, artist Raúl de Nieves creates an epic stained glass mural for the 2017 Whitney Biennial. Born …
Akira Ohiso
The most recent V. Notes post had some personal favorites from the many Seattle Artist League Portrait Awards submissions we received. One of the artworks featured yesterday piqued my interest, so I contacted the artist, and raided his website and Instagram for images. Akira Ohiso recently moved to Seattle from New York. He paints …