In eighteenth-century colonial America, flowers and fruit were typically the
$ n3 ~( u6 z6 U/ dprovince of the botanical artist interested in scientific illustration rather than being & k2 W4 i% p0 ^7 b! k+ N
the subjects of fine art. Early in the nineteenth century, however, the Peale family of $ C& _- m6 c. ~: Z H3 G
Philadelphia established the still life, a picture consisting mainly of inanimate " ?+ ] t! a7 R* ~
(5) objects, as a valuable part of the artist's repertoire. The fruit paintings by James and" X: w' }& h+ i9 ]. g
Sarah Miriam Peale are simple arrangements of a few objects, handsomely colored, 8 Q0 `# v8 u- L- v. c E5 r. \
small in size, and representing little more than what they are. In contrast were the
- ~+ `* a4 x' A* G6 R: {3 I: ~highly symbolic, complex compositions by Charles Bird King, with their biting
& h7 ^. M9 W7 X% @satire and critical social commentary. Each of these strains comminuted into and
) Y0 Q0 H) I' b3 V(10) well past mid-century.
! l; B0 \# @ V( x b. \John F. Francis (1808-86) was a part of the Pennsylvania still-life tradition that 8 h* G; z* ~- a* F
arose, at least in part, from the work of the Peales. Most of his still lifes date from 1 A( b5 n, y) N! @& v
around 1850 to 1875. Luncheon Still Life looks like one of the Peales' pieces on a / |; [8 e2 |: H2 D; l
larger scale, kits greater complexity resulting from the number of objects. It is also ], H+ A8 J- x2 s( s0 }* A# l
(15) indebted to the luncheon type of still life found in seventeenth-century Dutch 4 m& k, d3 B& N/ r, H+ X' M; ~- P& j
painting. The opened bottles of wine and the glasses of wine partially consumed
- j; h/ Y3 W5 S- |2 }8 isuggest a number of unseen guests. The appeal of the fruit and nuts to our sense of / U" H) a) t% Q7 P q
taste is heightened by the juicy orange, which has already been sliced. The
+ v' X; P4 @; I$ j C/ C% aarrangement is additive, that is, made up of many different parts, not always
7 d. _2 @! s, U. \1 T7 W; d+ L(20) compositionally integrated, with all objects of essentially equal importance.
$ T. \# |0 T! x2 DAbout 1848, Severin Roesen came to the United States from Germany and . X9 r5 C# c+ s# M6 E# t
settled in New York City, where he began to paint large, lush still lifes of flowers,
0 I# f" X; V5 L- O' r8 V$ Y gfruit, or both, often measuring over four feet across. Still Life with Fruit and
1 y, H" S5 o: B! |Champagne is typical in its brilliance of color, meticulous rendering of detail,
* w' E4 g' G5 L0 k$ b1 J(25) compact composition, and unabashed abundance. Rich in symbolic overtones, the
3 j7 x4 i6 i9 _' j7 i9 @+ Lbeautifully painted objects carry additional meanings------butterflies or fallen buds " V' k) V# `) x
suggest the impermanence of life, a bird's nest with eggs means fertility, and so on. . G1 W8 B: T0 \
Above all, Roesen's art expresses the abundance that America symbolized to many of its citizens. |
发表于 2012-8-14 22:34:35
楼主