Aristide Maillol
French, 1861-1944
Marble
62-1/2 in. (158.8 cm)
It is absolutely necessary that I introduce and image of the work of art that caught my attention before i can explain my experience. It is my first semester, my first time ever taking an art history class. I first saw it as a requirement to fulfill G.E. requirements but the subject has caught my attention. I am a math person, Civil Engineering Major as a matter of fact, and it is no coincidence talking about Leonardo Da Vinci, Fibonacci and the measurement Phi used to create rectangles in architecture fascinates me. I usually learn what I need to know and don't really leave room for topics or subjects that "might not benefit me" in any way. What I am trying to get at is that art history has opened my mind and has caught my attention in a different way. It is amazing to know that on a flat surface whether it is wood, canvas or any other material, it is possible to create a three-dimensional illusion.
One time in class the question popped up. "What is a better medium of art? Sculptures or paintings?" Although a couple students decided to be be brave and choose a side, the professor's analogy to explain her beliefs was attempting to choose between two or your own children. It is just not possible since they are both magnificent. I do agree with that statement. It is common to say a picture can say one thousand words, but what about a sculpture? There is much controversy over what Da Vinci was trying to say in The Mona Lisa, but do we ever wonder why Donatello created a sculpture of David in a semi-feminine form as opposed to Michelangelo's masculine form? Was Donatello criticizing biblical believes? In my opinion if a picture can say one thousand words, than so can a sculpture.
As I was walking across the halls at the Norton Simon Museum, I laid my eyes on painting after painting not knowing which one to do my report on. Sure they were all beautiful and used talented techniques such as sfumato and linear perspective, but I had a feeling a painting wasn't going to do it for me. Soon after there it was, the Standing Bather with Raised Arms by Maillol sitting alone in a white corner. I must have stared at it for a minute or two and thought to myself, that looks so real! Now that I look at only a digital picture online it does not give me the same feeling. It is amazing how looking at it first hand can make you feel a connection with the inanimate marble statue. I sat infront of the sculpture for another ten to fifteen minutes thinking of the reasons why Maillol created a sculpture of a nude woman. It could have possibly been a woman he was once in love with, or perhaps he just loved the female structure. Of course most men do despite the time change, but I doubt his favorite sculpting subject was the female nude because he was a perverted man. He only created 4 sculptures of a male body and never sculpted an animal.
The French and talented Maillol was born in 1861 in Banyuls-sur-Mer, in South East France and migrated to Paris in 1881 to study painting. Aristide Maillol was educated from 1882 to 1886 at the Académie and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Cabanel and Jean Léon Gérôme. The artist was influenced by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and Paul Gauguin, other artists of his time. In 1893 he opened up a tapestry shop in Banyuls, where he hired women for weaving. Maillol's art interest was focused on tapestry and print making. It wasn't until he reached the age of 40 that he took on sculpturing. His tapestry talent came to an end when he caught an eye disease, basically forcing him to switch his interests towards sculpturing. Sculpting in a way that can be traced back to classical antiquity, his favorite subject was the female nude with calm facial expressions. Through this he expressed his philosophy of the female form. His sculptures reflected the styles of those in ancient Greece and Rome. Similar to sculptors before his time, he carved out major parts of the sculpture, in this case those would be a head, a torso, the legs and arms. After having a rough "sketch" of the sculpture, he would proceed to carve out the details. "La Méditerranée," his first sculpture from 1902 to 1905, expresses a "harmonious balance and a calm classical expression" found in Hellenistic Antiquity. HIs sculptures of voluptuous female figures impacted other sculptor's projects in Europe. He achieved notable woodcut illustrations for an edition of Virgil's Eclogues. In 1931 he made lithographs to illustrate Emile Verhaeren's Belle Chair. In 1995, Paris opened a museum which highly honored Maillol's work. Maillol died in 1944 from health complications caused by a car accident.
Three Nymphes, 1930-37
Aristide Maillol
French, 1861-1944
Bronze, Artist's Proof II
62 x 56-7/8 x 31 in. (157.5 x 144.5 x 78.7 cm)
Aristide Maillol
French, 1861-1944
Bronze, Artist's Proof II
62 x 56-7/8 x 31 in. (157.5 x 144.5 x 78.7 cm)
http://www.aristide-maillol.com/
http://arts.jrank.org/pages/15911/Aristide-Maillol.html
http://www.nortonsimon.org/
"Aristide Maillol." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 6 Apr. 2011.
No comments:
Post a Comment