Barnett Newman - SKETCHLINE

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January 29, 1905, New York, the USA - July 4, 1970, New York, the USA

Barnett Newman

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Barnett Newman was an American painter, lithographer and sculptor of Jewish origin, a prominent representative of Abstract Expressionism and Colour Field painting. In the history of fine art, the master is called the model of high modernism, the forerunner of minimalism, an existentialist and spiritual artist, drawing inspiration from Jewish mysticism.

Barnett Newman destroyed all of his early works, which he created over the 20 years of his life until 1944. For the rest of his career, he created few – about 120 paintings and became known as one of the outstanding artists of America only when he was around 60 years old.

Barnett Newman was a key participant in the Abstract Expressionist movement and Colour Field painting (a term coined by American historian and avant-garde theorist Clement Greenberg). It developed in the United States from the second half of the 1940s: Newman was convinced that the creation of a work of art was an exclusively spiritual act, and colour was an object, not a means of painting.

Newman led a dialogue with the older generation of abstract artists. In the use of primary colours, he disputed the ideas of his predecessors – representatives of Neoplasticism. In particular, the concepts of Piet Mondrian who believed that paintings reflect the physical world. Newman often criticized this idea for its systematic nature – his approach to colour was more intuitive.

Newman was a well-known master of Abstract Expressionism and influenced the younger generation of artists. However, in some cases, the colours of his followers had a superficial quality, which lacked the spiritual and emotional impact expressed in the paintings of the Colour Field of Newman.

Key ideas:

– Receiving a degree in philosophy from the City College of New York, Barnett Newman studied in the League of Art Students. There, he made friends with Expressionist Adolf Gottlieb, who introduced the beginning painter to New York artists and famous gallery owners. The artist’s early expressionist works have not survived – the author destroyed them, having come to a mature style by 1945.

– Barnett Newman was convinced that modernity, the post-war years, overshadowed by fear and tragedy, have made traditional styles and objects of art invalid. In his article reminiscent of a manifesto, the artist wrote, “the old standards of beauty are no longer inappropriate, and only the new can bring modern humanity out of its stupor”.

– The artist stated that any art worthy of its name should be addressed to life and a man, to the categories of nature and tragedy. He insisted on the rich emotional content of the work, although during his life his work provoked misunderstanding and accusations of “emptiness”.

– Abstract painter and minimalist Newman believed that his work could cause a sense of self-awareness in people when watched closely. Once he posted instructions that called on visitors to become at a very close distance to his canvases at the gallery.

– The method of the American painter and sculptor, in which the usual dilemma of the object and the earth is avoided, inspired him to create a unique symbol. The author called it “zipper”. According to Newman, it can involve the viewer standing in front of the picture.

– Despite the complete abstraction in his paintings, their author drew inspiration from the spiritual legacy of mankind; mostly from Jewish mysticism. Therefore, descriptive names for works were important to him; for example, “Eve”, “Adam”, etc.

– Newman’s works are a decisive break with figurative abstraction. Like Mark Rothko, he is considered the leading representative of Colour Field painting. This art movement, which developed in the USA in the late 1940s and early 1950s, is considered in art history as a kind of Abstract Expressionism. However, it is increasingly classified as a kind of Minimalism.

 

Barnett Newman

On Artist

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Abstract expressionism

Minimalism

Post-artistic abstraction

Colour field painting

friends

Mark Rothko

Robert Motherwell

William Baziotes

artists

Piet Mondrian

Duncan Smith

John Sloan

Adolph Gottlieb

By Artist

flow

Abstract expressionism

friends

William Baziotes

artists

Frank Bowling

Frank Stella

Carl Andre

Donald Judd

Kenneth Noland

Dan Flavin

Helen Frankenthaler

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Barnett Newman created this abstract picture in the style of Colour Field painting as a special work for the American pavilion Expo 67. The exhibition was held in Montreal in honor of the anniversary of Canada.

1967

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The work is a vivid example of colour emancipation. It does not represent anything - only expresses itself as the subject of painting. This cycle consists of four large-scale paintings, interconnected by primary colours.

1969 - 1970

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Of the several sculptures created by Newman, this one is the most monumental. The author used heavy steel with a rough surface, and this material contrasts with the impression of lightness created by the shape of an inverted obelisk.

1963 - 1969

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In the early 1960s, in parallel with the creation of many cycles of paintings, Newman also worked on etchings and lithographs. Among them is the series “Cantos”, which has 18 works. This is the only series of printed works made in colour.

1963

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The Third Station is part of a grandiose Newman’s series of fourteen parts. The name refers to the cry of Christ on the cross, but the author also intended to express the cries of all mankind throughout the tragic history of its existence. The series is characterized by a contrasting palette of black and white on unpainted canvases.

1960

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The huge - more than two meters in height - space of unmodulated red paint in this work absorbs the viewer and even somewhat disorientates. The local colour is interrupted by a single narrow and almost even purple stripe running along the entire length of the right edge.

1950

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This is a unique painting by Newman due to its unusual size. Tall and very narrow, it was perceived as a contrast to the canvas “Vir heroicus sublimis”.

1950

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This was Newman's largest painting at the time of its completion - more than two meters on the horizontal side of the canvas. Later, the artist created even more extensive works. The author wanted viewers to see this and other large paintings at close range so that the background colours surround them.

1950 - 1951

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Newman saw a breakthrough in his career in this work. This is the first canvas that embodies what the artist later called the "zipper", referring to the vertical strip in the composition.

1948

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The work was created at a vital moment in Newman's career. The artist destroyed all the works he completed before 1944, as he "first created his concept and developed his style". On the vertical rectangular canvas, the author placed a pale yellow vertical strip of paint.

1946