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Lot Essay
Wayne Thiebaud's paintings monumentalize everyday objects through his masterful painting technique and alluring use of color. It was the landmark exhibition at the Allan Stone Gallery in New York in 1962 that rapidly built Thiebaud's reputation as a painter of objects representative of the Post-War American identity. Throughout his career Thiebaud has repeatedly tackled subject matter including pastries, gumball machines, toys, and lipsticks, yet his extended engagement with these subjects was not only to perfect a formula but also to explore the formal possibilities of painting. Thiebaud's impasto-loaded paint surface speaks with the elegance of old master brushstrokes, while at the same time assiduously reconstructing the surface look and feel of a wide range of mass-produced American goods. Both intimate and expressive, the subject matter of Cigar in Ashtray is indicative of the breadth of Thiebaud's oeuvre.
Formally, this work bears the hallmarks of Thiebaud's best paintings. The simple, geometric shapes of the cigar and ashtray emerge from the surface of the canvas by means of the artist's generous application of vibrant paint. Thiebaud, both a lover of realism and a commercially trained artist, embraced the pureness and directness of geometric shapes, which he drew naturally out of the aesthetic delights of the commonplace. Thiebaud claims it was Jasper Johns' thematic interplay between illusion and reality in his Flag and Target paintings that inspired him to further explore the object- like autonomy of imagery.
Situated on one of Thiebaud's characteristic monochrome but sumptuously painted backgrounds, the mystery and tension within the image is heightened. The combination of the familiar with the starkness of the setting enhances the photographic quality of the work. The artist plays with absence and presence simultaneously, employing a subtle use of red paint to indicate the burning embers of a cigar awaiting its owner's return. A thin hint of smoke rises from the smoldering ash, dissipating into the gray background.
In his still-life paintings, Thiebaud approaches a venerable artistic genre with a fresh eye. The artist follows a convention of painting based upon recording observations and perceived truths about an object. The simplified scheme and rich impasto of Cigar in Ashtray extends beyond the boundaries of the everyday. The palette of whites, creams, and cool blues dominate the picture, accentuating the contour lines of the cigar and ashtray. Thiebaud worked from the imagination in a fast, alla prima technique, with his dynamic blurring and layering of paint creating a playful blend of exaggerated colors that appear freshly painted.
The strong light cast upon the scene creates bold purple and cerulean shadows, adding solidity and three-dimensional volume to the forms. Thiebaud's unique coloring technique brings vibrating electricity to an otherwise static scene. The cream ashtray, with its faint hues of red and blue, emerges from the stark background. The same colors are echoed in the delicately placed cigar. Each precise brushstroke produces so much detail that even the most quotidian subject matter comes alive with excitement and color. In this way, Cigar in Ashtray is a potent example of Thiebaud's love for the manipulation of paint as well as the representation of everyday things.
Formally, this work bears the hallmarks of Thiebaud's best paintings. The simple, geometric shapes of the cigar and ashtray emerge from the surface of the canvas by means of the artist's generous application of vibrant paint. Thiebaud, both a lover of realism and a commercially trained artist, embraced the pureness and directness of geometric shapes, which he drew naturally out of the aesthetic delights of the commonplace. Thiebaud claims it was Jasper Johns' thematic interplay between illusion and reality in his Flag and Target paintings that inspired him to further explore the object- like autonomy of imagery.
Situated on one of Thiebaud's characteristic monochrome but sumptuously painted backgrounds, the mystery and tension within the image is heightened. The combination of the familiar with the starkness of the setting enhances the photographic quality of the work. The artist plays with absence and presence simultaneously, employing a subtle use of red paint to indicate the burning embers of a cigar awaiting its owner's return. A thin hint of smoke rises from the smoldering ash, dissipating into the gray background.
In his still-life paintings, Thiebaud approaches a venerable artistic genre with a fresh eye. The artist follows a convention of painting based upon recording observations and perceived truths about an object. The simplified scheme and rich impasto of Cigar in Ashtray extends beyond the boundaries of the everyday. The palette of whites, creams, and cool blues dominate the picture, accentuating the contour lines of the cigar and ashtray. Thiebaud worked from the imagination in a fast, alla prima technique, with his dynamic blurring and layering of paint creating a playful blend of exaggerated colors that appear freshly painted.
The strong light cast upon the scene creates bold purple and cerulean shadows, adding solidity and three-dimensional volume to the forms. Thiebaud's unique coloring technique brings vibrating electricity to an otherwise static scene. The cream ashtray, with its faint hues of red and blue, emerges from the stark background. The same colors are echoed in the delicately placed cigar. Each precise brushstroke produces so much detail that even the most quotidian subject matter comes alive with excitement and color. In this way, Cigar in Ashtray is a potent example of Thiebaud's love for the manipulation of paint as well as the representation of everyday things.