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Lot Essay
Willem de Kooning’s depictions of women are among the most significant works of the Post-War period. De Kooning worked in the space between abstraction and figuration, allowing the two to flow into one another. His nonobjective works reference the human body in their arcs and rhythms, and his figural works slip into abstract lines and forms. The present work, Two Women in a Landscape, is a prime example of the artist’s masterful depiction of classical subject matter – both the female nude and landscapes – entwined with characteristic vibrancy and innovation.
De Kooning’s move from New York to Springs, Long Island in 1963 marked a new ‘openness’ in the artist’s compositions. It allowed the artist to escape the claustrophobia of the city and once again immerse himself in his painting. Shortly after his arrival, he began by painting a number of figurative works, initiating a dialogue with his earlier and iconic Women series. His latest compositions transformed from frightening and even grotesque to the soft, supple and warm depictions that would become his main focus for the next two decades. Of those early works, de Kooning said “I look at them now and they seem vociferous and ferocious” (R. Hughes, “Landscapes and the Bodies of Women,” Horizon, volume 21, no. 2, February 1978, p. 17). De Kooning’s intrigue with capturing the fleshiness of the female form stimulated his experimentation with various mediums to achieve the confident, impasto brushwork that is evident in Two Women in a Landscape, and bears reference to post-Impressionist forebearers such as Henri Matisse, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Chaim Soutine, among others.
By the mid-1960s, De Kooning had developed expertise in introducing new and various media into his oil paints. The particularly fluid quality of the paint stems from his penchant to thin oil paint with water and safflower oil – providing a unique viscosity to the painting while significantly extending drying time, and thus, malleability. The results were significant and his canvases revealed a new dimensionality rarely seen in his previous works – and unlike any works done by his contemporaries. Two Women in a Landscape is rendered with de Kooning’s signature bold brushstrokes where ribbons of sensuously applied paint in fleshy, honied tones of pale blush and orange give rise to the two human figures. They appear to be in a lush landscape, defined through de Kooning’s mastery of greens and yellows that create a distinct fore-ground. In the mid-1970s art critic Robert Hughes visited de Kooning’s studio where he surveyed the immersive and enticing canvases, including the present work. In his article Landscapes and the Bodies of Women, Hughes notes, “The landscape in [the paintings] is entirely suggested – it exists within the color.” (R. Hughes, “Landscapes and the Bodies of Women,” Horizon, volume 21, no. 2, February 1978, p. 19).
De Kooning intentionally fuses body and landscape, obliterating the traditional figure/ground separation. Hughes remarked, “…these human figures also have the character of landscape: the slashing brush mark that indicates breast or buttock can equally well describe a hill, a declivity, or a valley full of pubic brambles; and there is a continual interchange between the near and the far, an instability of scale that suggests a connection between landscape and figure” (R. Hughes, “Landscapes and the Bodies of Women,” Horizon, volume 21, no. 2, February 1978, p. 17). The present work, an image of which was reproduced in Hughes’ article, invites the viewer to discern the construction of the figures legs, torsos and even their heads. Yet, as de Kooning leans towards abstraction the joyous and lustful quality of the paint becomes the most overtly present feature of the work.
In the mid-1970s, landscapes usurped women as a dominant theme in his paintings and de Kooning fervently threw himself into painting abstractions based on his rural surroundings. Art critic and curator David Sylvester wrote of de Kooning’s paintings from this era, “The incandescence in these products of ripe wisdom and second childhood, of this marvelous marriage of experience and innocence, is not only an incandescence of matter but often of erotic feeling … These paintings are crystallizations of the experience and amazement of having body and mind dissolve into another who is all delight” (D. Sylvester, About Modern Art: Critical Essays 1948-1996, London, 2001, p. 349-50). De Kooning’s Two Women in a Landscape is a dazzling, vibrant example of the artist’s mastery and creative output of the 1970s and serves as a prime example of his enthrallment with both the female form and the environment around him; one that welcomes the metaphorical implications of ‘mother earth’ and divine femininity.
De Kooning’s move from New York to Springs, Long Island in 1963 marked a new ‘openness’ in the artist’s compositions. It allowed the artist to escape the claustrophobia of the city and once again immerse himself in his painting. Shortly after his arrival, he began by painting a number of figurative works, initiating a dialogue with his earlier and iconic Women series. His latest compositions transformed from frightening and even grotesque to the soft, supple and warm depictions that would become his main focus for the next two decades. Of those early works, de Kooning said “I look at them now and they seem vociferous and ferocious” (R. Hughes, “Landscapes and the Bodies of Women,” Horizon, volume 21, no. 2, February 1978, p. 17). De Kooning’s intrigue with capturing the fleshiness of the female form stimulated his experimentation with various mediums to achieve the confident, impasto brushwork that is evident in Two Women in a Landscape, and bears reference to post-Impressionist forebearers such as Henri Matisse, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Chaim Soutine, among others.
By the mid-1960s, De Kooning had developed expertise in introducing new and various media into his oil paints. The particularly fluid quality of the paint stems from his penchant to thin oil paint with water and safflower oil – providing a unique viscosity to the painting while significantly extending drying time, and thus, malleability. The results were significant and his canvases revealed a new dimensionality rarely seen in his previous works – and unlike any works done by his contemporaries. Two Women in a Landscape is rendered with de Kooning’s signature bold brushstrokes where ribbons of sensuously applied paint in fleshy, honied tones of pale blush and orange give rise to the two human figures. They appear to be in a lush landscape, defined through de Kooning’s mastery of greens and yellows that create a distinct fore-ground. In the mid-1970s art critic Robert Hughes visited de Kooning’s studio where he surveyed the immersive and enticing canvases, including the present work. In his article Landscapes and the Bodies of Women, Hughes notes, “The landscape in [the paintings] is entirely suggested – it exists within the color.” (R. Hughes, “Landscapes and the Bodies of Women,” Horizon, volume 21, no. 2, February 1978, p. 19).
De Kooning intentionally fuses body and landscape, obliterating the traditional figure/ground separation. Hughes remarked, “…these human figures also have the character of landscape: the slashing brush mark that indicates breast or buttock can equally well describe a hill, a declivity, or a valley full of pubic brambles; and there is a continual interchange between the near and the far, an instability of scale that suggests a connection between landscape and figure” (R. Hughes, “Landscapes and the Bodies of Women,” Horizon, volume 21, no. 2, February 1978, p. 17). The present work, an image of which was reproduced in Hughes’ article, invites the viewer to discern the construction of the figures legs, torsos and even their heads. Yet, as de Kooning leans towards abstraction the joyous and lustful quality of the paint becomes the most overtly present feature of the work.
In the mid-1970s, landscapes usurped women as a dominant theme in his paintings and de Kooning fervently threw himself into painting abstractions based on his rural surroundings. Art critic and curator David Sylvester wrote of de Kooning’s paintings from this era, “The incandescence in these products of ripe wisdom and second childhood, of this marvelous marriage of experience and innocence, is not only an incandescence of matter but often of erotic feeling … These paintings are crystallizations of the experience and amazement of having body and mind dissolve into another who is all delight” (D. Sylvester, About Modern Art: Critical Essays 1948-1996, London, 2001, p. 349-50). De Kooning’s Two Women in a Landscape is a dazzling, vibrant example of the artist’s mastery and creative output of the 1970s and serves as a prime example of his enthrallment with both the female form and the environment around him; one that welcomes the metaphorical implications of ‘mother earth’ and divine femininity.