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拍品专文
From his earliest days as a student, Nicolai Fechin was captivated by portrait painting. The widely varied faces of the people he encountered in his native Russia provided the foundation for a storied career that spread across the globe. Like the great Ashcan artist and teacher, Robert Henri, Fechin chose his sitters based on the vitality and character they emanated. Never content with merely capturing a likeness on canvas, Fechin strove to portray a dignity and inner spirit of each subject—whether a Russian peasant, a New York member of society, a Balinese dancer or the artist's most revered subject, the American Indian.
Trained at the Imperial Academy in Leningrad, Fechin developed a quick and dramatic approach to painting with an emphasis on technique and style. This training "explains the solidity and 'built-up' qualities of his work. The drawing always dominates and defines form or volume and there is a strong sense of organization. Fechin wrote: 'A high degree of expertness in technique (draughtsmanship) always has had and always will have a predominant place in art. The subject, by itself, has value only according to the mode of the day: tomorrow it will be superseded by a new one. With the passing of time, the subject loses much of its meaning, but the fine execution of it retains its value.'" (M.N. Balcomb, Nicolai Fechin, San Cristobal, New Mexico, 1975, p. 88.)
Fechin immigrated to the United States in 1923, and settled in the burgeoning art colony of Taos, New Mexico in 1926—a hot-spot for Modernists. "When Fechin arrived in Taos, several New York artists had visited or resided in the area, including John Marin, Robert Henri, Andrew Dasburg, and Marsden Hartley. Nearly all of the original members of the Taos Society of Artists regarded themselves as sophisticated 'modern' painters." (D.C. Hunt, "Nicolai Fechin's Portraits from Life," American Art Review, Kansas City, Missouri, April 2004, p. 126) Fechin flourished in the bright light and intense color of the region. He quickly developed a great respect and affection for the native peoples of the area in particular, and often featured them in his compositions. Throughout his career, Fechin was able to uniquely capture the individuality of those who posed for him and these new subjects provided a perfect opportunity. Using pure color applied directly onto the canvas, often with the broad strokes of a palette knife, Fechin often discarded his artists' tools and used his thumb to re-work the finer qualities of the sitter's expression and mood. He worked quickly, sometimes violently attacking the canvas with his palette knife. The result is a lively and decidedly modern interpretation of the portrait tradition.
The present work is a superb example of Fechin's Taos painting—combining a predilection for modern art while simultaneously capturing an intimate glimpse into the region's Native American life. Mary N. Balcomb writes, "Fechin's Taos portraits are masterfully executed, timeless. Each is a highly individualized study, yet possessing a generalization or universal quality which evokes memories and associations that relate to all people everywhere." (Nicolai Fechin, p. 78) The artist achieves this effect through an assertive yet elegant balance of color, line and form, which results in a harmonious composition. Indeed, Fechin wrote of the importance of harmony within his work: "The artist must not forget that he is dealing with the entire canvas, and not with only one section of it. Regardless of what else he sets out to paint, the problem in his work remains one and the same: with originality, to fill in his canvas and make of it an organic whole. There must not be any particularly favored spot in the painting. It must be remembered that one false note in a symphony orchestra disrupts the harmony of the whole." (as quoted in Nicolai Fechin, p. 159)
These qualities are evident in Cesarita in Violet, in which Fechin creates a beautiful and quiet image of his sitter holding an orange, with a blanket draped over her left shoulder extending to the lower left of the composition. The artist's genius as a draftsman is visible in the subtle and detailed beauty of the girl's face and hands. Her features, clothing and background are painted in an abstract riot of color, focusing on artistic energy and vitality rather than exact detail. Clearly showing the artist’s interest in Modernism, Cesarita in Violet embodies the best of the artist's Taos period—widely considered to be the time of his finest achievements in oil and his greatest American works.
Trained at the Imperial Academy in Leningrad, Fechin developed a quick and dramatic approach to painting with an emphasis on technique and style. This training "explains the solidity and 'built-up' qualities of his work. The drawing always dominates and defines form or volume and there is a strong sense of organization. Fechin wrote: 'A high degree of expertness in technique (draughtsmanship) always has had and always will have a predominant place in art. The subject, by itself, has value only according to the mode of the day: tomorrow it will be superseded by a new one. With the passing of time, the subject loses much of its meaning, but the fine execution of it retains its value.'" (M.N. Balcomb, Nicolai Fechin, San Cristobal, New Mexico, 1975, p. 88.)
Fechin immigrated to the United States in 1923, and settled in the burgeoning art colony of Taos, New Mexico in 1926—a hot-spot for Modernists. "When Fechin arrived in Taos, several New York artists had visited or resided in the area, including John Marin, Robert Henri, Andrew Dasburg, and Marsden Hartley. Nearly all of the original members of the Taos Society of Artists regarded themselves as sophisticated 'modern' painters." (D.C. Hunt, "Nicolai Fechin's Portraits from Life," American Art Review, Kansas City, Missouri, April 2004, p. 126) Fechin flourished in the bright light and intense color of the region. He quickly developed a great respect and affection for the native peoples of the area in particular, and often featured them in his compositions. Throughout his career, Fechin was able to uniquely capture the individuality of those who posed for him and these new subjects provided a perfect opportunity. Using pure color applied directly onto the canvas, often with the broad strokes of a palette knife, Fechin often discarded his artists' tools and used his thumb to re-work the finer qualities of the sitter's expression and mood. He worked quickly, sometimes violently attacking the canvas with his palette knife. The result is a lively and decidedly modern interpretation of the portrait tradition.
The present work is a superb example of Fechin's Taos painting—combining a predilection for modern art while simultaneously capturing an intimate glimpse into the region's Native American life. Mary N. Balcomb writes, "Fechin's Taos portraits are masterfully executed, timeless. Each is a highly individualized study, yet possessing a generalization or universal quality which evokes memories and associations that relate to all people everywhere." (Nicolai Fechin, p. 78) The artist achieves this effect through an assertive yet elegant balance of color, line and form, which results in a harmonious composition. Indeed, Fechin wrote of the importance of harmony within his work: "The artist must not forget that he is dealing with the entire canvas, and not with only one section of it. Regardless of what else he sets out to paint, the problem in his work remains one and the same: with originality, to fill in his canvas and make of it an organic whole. There must not be any particularly favored spot in the painting. It must be remembered that one false note in a symphony orchestra disrupts the harmony of the whole." (as quoted in Nicolai Fechin, p. 159)
These qualities are evident in Cesarita in Violet, in which Fechin creates a beautiful and quiet image of his sitter holding an orange, with a blanket draped over her left shoulder extending to the lower left of the composition. The artist's genius as a draftsman is visible in the subtle and detailed beauty of the girl's face and hands. Her features, clothing and background are painted in an abstract riot of color, focusing on artistic energy and vitality rather than exact detail. Clearly showing the artist’s interest in Modernism, Cesarita in Violet embodies the best of the artist's Taos period—widely considered to be the time of his finest achievements in oil and his greatest American works.