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Lot Essay
Frederick Frieseke was the dominant figure among the second generation of American expatriates to settle in Giverny at the turn of the century, and most representative of the aesthetic that developed there. The expansive gardens and landscapes of Giverny had been attracting American artists since the summer of 1887, providing an idyllic environment to investigate the aspects of color, light and vigorous brushstroke of the Impressionist aesthetic. Two dominant themes developed among the Americans in Giverny. As noted by Dr. W. H. Gerdts, "they opted primarily for landscape work, while others who were more concerned with the figure, applied the strategies of Impressionism to the more traditionally acceptable themes of radiant children and ideal, even virginal young women, and eschewed the scenes of modern, usually urban life, found in the streets, theatres, and cafs, subjects preferred by many of the French figurative Impressionists." (American Impressionism, Switzerland, 1990, p. 12) Frederick Frieseke focused on the latter, preferring "monumental images of women, single or in pairs, clothed or nude, and posed either in domestic interiors or in garden settings." (W. Gerdts, Monet's Giverny: An Impressionist Colony, New York, 1993, p. 172)
The female figure, feminine activities and the role of women within the art historical tradition inspired Frieseke. His earliest mature paintings are depictions of women in interiors, in characteristic situations, private and intimate, displayed as objects of beauty. One of his favorite themes was the home-inspired subject, Frieseke felt this to be the most innocent and affectionate. In the Nursery, painted in 1917, is a delicate example of the mother and child relationship. A young mother sits attentively in the nursery as her young child naps in the cradle nearby. Such subjects, as the mother and child, are concerned with the intimacies of womanhood and, as here, they conform to traditional stereotypes.
According to Dr. Gerdts, Frieseke had anticipated "the more decorative direction that Impressionism was to take in the twentieth century, almost as close to Bonnard and Vuillard as to Renoir." (American Impressionism, New York, 1984, p. 266) The figure's dress, the wall coverings, the patterned fabric on the arm chair and rug all provide Frieseke the opportunity to incorporate pattern into the composition. In fact, "it was Frieseke who introduced into the repertory of Giverny painting the concern for rich, decorative patterns...There are patterns of furniture, patterns of parasols, patterns of fabric and wall coverings, patterns of light and shade, and patterns of flowers, all played off one another in bright sunshine" (Monet's Giverny, p. 172) Even in his interior scenes, Frieseke transposed sunlight into the intimate settings. The floor-to-ceiling glass door in the upper left of the composition opens onto one of many gardens in Giverny, simultaneously allowing sunlight to saturate the room. Rays and spots of sunlight are sprinkled throughout the interior, on the cradle, the figures knees and splashed across the floor. The lace dressed window projects a kaleidoscope of sunlit spots against the rear wall. Frieseke has used vibrant, broad color planes and repetitive mosaic configurations to render an intimate, domestic scene. All of his artistic devices come together in this work to form a highly successful, complete, composed and balanced composition.
This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonn of Frieseke's work being compiled by Nicholas Kilmer, the artist's grandson.
The female figure, feminine activities and the role of women within the art historical tradition inspired Frieseke. His earliest mature paintings are depictions of women in interiors, in characteristic situations, private and intimate, displayed as objects of beauty. One of his favorite themes was the home-inspired subject, Frieseke felt this to be the most innocent and affectionate. In the Nursery, painted in 1917, is a delicate example of the mother and child relationship. A young mother sits attentively in the nursery as her young child naps in the cradle nearby. Such subjects, as the mother and child, are concerned with the intimacies of womanhood and, as here, they conform to traditional stereotypes.
According to Dr. Gerdts, Frieseke had anticipated "the more decorative direction that Impressionism was to take in the twentieth century, almost as close to Bonnard and Vuillard as to Renoir." (American Impressionism, New York, 1984, p. 266) The figure's dress, the wall coverings, the patterned fabric on the arm chair and rug all provide Frieseke the opportunity to incorporate pattern into the composition. In fact, "it was Frieseke who introduced into the repertory of Giverny painting the concern for rich, decorative patterns...There are patterns of furniture, patterns of parasols, patterns of fabric and wall coverings, patterns of light and shade, and patterns of flowers, all played off one another in bright sunshine" (Monet's Giverny, p. 172) Even in his interior scenes, Frieseke transposed sunlight into the intimate settings. The floor-to-ceiling glass door in the upper left of the composition opens onto one of many gardens in Giverny, simultaneously allowing sunlight to saturate the room. Rays and spots of sunlight are sprinkled throughout the interior, on the cradle, the figures knees and splashed across the floor. The lace dressed window projects a kaleidoscope of sunlit spots against the rear wall. Frieseke has used vibrant, broad color planes and repetitive mosaic configurations to render an intimate, domestic scene. All of his artistic devices come together in this work to form a highly successful, complete, composed and balanced composition.
This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonn of Frieseke's work being compiled by Nicholas Kilmer, the artist's grandson.