Lot Essay
Frederick Frieseke's motivation to paint was to create a beautiful and aesthetically pleasing picture. Unlike other artists who were working in Europe at the same time, Frieseke chose not to make strides in the artistic development of the twentieth century, rather, he was loyal to his own personal sense of beauty. He was committed to putting forth his "best qualities as a painter--his interest in light, his ability to abbreviate and condense, his preference for the intimate subject (his garden, the landscape of the surrounding area, interiors with their familiar objects, and most especially his family)." (B.L. Summerford, A Retrospective Exhibition of the Work of F.C. Frieseke, San Francisco, California, 1982, p. 20). By the River is a testament to Frieseke's talent and to his disdain for the shocking work that was being produced by his contemporaries such as the artistic movements of the first quarter of the twentieth century including the Post-Impressionist, Fauve, and Cubist movements.
The carefully balanced color scheme of soft blues and greens spotted with orange and the intermingling of long strokes and small dabs in By the River speak of the artist's desire to produce a visually pleasing work that immediately appeals to the viewer's sense of the aesthetic. In this work, one can quickly identify Frieseke's adherence to the academic "principles of reduction of visual detail for the purpose of clarifying and unifying the expressive whole." (B.L. Summerford, A Retrospective Exhibition, p. 17). He consciously chose one side of the "deep schism developing in the art world between the academic status quo and the experimental art that was shocking the world." (B.L. Summerford, A Retrospective Exhibition, p. 15) Above and beyond being an expression of the artist's choice between the theories of the avant-garde and the conservative, or a demonstration of his artistic prowess, this work is a prime example of Frieseke's talent for capturing a single, perfect moment in paint.
This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of Frieseke's work being compiled by Nicholas Kilmer, the artist's grandson.
The carefully balanced color scheme of soft blues and greens spotted with orange and the intermingling of long strokes and small dabs in By the River speak of the artist's desire to produce a visually pleasing work that immediately appeals to the viewer's sense of the aesthetic. In this work, one can quickly identify Frieseke's adherence to the academic "principles of reduction of visual detail for the purpose of clarifying and unifying the expressive whole." (B.L. Summerford, A Retrospective Exhibition, p. 17). He consciously chose one side of the "deep schism developing in the art world between the academic status quo and the experimental art that was shocking the world." (B.L. Summerford, A Retrospective Exhibition, p. 15) Above and beyond being an expression of the artist's choice between the theories of the avant-garde and the conservative, or a demonstration of his artistic prowess, this work is a prime example of Frieseke's talent for capturing a single, perfect moment in paint.
This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of Frieseke's work being compiled by Nicholas Kilmer, the artist's grandson.