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拍品專文
A superb example of Nicolai Fechin's work, Young Girl is indicative of his Taos, New Mexico period, which combines a predilection for modern art while simultaneously capturing the realism of an intimate glimpse into the region's Native American life. Trained at the Imperial Academy in St. Petersberg, Fechin developed a quick and dramatic approach to painting. He immigrated to the United States in 1923, and settled in Taos, a burgeoning art colony, in 1926.
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, and often included them in his compositions. Interested in portraiture throughout his career, he maintained a keen sense of capturing the individuality of those who posed for him. Using pure color applied directly onto the canvas with broad strokes of a palette knife, Fechin would then often discard his artists' tools and use his thumb to re-work the finer qualities of the sitter's expression and moods. He worked quickly, sometimes violently attacking the canvas with his palette knife, often causing his sitters to become apprehensive.
Fechin biographer Mary N. Balcomb writes "The work from Taos is exceptional. The portraits are acutely psychological, compassionate, penetrating studies of character, scrutinizing the soul of man...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, San Cristobal, New Mexico, 1999 ed., pp. 74, 78) These qualities are evident in Young Girl, where Fechin creates a beautiful yet simple composition of a child gazing confidently at the viewer. The artist's strong draftsmanship is visible in the self-assured rendering of the sitter's face and eyes. The hair and clothing are painted in an abstract riot of color, applied with rapid, deft strokes of a palette knife and full of artistic energy and vitality.
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, and often included them in his compositions. Interested in portraiture throughout his career, he maintained a keen sense of capturing the individuality of those who posed for him. Using pure color applied directly onto the canvas with broad strokes of a palette knife, Fechin would then often discard his artists' tools and use his thumb to re-work the finer qualities of the sitter's expression and moods. He worked quickly, sometimes violently attacking the canvas with his palette knife, often causing his sitters to become apprehensive.
Fechin biographer Mary N. Balcomb writes "The work from Taos is exceptional. The portraits are acutely psychological, compassionate, penetrating studies of character, scrutinizing the soul of man...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, San Cristobal, New Mexico, 1999 ed., pp. 74, 78) These qualities are evident in Young Girl, where Fechin creates a beautiful yet simple composition of a child gazing confidently at the viewer. The artist's strong draftsmanship is visible in the self-assured rendering of the sitter's face and eyes. The hair and clothing are painted in an abstract riot of color, applied with rapid, deft strokes of a palette knife and full of artistic energy and vitality.