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Lot Essay
Executed in 1932.
"Imagination is the touch-stone of genius; it opens the visions of new worlds of the explorer, scientist, philosopher, - the 'red empire of Africa' of Rhodes, the 'red' superman of Nietszche, the 'red' symphonies of Brahms, the 'red' dreams of a Chinese poet, and the red mountain of a Tang painter. Only a profound and imaginative outlook can enable the artist to create a new painting, that is to create new beauty, vital possibilities of significant color. Without imagination painting fails of its greatest power and beauty." (Oscar Bluemner, "What and When is Painting? Today," in Oscar Bluemner, 1867-1938, New York, 1969) This passage, excerpted from an essay Bluemner wrote in 1929, is evidence of his radical and reflective outlook on painting.
Known widely for his bold use of color, Oscar Bluemner also produced works, In Low Key among them, that "demonstrate the full range of his palette. Strong contrasts rather than intense color characterize In Low Key, a painting of 'Nights in Towns' when 'the sides of objects faintly emerge...[from] deep luminous black.' Red survives here, but its subdued, vaporous quality imparts more melancholy than egotism. The central building - caught between the flexed brilliance of a steely tree limb and the nervous entreaties of dark olive, fingerlike foliage ('all shapes are human') - appears autobiographical. It profiles the often painful choice between self-realization and responding to the needs of others." (Jeffrey R. Hayes, "Oscar Bluemner - Romantic Modern," in Oscar Bluemner: A Retrospective Exhibition, New York, 1985)
"Imagination is the touch-stone of genius; it opens the visions of new worlds of the explorer, scientist, philosopher, - the 'red empire of Africa' of Rhodes, the 'red' superman of Nietszche, the 'red' symphonies of Brahms, the 'red' dreams of a Chinese poet, and the red mountain of a Tang painter. Only a profound and imaginative outlook can enable the artist to create a new painting, that is to create new beauty, vital possibilities of significant color. Without imagination painting fails of its greatest power and beauty." (Oscar Bluemner, "What and When is Painting? Today," in Oscar Bluemner, 1867-1938, New York, 1969) This passage, excerpted from an essay Bluemner wrote in 1929, is evidence of his radical and reflective outlook on painting.
Known widely for his bold use of color, Oscar Bluemner also produced works, In Low Key among them, that "demonstrate the full range of his palette. Strong contrasts rather than intense color characterize In Low Key, a painting of 'Nights in Towns' when 'the sides of objects faintly emerge...[from] deep luminous black.' Red survives here, but its subdued, vaporous quality imparts more melancholy than egotism. The central building - caught between the flexed brilliance of a steely tree limb and the nervous entreaties of dark olive, fingerlike foliage ('all shapes are human') - appears autobiographical. It profiles the often painful choice between self-realization and responding to the needs of others." (Jeffrey R. Hayes, "Oscar Bluemner - Romantic Modern," in Oscar Bluemner: A Retrospective Exhibition, New York, 1985)