Turner, Hugo, Moreau
Title: Stormy Sea with Dolphins, circa 1835-40
Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner (English 1775-1851)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 90.8 x 121.9 cm
Permanent Collection: Tate Collection (N04664)
Bequeathed by the Artist 1856
Image Courtesy: Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt
The Discovery of Abstraction
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt
October 6 - January 6, 2007
Joseph Mallord William Turner, Victor Hugo and Gustave Moreau were all abstract artists before the term was coined. Each were brilliant in their
chosen fields and the opportunity to view works by the three should not be missed. The exhibit is not a focus on the creation of abstraction
but the realization this new style of the early 20th Century is and was art.
It does it through an investigation of the artists’ fascination with spots or images
produced by chance. Then it explores the effect of lines, colors,
and compositions in painting.
Joseph Mallord William Turner
Title: Red Sky over a Beach c.1840-45
Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner (English 1775-1851)
Medium: Oil on Board
Dimensions: 30.5 x 48 cm
Permanent Collection: London, Tate Britain
Bequeathed by the Artist 1856
Image Courtesy: Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt
Turner will always be known as the British landscape painter. He was a child prodigy, earning his first showing at the prestigious Royal Academy at the age of 15. Like
many artists he found torture in his creativity though not when he was at his easel. It was selling his works that brought him anguish and often sent him into depression.
His work became increasing abstract in nature as he continued his focus on light and space. Naturally this derivation from the norm brought much criticism his
way though among his defenders was British art critic John Ruskin.
Victor Hugo
Title: Abstract Composition, c. 1865
Artist: Victor Hugo (French 1802-1885)
Medium: Brown-ink wash on vellum paper
Dimensions: 5.8 x 12.1 cm
Permanent Collection: Maison de Victor Hugo, Paris
Image Courtesy: Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt
Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame are probably the first things that one remembers when thinking of the career of Victor Hugo. He
was also a visual artist as well as a noted author. Few knew this though his oeuvre included nearly 5,000 pieces.
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Title: Tache / Stain, c. 1869
Artist: Victor Hugo (French 1802-1885)
Medium: Brown-ink wash on vellum paper
Dimensions: 22.3 x 14.4 cm
Permanent Collection: Maison de Victor Hugo, Paris
Image Courtesy: Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt
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Hugo opted to cease his literature to enter the French Political Realm. His support was for the French Republic which brought him in conflict with the absolute
monarchy of Napoleon III, who seized power in 1851. The new Emperor opposed any opposition to his power including parliament. Outraged, Hugo declared Napoleon
a traitor to France and earned a hasty and forced exile for his views. Hugo spent much of his time in the Channel Island of Guernsey. During his
4-year foray
into politics until his exile he spent much time drawing, almost always on paper. Ahead of his time, his works portrayed elements of Abstract Expressionism.
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Gustave Moreau
Title: Esquisse / Sketch
Artist: Gustave Moreau (French 1826-1898)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 32.5 x 24.7 cm
Permanent Collection: Paris, Musée Gustave Moreau
Copyright: bpk/ RMN, Musée Gustave Moreau/ René-Gabriel Ojéda
Image Courtesy: Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt
Paris native Gustave Moreau is usually associated with the Symbolist Movement in Art. His subjects were often religious or mythological. He also
created non-figurative works that, like Hugo, demonstrated he was ahead of the Abstract Expressionism that would develop in the United States following
the Second World War. It is associated with Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Alexander Calder among others.
Title: Palette d'Aquarelle
Artist: Gustave Moreau (French 1826-1898)
Medium: Watercolor and Gouache
Dimensions: 22.1 x 36 cm
Permanent Collection: Paris, Musée Gustave Moreau
Copyright: bpk/ RMN, Musée Gustave Moreau/ René-Gabriel Ojéda
Image Courtesy: Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt
Turner, Hugo, Moreau: The Discovery of Abstraction provides the opportunity to discover Abstract Expressionism in it's infancy in Europe.
Turner, Hugo, Moreau: The Discovery of Abstraction
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt:
October 6 - January 6, 2007
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