Metzinger along with Albert Gleizes wrote the first theoretical work on Cubism. Labeled 'degenerate' by the Nazis, he had his work "En Canot" displayed at the infamous exhibition in 1937. The work is missing ever since...
ubject and Style:
The painting depicts an elegantly dressed Parisian woman, possibly Lucie Soubiron, Metzinger's wife, holding a fan and wearing a stylish feathered hat. It is rendered in a geometrically Cubist style, showcasing Metzinger's use of "mobile perspective".
Mobile Perspective:
Instead of a single viewpoint, Metzinger portrays the woman from various locations and angles, capturing her face, neck, and hat from a succession of spatial angles or locations over an extended period. This results in a complex series of profile and frontal views seen simultaneously within the painting.
Cubist Principles:
The work exemplifies Cubist principles by presenting a subject from multiple perspectives within a single image, challenging traditional fixed viewpoints in Western painting. This approach aimed to represent the dynamic and changing nature of the world, where appearance varies depending on the observer's viewpoint.
Context:
"Woman with a Fan" was exhibited at the Salon d'Automne in 1912 and was featured in the "Salon Bourgeois" of La Maison Cubiste. It was also created around the time Metzinger and Albert Gleizes published Du Cubisme, a foundational theoretical essay on the Cubist movement.
Jean Metzinger, French artist, theorist, writer, critic and poet (1883-1956) was born on this day!
"La Femme à l'Éventail (Woman with a Fan)" (1912)
oil on canvas. 91x64 cm
Guggenheim, New York.
#ArtSky #Metzinger #DegenerateArt #Cubism
