In many artist’s careers, they create multiple copies or editions of certain pieces. Whether this be a gradual and intuitive process or an intentionally and planned out series of works, this pattern is not only common, but essential to most artist’s development. The idea that one thing can be done multiple times in different ways begs the question: “What changed?” The subject matter may have changed, but more often, later versions of paintings can give us a perspective on the process that the artists themselves have been through. This collection of works is comprised of single pieces out of repetitive series done by artists from the late 19th century through the 20th century. The question one may ask is: “What changed?” Every artist’s process is different, and therefore the significance of repetition in their career is unique and personal, revealing growth or deterioration within them. As well, why would an artist choose to repeat one piece as opposed to another? What makes one piece special and another not worth being remade or developed? As observers in the current age, we can see all versions at once, but to the artists featured, these iterations were moments within a larger season of their lives, and key moments in their personal lives.
Paul Cézanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire, 1902-6, Oil on Canvas, 22 1/2 x 38 1/4 in. (57.2 x 97.2 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Mont Sainte-Victoire (1902-6) is an example of Paul Cezanne’s fascination with a singular subject. The mountain was only 10 miles from his childhood home in Provence, making it a regular part of his environment for a long time. In letters, he expresses that to him Mount Sainte-Victoire represents stability and constance. To him, creating multiple versions was the only way that he could honestly represent this truth. In a letter to Emile Bernard he wrote on May 12, 1904, he says, “I progress very slowly, for nature reveals herself to me in very complex ways; and the progress needed is endless. One must look at the model and feel very exactly; and also express oneself distinctly and with force.”
Vincent Van Gogh, Sunflowers, 1887, Oil on Canvas, 17 x 24 in. (43.2 x 61 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Sunflowers collection by Van Gogh is a very good example of Van Gogh’s mentality towards his practice. This 1887 work is from his time in Paris. It is a predecessor to the other works that he did that feature sunflowers in vases, which he did in Marles. Analyzing this piece as a moment in his career, we can see that this series is formally and fundamentally based upon color, with this piece being composed of blues and yellows, with Van Gogh gradually moving to eventually use yellow exclusively in his later works.
Warhol has become well known for his use of repetition in works, mainly with having multiple versions on one canvas. In the Mao series, however, he created hundreds of silkscreen and acrylic compositions on separate canvases, ranging greatly in size. His creation of this series was in response to Nixon’s 1972 visit to China, and Warhol was attempting to mass produce his work as an effort to blur the lines between mass-produced art, politics, and celebrity.
The dove has been an international symbol of peace for thousands of years. Picasso created this lithograph first when his friend Henri Matisse gifted him a white milanese pigeon, one that was supposed to remind him of his childhood in Spain. When this piece was seen by the public, he was then tasked with creating a poster or icon for the Paris Peace conference. Each piece in this series was created as a gift for different peace gatherings or pictures that Picasso sought to honor. Picasso was able to synthesize his childhood and his present in this collection, giving us a collection of great significance.
There are four versions of Scream by Munch. The initial piece was done to capture a feeling or experience that Munch had while walking with his friends at sunset. The significance of multiple unoriginal versions is important because they were done for commissions. Munch’s personal expression was therefore capitalized upon, with him creating lithograms to be broadly distributed. His personal expression then became no longer something to express his feeling, but then something that people could identify with, and have for themselves.
Haystacks were a regular object in Monet’s life. His neighbor was a farmer, giving Monet ready access to this subject. Monet expressed a curiosity about how the light interacted with them, and sought to capture it in different times and settings. He did 25 paintings in this series with each consecutive work being due to his dissatisfaction with his ability to capture it accurately. The significance of his repetition highlights the nuance of the subject’s appearance, and allows us to observe the shifts he was experiencing in out moment of time.
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