The Decline of Therese

Balthasar Klossowski, later called Balthus, is a Polish-French modern artist whose work has been greatly criticized as being alluring and disturbing especially those featuring adolescents. Such criticism later made Balthus feel defensive and detached. He always preferred that people look at his art rather than to speak or write about it. He always refused to acknowledge the imposition of eroticism in his work and said that the impure thoughts and emotions that arise when viewing his paintings come from the viewer themselves. Balthus is known to enjoy shaking up his viewers conscience.

Therese Blanchard is a young girl who Balthus would paint at least 10 portraits of, more than any of his other models. Balthus met her in Paris when she was eleven. They shared a neighborhood and perhaps ran into each other in the street or in a shop. At this time Balthus was painting commissioned portraits which he hated doing but had to for money. Since Balthus has always felt a great deal of kinship with children, he was drawn to Therese’s innocent youth. Balthus usually paints her alone in portraits or genre paintings sometimes featuring her brother. This exhibit includes painting of Therese only in order of which they were painted. As the paintings progress Therese ages as well as the somber tone in which Balthus paints her. He creates intimacy between the viewer and the Therese through perspective, colors, and composition.

Balthus, Therese, 1936, Oil on Canvas, 23 ⅝ x 19 5/16 in.,  Private Collection

This is Balthus’s first portrait of Therese. She would not be described as conventionally pretty and yet Balthus was still drawn to her simplicity and youth. She is somberly and plainly dressed in a black top with simple red piping in the collar. The focus is on Therese’s face, painted in a light neutral tone, as she looks away introspectively with a serious look that matches her dark clothing. Balthus captures her young dignity in the details in her face which draw the viewer in to reflect, The perspective of Therese is from a lower angle rather than straight on elevating her and giving her importance. Her dark hair and dress push her off the neutral brown background to keep the focus on her.

Balthus, Therese with Cat, 1937, Oil on Cardboard, 34 ½ x 30 ½ in.,  The Art Institute of Chicago, Lindy and Edwin Bergman Collection (1991.595)

Here we have a genre painting of Therese a year later. Here we have her lounging on a bench with a cat on the floor. With one knee sock down by her ankle and her arms raised up and her hands meeting at the back of her head it looks as if Therese may have just been playing outside. The perspective is low and perhaps more on level with the cat showing Therese entirely. The background is dark, darker than the last portrait, allowing for Therese’s light neutral skin and bright pinks and greens in her clothing along with the bench to create tenebrism and push her into focus. Therese holds a nonchalant posture on the bench with her underwear exposed without her being properly aware. She has a poker face that refuses to look directly at the viewer and rather at something off to the right, perhaps knowing she is being observed. And yet the intimacy is still present as the viewer further reflects on Therese alone and exposed in a room with a cat.

Balthus, Therese Dreaming, 1938, Oil on Canvas, 59 x 51 in, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1999.363.2)

Therese Dreaming was painted the following year and is a genre painting very much like the last one. The painting gives us a glimpse into a room covered in dark striped wallpaper, occupied by Therese lounging on the same wooden bench with a now white cat drinking from a bowl of milk on the floor at her feet. Therese stretches her arms above her head. Her eyes are closed with her face in profile perhaps day dreaming. The cats eyes are closed matching Therese’s expression creating a tone of intimacy. One of her legs rests on the wooden bench with her other one the floor in such a way that again exposes her underwear. The perspective is higher now putting Therese center right. Therese’s skirt is now red rather than green making her white slip and underwear more alluring. But if Therese is dreaming, should we even be looking at her underwear when she is so unaware?

 

Balthus, Therese, Oil on Cardboard, 21 11/16 x 18 3/16 in.,  Private Collection

Here is a portrait of Therese done in the same year as the last painting. With a glum look on her face Therese’s dark eyes gaze out at the viewer for the first time. Her face seems to have matured a bit and she appears impatient and annoyed as she looks out. Her face now has a grey tone mixed in with the light neutral from before making her appear more gloomy. Her yellow off the shoulder shirt draws us in to her young innocence is done in brisk brush strokes. Why does a child so young looks so glum? The perspective is closer than the portrait seen earlier, drawing us into intimacy with a glum Therese.

Balthus, Therese on a Bench Seat, 1939, Oil on Canvas, 27 ⅞ x 36 in., Dorothy R. and Richard E. Sherwood Family Collection

Here, Therese is seen in a genre painting emphasizing her slender now fourteen year old body. With her legs in the same position as before, Therese leans back balancing with one hand on the ground and her other raised diagonally above toward her knee holding a string. This posture is less provocative than it has been before on this bench as our perspective has changed to a side view rather than head on looking at her underwear. Therese looks detached with a reserved temperament even in this playful position as her body is actively reclining. Her white knee socks and collar emphasize her innocent school girl look. This is the last known painting of Therese. The last piece in this exhibit is suggested to be Therese.

Balthus, The Victim, 1939-46, Oil on Canvas, 52 x 85 ⅞ in. Private Collection

The Victim is a dark rendition of the well-known reclining female nude. This dark scene was finished when Balthus returned to Paris after being called to serve in the military. A female body, painted in similar gray-neutral tones seen in the portrait of 1938, stretches across the canvas on a white sheet that was thrown over a bed, the folds evoking a sense of still-life painting. Below her head on the ground lies a knife pointed directly at her heart. Balthus leaves the viewer wondering if she is in a trance or dead. The short brown hair and oval shape of the victim’s face match the shape of Therese’s face already depicted by Balthus numerous times. Therese had never posed in the nude but has been seen painted in a reclining position like the painting before. Perhaps Balthus painted The Victim using Therese’s features onto an imagined version of her. Perhaps she is a victim of the perversion that has been imposed on her by critics and viewers of previous paintings depicting her.

Human Depiction in Dutch Golden Age Paintings

My object that I chose at the beginning of the semester is Jan Steen’s Merry Company on a Terrace, an artwork that could be classified as a genre painting during the Dutch Golden Age. In my research proposal, I wanted to look further into how Dutch Golden Age portrayed people. For example, how did the Dutch view the human body? Was it viewed as a temple, or just an earthly shell? Was religion frowned upon or was it embraced? What was a general overview of Dutch philosophy? All of these are questions are compelling to explore through artwork of the Dutch Golden Age, as art can often serve as a means to explore the human condition. When it comes to curating a gallery, I chose other paintings of both individual and multiple humans that have similar characteristics to Merry Company on a Terrace. In this exhibit, you will find various paintings from the Dutch Golden Era depicting mundane aspects of life to vivid and lively parties with over a dozen people in the frame. Each one may have different subjects, but all point back to how Dutch Golden Age paintings served as commentary or even if some of them really were just “art for art’s sake.”

Johannes Vermeer, Woman with a Water Jug, 1660-1662, Oil on canvas, 45.7 cm x 40.6 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Considered to be one of the quintessential artists of the Dutch Golden Age, Johannes Vermeer depicts a woman with a water jug in her every day life. She is dressed as a middle class woman of her time. Her map of Europe in the background and the nice silverware also implies her social standing of the time. Like a lot of Dutch Golden Age painters, Vermeer keeps his color palette very simple, with mostly shades of blue and white/tan to depict this scene. This painting can serve as an example of Dutch art being fascinated with even the most ordinary of people and lifestyles.

Judith Leyster, The Proposition, 1631, Oil on panel, 11 3/8 " x 9.5 ", Royal Picture Gallery, Mauritshuis, The Hague

This painting has more recently been seen through a more feminist lens. For starters, the woman is the focus of the painting as opposed to the man. Secondly, the man is more or less in the background, implying a form of submission to the woman. Also, the woman is painted in a bright and lighted form as she writes, while the man is contrasted in a more dark and shadowy context that leads one to believe that he is learning from the woman in a reversal of traditional gender roles. This painting could be interpreted as one where women are viewed to be truly equal to men and are just as capable of teaching men as men are of teaching women.

Rembrandt, The Jewish Bride, 1665, Oil on canvas, 121.5 cm x 166.5 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Part of what makes this painting stand out is its ambiguity. It is considered to be a depiction of an Old Testament marriage, but it is not specified which one it exactly is. It could be Isaac and Rebekah, Boaz and Ruth, or Abraham and Sarah. With this ambiguity in mind, one could interpret this rather as being a depiction of marriage as not just a legal or physical bond, but a spiritual one as well. The different colors worn by the groom and bride could also serve as a symbol of two becoming one, implying the Dutch had a somewhat sacred view of marriage.

Bartholomeus van der Heist, Banquet of the Amsterdam Civic Guard in Celebration of the Peace of Münster, 1648, Oil painting, 232 cm x 547 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

This painting is known as a group portrait, and is famous for being the one of the few group portraits where all the subjects can be identified and all objects are accounted for. With over two dozen subjects, the portrait portrays high ranking politicians as eating and drinking together as good friends having a jolly ole time. Contrasted with the world's polarized politics of today, politicians are shown to be having a grand time together without showing animosity towards each other over differences in belief.

Rembrandt, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolas Tulp, 1632, Oil on canvas, 216.5 cm x 169.5 cm, Mauritshuis, The Hague

In this painting, Rembrandt depicts what one could call a medical lecture with a deceased body as a means of teaching anatomy. This was also the first painting Rembrandt felt confident enough to sign. Once a year, surgeons would be allowed to dissect a body that of a dead criminal to examine the anatomy and to further learn surgery techniques. This could be an indicator that the Dutch were fascinated with the human body and viewed it as a never-ending set of mysteries for them to solve.

Confessional Art

Creation of art happens as a response to things we can’t always say with words, but cannot remain silent. Picasso said, “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” We can look back across art history and see numerous ways that art has been used as a way of processing mistakes, trauma, guilt, desire, and belief in truly diverse and astonishing ways. 

Be encouraged to think of these artworks as transgressions in love. There is a story of a woman in Mark 14 that breaks an expensive bottle of perfume over Jesus’ feet. This was highly inappropriate for the setting considering the waste of such expensive perfume, and the sexual connotations of using a scent that would’ve been traditionally used on wedding nights. But, in response to his companions astonishment Jesus says, “Leave her alone… Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me… I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” (Mark 14:6, 9) Jesus gave her grace knowing that what she did was an outpouring of love. Mary’s perfume ended up being the only garment worn by Jesus as he was dying on the cross. 

Strict moralism has never produced great art. Art flows out of us as a response to the possibility of grace in our lives. These artists weren’t trying to impress anyone with their work, but to grow boldly by understanding their limitations, and finitude as human beings.

Rembrandt, Raising the Cross, 1633, Oil on canvas, 96.2 x 72.2 cm., Bavarian State Painting Collections - Alte Pinakothek Munich. 

This is a depiction of the crucifixion. Rembrandt does something beautifully original here by transforming a traditional biblical scene into something that feels more like poetry. This is a visual representation of the very gospel in which Rembrandt put his faith. Rembrandt paints himself into the painting as the figure in a blue beret who is actively raising the cross. In raising Jesus on the cross he affirms his responsibility for Jesus’ death. 

Vincent Van Gogh, Wheatfield with Crows, 1890, oil on canvas, 50.5 x 103 cm., Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 

This artwork is allegedly Van Gogh’s last work. The wheat field under stormy skies are painted using complementary colors. The vastness of the field with the startling amount of crows is overwhelming and slightly worrying. This scene is the only thing visible from Van Gogh’s room inside the Asylum. The curling road with the abrupt end lends a feeling of hopelessness and intense sadness. This exemplifies his emotional state and subtly prophesied his death.  

Salvador Dalí, The Accommodations of Desire, 1929, Oil and cut-and-pasted printed paper on wood, 22.2 x 34.9 cm., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Dalí was interested in expressing himself through his fantasies and visions by mixing realism and startling expressionism. This painting was created while processing sexual frustration and anxieties surrounding an affair with Gala, the wife of Paul Éluard, a friend of Dalí, and contemporary painter. Dalí was inspired to make this after a walk with Gala. 

Jean-Honore Fragonard, The Confession of Love, 1771, oil on canvas, 215 x 318 cm.,Frick Collection, New York City, NY, US. 

This painting is part of a series of four commissioned for Mme du Barry, Louis XV's most beautiful mistress. It is a beautiful example of the Rococo period, which was concerned with art for art’s sake. It was characterized by depictions of positive emotions and occasions, pastel colors, and elaborate ornamentation. This particular painting shows us a couple in a garden confessing love for each other. 

Makoto Fujimura, Silence-Karios, 2015, minerals, gesso, gold on canvas, 7x11’, Silence, Mysterion at Jundt Art Museum. 

Makoto Fujimura layers prismatic minerals in the nihonga style, creating what he calls “slow art.” This painting is part of a series which Mako made while meditating on the beauty and mystery of the gospel. The painting looks like a plain blue field, ornamented only by gold accents, but the longer you look at it, what looks like a simple painting becomes a galaxy of color and light. 

Mark Rothko, Untitled (Brown and Gray), 1969, Acrylic on paper, 153.4 x 121cm., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Rothko wanted to find a way to express primordial emotions in a modern and mythic way. Instead of a representational style, Rothko opts for delicate color fields to express the longing for the sublime, and transcendence. Rothko produced many of these artworks on huge canvases which he hoped would encourage the viewer to become immersed in colour, by actually stepping nearer the piece than they might otherwise have done. 

Americans

Americans: American Genre Painting is a movement that spanned from 1840-1910, in which artists painted the ordinary events of life. Previously, many artists depicted American life through portraits. However, in the 1830’s artists were able to branch out from doing only commissioned portraits, and they were able to paint things that interested them: such as the lower class, or the marginalized. With artists willing to portray these moments, the average middle to high class viewer sees areas of American society that they normally do not have to confront. We are able to see the painful side of American history. These paintings unsurprisingly made viewers uncomfortable with the realities of hardships other Americans had to endure. Though there are many paintings that romanticize American life, these paintings realistically portray the moments in which we might not be as proud of. These paintings promoted conversations that were not a reality before; and they brought unlikely characters to center stage, showing their humanity, and their suffering. 

Artist: William Sydney Mount 

Title: The Power of Music 

Date: 1847 

Medium: Oil on Canvas 

Dimensions: Framed: 67 x 78 x 7.5 cm (26 3/8 x 30 11/16 x 2 15/16 in.); Unframed: 43.4 x 53.5 cm (17 1/16 x 21 1/16 in.)

Museum: The Cleveland Museum of Art 

The Power of Music is set in Long Island before the Civil War. In this painting four men are enjoying the melodies from a fiddle being played by one of the three white men. The beautiful music unites all four men in a moment of enjoyment and pleasure. However, due to racial divisions in America, the black figure has to enjoy the music from the outskirts.

Artist: Jules Tavernier 

Title: Dance in a Subterranean Roundhouse at Clear Lake, California

Date: 1878

Medium: Oil on canvas 

Dimensions: 48 × 72 1/4 in. (121.9 × 183.5 cm)

Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art 

Jules Tavernier took two years to complete this breathtaking painting of a sacred Pomo Indian ritual. The Parisian-trained artist paints approximately 100 figures in this scene. He brilliantly renders light, and focuses the viewer’s attention on the two dancing Indian males. The ritual is most likely in honor of their coming of age. In the midst of these 100 figures are a few white visitors who, unbeknownst to the Indians, are claiming the Pomo lands. 

Artist: Eanger Irving Couse

Title: The Peace Pipe 

Date: 1901

Medium: Oil on canvas 

Dimensions: 26 x 32in. (66 x 81.3cm)

Framed: 33 3/8 x 39 3/8 x 3 3/4in. (84.8 x 100 x 9.5cm)

Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Couse gained interest in Native Americans customs during his upbringing in Michigan. After learning of Taos, New Mexico, he desired to paint in the remote area. This painting visually invites the viewer in the space. There is an empty space at the circle, making the viewer feel like they are supposed to join in. 

Artist: Thomas Anshutz

Title: The Way They Live

Date: 1879

Medium: Oil on canvas 

Dimensions: 24 x 17 in. 

Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art

In post Civil War climate, Anshutz is fascinated with the lifestyle of this newly emancipated African American family. There is a stark contrast between the humble field the mother is plowing, and the beautiful landscape in the background of the painting. The picturesque background of the painting is not the world in which this African American family resides in. The worlds are visually combined with the use of color in the bright red flowers, and the mother’s red scarf. 

Artist: Thomas Anshutz 

Title: The Ironworkers Noontime 

Date: 1880 

Medium: Oil on canvas 

Dimensions: 17.0 in × 23.9 in

Museum: Fine Arts Museum Of San Francisco 

Thomas Anshutz was very interested in portraying the everyday life of an American. He is brutally honest in his portrayal of the bleakness of factory life. The typical painting of industrialization would idealize the advancements of technology. However, Anshutz realistically depicts the hardships of the lives of the factory workers.