The Works by Amedeo Modigliani: 56. Woman in a Sailor Shirt (1916)

How are you?

Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.

The 56th work to introduce for this week is “Woman in a Sailor Shirt” in 1916. This work is an expressionist style portrait and an oil painting on a canvas with the size of 55x35 cm, which is currently in Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice.

Peggy Guggenheim Collection

The model of this work, with short black hair that emphasizes her oval face, is an unknown woman. The dark background and the model's clothes highlight the model's warm pink-colored face. The model for this work also appears in another portrait by Modigliani, "The Seated Servant Girl (La servetta seduta)" painted in the same year. The model's face is oval, but one of the features of the Modigliani painting style that elongates the model's body appears in the model's neck.

The Seated Servant Girl

This work was displayed in the solo exhibition of Modigliani, organized by his dealer Leopold Zbrowski, at the Berthe Weill Gallery in Paris in 1917. However, the exhibition resulted in the unfortunate end by being forcibly closed due to the paintings of female nudes in the window. 

Leaflet for Modigliani's solo exhibition, Galerie Berthe Weill (1917)

This work was purchased by Paul Guillaume in 1917, the same year of the exhibition, and then only rarely shown except for the exhibitions at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Bruxelles in 1933 and at Kunsthalle Basel in 1934 until it was taken over by the Toso collection in Venice in 1952.

The work, which was subsequently taken over by the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice, was examined and restored by a restoration expert in the museum, whose importance was to rediscover the real appearances of Modigliani’s work. This work, which has been restored, recovered the color of the model's face that was deteriorated to beige to its original peach color. In addition, the overall color was changed by altering the blue and gray tones of the work, and the restored bright colors made this work more vivid and the background of the work now properly can be seen.

Comparison of restoration (before vs. after)

In addition, a thick layer of non-original varnish, both oxidized and yellowed, which was present in the work was removed by the restoration. After the restoration, another truth that was revealed is that Modigliani used the impasto technique, painting very thick layers to show maximum texture and three-dimensional effect in the work.

Impasto tracings

Thank you.

Amazon Author Page

Lecture Program List

YouTube

Korean Blog

Naver TV

Naver Post

ARTIST OF THE WEEK: 39. Anton Mauve, ACJ Art Academy

Name: Anton Mauve

Born: 18 September 1838, Zaandam, Netherlands

Died: 5 February 1888, Arnhem, Netherlands

Nationality: Dutch

Art Movement: Realism

Genre: Landscape

Field: Painting

Influenced on: Vincent van Gogh, Giovanni Segantini

Family/Relatives: Vincent van Gogh

Anton Mauve was a Dutch realist painter and one of the leading members of the Hague School, born in Zaandam, the Netherlands on September 18, 1838, and died on February 5, 1888. Mauve, who married Vincent van Gogh's cousin, had a significant early influence on Van Gogh.

Most of his paintings depict people and animals in outdoor, and his most famous paintings depict peasants working in the fields. Also, his paintings of flocks of sheep were particularly popular with American patrons.

FAMOUS WORKS

1. Landscape with cattle

2. Morning ride on the beach 

3. Sheep on a Dyke 

4. The return of the flock, Laren 

5. Woman from Laren with lamb 

ALL WORKS LIST (Anton Mauve)

RELATED ARTISTS

Vincent van Gogh

ALL ARTISTS LIST

Amazon Author Page

Lecture Program List

YouTube

Blog (Korean)

Naver TV

Naver Post

Thank you.

59. History of Pop Music: 4. 1980s, ACJ Music Academy

How are you?

Following the last week, I am going to start my 59th lecture.

The lecture topic for this week is “Pop Music in 1980s”. It is a summary of the contents of “59th ACJ Music Academy, History of Pop Music: 4. 1980s”, which was introduced on August 27, 2016.

The 1980s was a time when dance music and new wave appeared, and the popularity of disco gradually disappeared, and post-disco, Euro disco and dance-pop became popular. 

In the 1980s, Michael Jackson and Diana Ross reappeared in their new styles, and Michael Jackson released the album "Thriller" in 1982, which was sold over 100 million records worldwide. 

Album "Thriller", Michael Jackson

Also at this time, the group Prince became a big star, and Madonna, Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson appeared and succeeded. Madonna, who was the most successful female artist at the time, released her third studio album “True Blue” in 1986, and she was recorded as the female singer who sold the most albums in the 1980s. Her song “Like a Prayer”, released in 1989 was also praised by Rolling Stone magazine as "a song close to art that pop music can express." 

True Blue, Madonna

Another female artist who sold many albums in the 1980s was Whitney Houston, and she was the female singer who sold the most albums after Madonna at the time. 

Whitney Houston

In the late 1980s, the genre of 'teen pop' became popular, and in this genre, teen idol stars such as New Kids on the Block, Debbie Gibson and Tiffany were born. 

New Kids on the Block

In the mid-1980s, Cyndi Lauper was described as the “Voice of the MTV Generation in the 80s” and made a big hit with a different visual style among teenagers around the world. 

Cyndi Lauper

In the 1980s, hard rock also revived, and the bands such as AC/DC, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Twisted Sister, Poison and Cinderella were popular. Also at this time, the wild hard rock band Guns N' Roses appeared. 

Def Leppard

Some female musicians also gained popularity in the hard rock field in the 1980s, especially Pat Benatar was a representative example of the female musicians who has been successful in the hard rock field since the late 1970s. 

Pat Benatar

Arena Rock, which began in the 1970s, has continued its popularity with the bands including Styx, Rush, Journey, Foreigner and REO Speedwagon.

REO Speedwagon

For country music, pop-influenced country music was the most popular in the genre in the 1980s with leading singers such as Kenny Rogers, Eddie Rabbitt, Crystal Gayle, Anne Murray and Dolly Parton. 

Kenny Rogers

The film “Urban Cowboy”, released in 1980, starred John Travolta and Debra Winger. The soundtrack of the film includes many pop-influenced country music including "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by The Charlie Daniels Band, "Could I Have This Dance" by Anne Murray and "Love the World Away" by Kenny Rogers. The soundtrack made a great success, resulting in the boom of pop-influenced country music in the early 1980s.

Urban Cowboy Soundtrack

The Charlie Daniels Band

You can also review this lecture from following media.

Related Music

Amazon Author Page

Lecture Program List

YouTube

Blog (Korean)

Naver TV

Naver Post

Next week, I will lecture 5th topic of “History of Pop Music” for "1990s."

Thank you.

The Stories about Art Films: 15. The Adventures of Picasso (1978), ACJ Movie Academy

Basic Info

Title: The Adventures of Picasso

Genre: Comedy

Country: Sweden

Language: Swedish

Running time: 115 minutes

Release date: 20 May 1978

Staff

Director: Tage Danielsson

Screenplay: Hans Alfredson, Tage Danielsson

Music: Gunnar Svensson

Cinematography: Tony Forsberg, Roland Sterner

Editor: Jan Persson

Cast

Gösta Ekman as Pablo Picasso

Hans Alfredson as Don José

Margaretha Krook as Dona Maria

Lena Olin as Dolores

Bernard Cribbins as Gertrude Stein

Summary

“The Adventures of Picasso” is a Swedish surrealist comedy film in 1978 directed by Tage Danielsson, starring Gösta Ekman as the famous painter Pablo Picasso. The film has the tag line "A thousand loving lies by Hans Alfredson and Tage Danielsson". It won the award for Best Film at the 14th Guldbagge Awards presented by the Swedish Film Institute.

The film features multiple languages including Spanish, French, Swedish, German, Finnish, Italian, English, Russian, Norwegian and Latin. The backgrounds of the film are Spain, London, Paris, Côte d'Azur and America, but most of the film was shot in and around the Swedish town of Tomelilla. All of Picasso's paintings featured in the film were made by a Swedish artist and director of animated films, Per Åhlin.

Railway station, Tomelilla

Movie Review

“Brilliant film”

“Picasso's life in a fun-house mirror!”

“One of the best movies ever!”

“In the top 5 comedies ever made”

“Picasso would love this”

“Very amusing”

Interesting stories about the film

1. When actor Gösta Ekman, who starred as Pablo Picasso in the film, went on vacation to Budapest, he found that the locals were looking at him in a very odd way. Ekman eventually understood why when a local asked him if he were Picasso, and he replied to this question, "If you mean that I played Picasso in a movie, that's right." After the movie was released, this film had great success in Hungary and it had been playing at a Budapest cinema every year.

2. Hans Alfredson and Tage Danielsson, who wrote the script for this film, first thought of making a film about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but they gave up the film because Mozart's life was too short.

3. The original idea for this film came from actor Gösta Ekman, starring Pablo Picasso in the film. He thought it would be funny to write a guide to a place where people had never been to. Then, he thought it would be also funny to write a biography over a famous person like Picasso, whom people never met.

4. The Finnish song, repeatedly sung by Sirkka in the film, is a recipe of Kalakukko, one of the traditional Finnish foods with fish baked inside a loaf of bread.

Kalakukko

Thank you.

Movie Trailer

Amazon Author Page

Lecture Program List

YouTube

Korean Blog

Naver TV

Naver Post

Interesting Art Stories: 21. Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man, Salvador Dalí, ACJ Art Academy

How are you?

On every Thursday, I am introducing the stories about various artists and their paintings with the title “Interesting Art Stories”.

The 21st story for this week is “Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man” by a Spanish Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí.

“Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man” is a painting by Salvador Dalí in 1943, which is one of his most famous paintings.

Salvador Dalí

Dali was a Spanish Surrealist artist who was born on May 11, 1904 and died on January 23, 1989. Born in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, he was formally educated in fine arts at Madrid. 

Though influenced by Impressionism and the Renaissance art at young age, he became attracted to Cubism and avant-garde art while growing up. Then, Dali became fascinated by Surrealism in the late 1920s, and joined the Surrealist group in 1929, soon becoming one of its main figures in the field. 

Dali lived in France during Spanish Civil War and then moved to the United States in 1940, where he achieved commercial success. He then returned to Spain in 1948, announcing his return to Catholicism, and developed his "nuclear mysticism" style, based on his interest in classicism, mysticism and recent scientific developments.

Homage to Isaac Newton, Salvador Dalí, UOB Plaza, Singapore (1985)

This painting, drawn during Dalí's stay in the United States from 1940 to 1948, seems to predict the change in the world America would bring after the World War II. It depicts a woman and her child watching a man born and climbing out of an earth-covered egg. 

In the painting, the continents of Africa and South America have been enlarged, suggesting the growing importance of the Third World after the war, while Europe, represented by Britain, crushed by the man’s hand, suggests that the importance will be diminished in an international power.

Statue of Salvador Dali, Cadaqués, Spain

The blood flowing out of the egg suggests World War II and the foot of the man kicking out of the egg into the Pacific area seems to suggest that the United States will defeat the Japanese in the Pacific. The parachute, or cloth above and below the egg, which appears to be its shield, appears to symbolize the placenta of the new nation.

The woman and her child holding her legs are watching the man coming out of the egg and the woman is pointing at the man with her finger. The starving and exhausted woman, who seems to symbolize the past era, seems to be pointing her finger at the man to tell her child the importance of this new world power. The child's shadow, drawn longer than the woman, seems to represent a new era that will soon replace the old one.

Dalí Theatre and Museum, Figueres, Catalonia, Spain

In the background of the painting there is a person in red clothes on the left side of the egg, and a skeleton and a tower are on the right side. Since the red color often symbolizes Japan, the person dressed in red seems to suggest Japan, and the foot of the kicking man next to it seems to suggest the justification of the US attack on Japan. 

The skeleton on the right side seems to imply that Germany will be defeated by the United States, and the tower in the background that appears to symbolize a refuge for safety seems to imply that Europe will be safe when the United States helps Europe.

Dali often used the image of an egg shape in his paintings. The examples are "Illumined Pleasures (1929)”, “The Allegory of an American Christmas (1934)” and "The Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937).” The eggs in these paintings are the birth of something new, of a change taking place.

Allegory of an American Christmas, Salvador Dali (1934)

Illumined Pleasures, Salvador Dalí (1929)

Metamorphosis of Narcissus, Salvador Dalí (1937)

Since this painting was drawn during World War II, it could have contained various symbols suggesting many events during the war, and the placement of certain objects is also very important for understanding the painting.

It was also used as the cover of the record album "Newborn", released in 1975 by American rock band “James Gang.”

Newborn, James Gang (1975)

Thank you.

Amazon Author Page

Lecture Program List

YouTube

Korean Blog

Naver TV

Naver Post

COMPOSER OF THE WEEK: 20. Richard Strauss

Born: 11 June 1864; Munich, German Confederation

Died: 8 September 1949; Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany

Nationality: German

Occupation: Composer, Conductor, Pianist, Violinist

Richard Strauss was a German composer, conductor, pianist and violinist who was born on June 11, 1864 and died on September 8, 1949. Strauss, one of the leading composers of the late Romantic and early Modern eras, has been described as one of the successors of Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt.

Strauss with his wife and son (1910)

Strauss began composing in 1870 at the age of six, and then continued to compose until his death for nearly 80 years. His works cover almost all kinds of classical music genres, but he has been particularly successful with “tone poems” and “operas.” 

His first tone poem, which was widely acclaimed, was “Don Juan,” then it was followed by other works, including “Death and Transfiguration”, “Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks”, “Also sprach Zarathustra”, “Don Quixote”, “Ein Heldenleben”, “Symphonia Domestica”, and “An Alpine Symphony”. 

His first internationally acclaimed opera was "Salome" using the German libretto by Hedwig Lachmann which was a translation of the French play “Salomé” by Oscar Wilde. Subsequently, with librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal he made other well-received operas such as “Elektra”, “Der Rosenkavalier”, “Ariadne auf Naxos”, “Die Frau ohne Schatten”, “Die ägyptische Helena”, and “Arabella.” 

His last operas “Daphne”, “Friedenstag”, “Die Liebe der Danae” and “Capriccio” used libretti by Austrian theater historian Joseph Gregor. Other famous works of Strauss include two symphonies, lieder including “Four Last Songs”, “Violin Concerto in D minor”, “Horn Concerto No. 1”, “Horn Concerto No. 2”, “Oboe Concerto” and other instrumental works such as “Metamorphosen.”

Strauss was a famous conductor and enjoyed the status of celebrity as his works became standards of orchestral and operatic repertoire. In addition to his own works, he received great acclaim for his interpretations of the works of Liszt, Mozart, and Wagner.

Strauss conducting (c.1900)

Strauss, who learned conducting from Hans von Bülow, began his conducting career as Bülow's assistant with the Meiningen Court Orchestra in 1883. After Bülow's resignation in 1885, Strauss served as primary conductor of that orchestra for five months before being appointed as the conducting staff of the Bavarian State Opera, where he served as third conductor from 1886 to 1889. Then, from 1889 to 1894, Strauss was the principal conductor of the Deutsches Nationaltheater and Staatskapelle Weimar. 

Richard Strauss

In 1894, he conducted at the Bayreuth Festival, conducting Wagner's Tannhäuser with his wife, soprano singer Pauline de Ahna, singing Elisabeth. Then, he served as principal conductor of the Bavarian State Opera from 1894 to 1898, and then from 1898 to 1913 as principal conductor of the Berlin State Opera. From 1919 to 1924, he was principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera and co-founded the Salzburg Festival in 1920.

Pauline de Ahna Strauss (c.1900)

In 1933, Strauss was appointed to two important positions under the Nazi German, such as head of the Reichsmusikkammer and principal conductor of the Bayreuth Festival. The latter position he accepted was vacant because the conductor Arturo Toscanini had resigned from the position in protest against the Nazi Party. 

Strauss on the cover of TIME (1938)

In accepting these positions, some criticized Strauss for collaborating with the Nazis. However, Strauss' daughter-in-law, Alice Grab Strauss, was a Jew and his cooperation with the Nazis was mostly to save her life and the lives of his grandchildren. He was not interested in politics, and the reason he accepted the Reichsmusikkammer position was to preserve the works of Debussy, Mahler, and Mendelssohn, who were banned by the Nazi Party, and to strengthen the copyright protections for composers. 

Stamp issued (1954)

Moreover, Strauss insisted that he would work his opera, “Die schweigsame Frau,” along with a Jewish librettist, Stefan Zweig, resulting in being fired from the positions of the Reichsmusikkammer and Bayreuth. 

Strauss villa at Garmisch-Partenkirchen

His opera "Friedenstag", which premiered just before the outbreak of World War II, was a criticism of the Nazis, which attempted to persuade Germans to give up violence for peace.

Star on the Walk of Fame, Vienna

In 1948, a year before his death, he was cleared of any wrongdoing by a denazification tribunal in Munich.

Thank you.

Richard Strauss-Hof Monument

Famous Works

Lecture Program List

YouTube

Korean Blog

Naver TV

Naver Post