Seungyong Chang

Sunday, March 21, 2021

The Works by Amedeo Modigliani: 84. Woman with White Coat (1917)

How are you?

Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani.

The 84th work to introduce for this week is “Woman with White Coat” in 1917.

This work is an expressionist style portrait and an oil painting on canvas with the size of 55 x 38 cm, and housed in the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Argentina

This work, which Paul Guillaume possessed and hung in his apartment, is an example of Modigliani's return to the portrait in 1917 after his series of nudes.

Paul Guillaume, Amedeo Modigliani (1915)

It can be seen as part of a group of Modigliani’s paintings, among which the most famous work is "Woman with Black Tie".

Woman with Black Tie, Amedeo Modigliani
(1917)

The model for this work is presumed to be Marietta Duc, a friend of Dr. and Mme. Louis Devraigne, whose portraits Modigliani also painted at the same period.

Doctor Louis Devraigne, Amedeo Modigliani
(1917)

In this work, the curve effect of the model's arched eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, hair wrapping around her head, the collar raised almost to the chin and the curvature of the shoulders is alleviated by the model's sharp nose, thin lips and pointed chin. In addition, the model's bangs, sad or sleepy-looking eyes and a chin dimple also create somewhat humorous atmosphere, and the pale color of her coat lightens the overall brown tone of this work.

This work has various titles including “white” in common, but looking at the work, the model's coat color does not look white. The possible reason for this is that the original coat color was white, but it has changed color over time.

The first owner of this work was police superintendent Leon Zamaron. He was well-known to the poor artists in Paris, whom he enthusiastically supported and helped, showing particular generosity to the foreign artists among them. However, Zamaron, who owned many works of art as a collector, unfortunately lost all of his collections by gambling.

Léon Zamaron

Observation of this work with infrared shows a very poor composition, which can be presumed to be an unfinished work or a work completed in a very short time. The infrared also shows swirls of the brush next to the model’s shoulders, which are usual in Modigliani's overall work, although not necessarily in this location.

In addition, it seems that part of the lines have disappeared compared to the original, due to excessive cleaning during the restoration.

Thank you.

Amazon Author Page

Lecture Program List

YouTube

Korean Blog

Naver TV

Kakao TV

Naver Post

Thursday, March 18, 2021

85. New Age Music: 12. Crossover Music, ACJ Music Academy

How are you?

This week's lecture is “Crossover Music”, the 12th and last topic of “New Age Music”, which is a summary of the contents of “85. New Age Music: 12. Crossover Music” introduced on April 29th, 2017.

Crossover means “destruction of genres,” and crossover music is a fusion music of more than two different musical styles or genres, which is included in New Age music.

Classical crossover includes popular classical music, and pop music with classical atmosphere or pop music performed by classical musicians. It also includes the collaboration between classical and pop performers, as well as fusion style music of classical music elements such as opera and symphony and popular music.

The term classical crossover was coined by record labels in the 1980s, and has been popular since the 1990s, and now has its own genre on the Billboard charts.

In the classical music industry, the term “crossover” applies especially to popular records released by classical musicians. Soprano singer Eileen Farrell is considered as one of the first classical singers, who possessed a successful crossover album with the “I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues” in the 1960s.

Eileen Farrell

I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues, Eileen
Farrell

One of the famous pioneers in the classic crossover is a tenor and movie star Mario Lanza. In his film “The Toast of New Orleans”, "Be My Love" ranked no.1 on the Billboard pop single chart in February 1951 and more than 2 million records were sold.

Mario Lanza

The Toast of New Orleans

Another early crossover pioneer and a 20th-century avant-garde composer, Kurt Weill made “The Threepenny Opera” with playwright Bertolt Brecht.

The Threepenny Opera

In 1990, three tenor singers Luciano Pavarotti, José Carreras, and Plácido Domingo broadcasted “Three Tenors Concert”, a stage that mixed opera, Napoli folk songs, musicals, and pop music, on TV, and they built the foundation for the popularity of classical crossover.

Three Tenors Concert

The crossover performers who studied classical music include Vanessa Mae, Bond, Escala and David Garrett.

Choreography, Vanessa-Mae

Play, Bond

Quadrasonic, Escala

Rock Symphonies: Open Air Live, David
Garrett

Andrea Bocelli, a pop tenor from Italy, known as the king of classical crossover, is the most album-selling singer in the history of classical music.

Concerto: one night in central park, Andrea
Bocelli

Sarah Brightman, a British soprano singer, is the most album-selling soprano singer in history, and has released albums of classical, folk, pop, and musicals.

Dive, Sarah Brightman

Thank you.

Related Music

Amazon Author Page

Lecture Program List

YouTube

Blog(Korean)

Naver TV

Kakao TV

Naver Post

Monday, March 15, 2021

Interesting Art Stories: 47. American Gothic, Grant Wood, ACJ Art Academy

How are you?

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

The 47th story is “American Gothic” by Grant Wood.

“American Gothic” is one of the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, painted by Grant Wood in 1930.

Selfportrait, Grant Wood

It depicts a farmer standing beside his daughter in front of the American Gothic House in Eldon, Iowa, and the painting was named after the house's architectural style.

In August 1930, a young local painter John Sharp took Wood for a drive around Eldon, Iowa. Looking for inspiration for the next painting at the time, Wood discovered the Dibble House, a small white house built in Gothic architectural style, and he drew the house on an envelope he had with him.

The Dibble House

After obtaining the owner's permission, he decided to draw the house with people who, he thought, would be perfect for the house. Therefore, he painted this picture with his dentist, Dr. Byron McKeeby as the farmer and his sister, Nan Wood Graham, as the farmer’s daughter.

Nan Wood Graham and Dr. Byron McKeeby, the models for
American Gothic

Portrait of Nan, Grant Wood

The plants on the porch of the house are mother-in-law's tongue and beefsteak begonia, which also appeared in Wood's 1929 portrait of his mother, "Woman with Plants."

Woman with Plants, Grant Wood

It was exhibited for the first time outside the United States at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris and the Royal Academy of Arts in London from 2016 to 2017.

Musée de l'Orangerie

Shortly after the painting was made, as the Great Depression was deepened, the painting came to be seen as a portrayal of the firm American pioneer spirit.

The first famous parody of this painting as depicting the Great Depression-era was a 1942 photo of cleaning woman Ella Watson by Gordon Parks, shot in Washington, D.C.

American Gothic, Washington, D.C., Gordon
Parks

In addition, the paintings was frequently parodied in various fields of American popular culture, including Broadway musicals such as "The Music Man", movies such as "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", and television shows such as “Green Acres”, “The Dick Van Dyke Show”, and the “SpongeBob SquarePants” episode "FarmerBob.”