© 2006 Willem de Kooning Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Willem de Kooning (Dutch-born American, 1904-1997). Untitled XII, 1975. Oil on canvas. 79 3/4 x 69 3/4 in. Private Collection of Paul G. Allen.
Along with Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning was a member of the New York School "triumvirate" of Post-war Abstract Expressionism. What was unique - and rather notorious - about de Kooning's paintings were the obvious figurative (note the flesh tones) elements in his abstractions.
Here we have Untitled XII in the grand tradition of de Kooning's several Women series, first executed in the late 1940s. By the mid-1970s, he'd softened his approach somewhat, and the temptation for the viewer to pick out horrific dismemberments of limbs and sinister grins had largely disappeared. The "fear factor" being lessened, de Kooning seemed more free to concentrate on strategically placing his shapes and bursts of color within his compositions.
This painting is paired with Claude Monet's Le Bassin au Nympheas (1919) in the exhibition Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein. Points to ponder: both paintings are large in scale (yet organized around a center), make full use of the available canvas and were executed in such a way that texture and perceived depth play prominent roles.
About the Exhibition:
"Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein" is on view from April 8 through September 24, 2006 at the Experience Music Project, 325 5th Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109 (on the Seattle Center Campus; Telephone 206.367.5483 or 1.877.367.5483). The EMP is open Monday through Thursday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Friday through Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Extended summer hours (effective Memorial Day weekend until Labor Day weekend) are 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM every day. "Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein" is a ticketed exhibition. Information on pricing and online purchasing of tickets is available here.
Here we have Untitled XII in the grand tradition of de Kooning's several Women series, first executed in the late 1940s. By the mid-1970s, he'd softened his approach somewhat, and the temptation for the viewer to pick out horrific dismemberments of limbs and sinister grins had largely disappeared. The "fear factor" being lessened, de Kooning seemed more free to concentrate on strategically placing his shapes and bursts of color within his compositions.
This painting is paired with Claude Monet's Le Bassin au Nympheas (1919) in the exhibition Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein. Points to ponder: both paintings are large in scale (yet organized around a center), make full use of the available canvas and were executed in such a way that texture and perceived depth play prominent roles.
About the Exhibition:
"Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein" is on view from April 8 through September 24, 2006 at the Experience Music Project, 325 5th Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109 (on the Seattle Center Campus; Telephone 206.367.5483 or 1.877.367.5483). The EMP is open Monday through Thursday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Friday through Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Extended summer hours (effective Memorial Day weekend until Labor Day weekend) are 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM every day. "Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein" is a ticketed exhibition. Information on pricing and online purchasing of tickets is available here.
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