In this monumental canvas that Fernand Leger worked on from 1921–22, three seemingly self-possessed women, flanked by a black cat, lounge in an interior decorated with modern furnishings. Their bodies – modeled so that they seem to reflect the light – appear as metallic as the stylized furniture that surrounds them. Leger orchestrated the interlocking components of this busy composition as if it were a machine, imparting an industrial sensibility into the domestic sphere.
Photographed in The Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
The abstract paintings of artist Albert Gleizes (1881 – 1953) often keep strong links with subject matter that inspired them. In Tableau (1921) the image may be based on a female head, possibly that of his wife. Gleizes was a pacifist, but was conscripted into the French army in the First World War. Deeply affected by this experience, he became gravely concerned with the future of society. He thought that artists could help create a better world, not just by making beautiful things, but by offering new ways of seeing.
Stuart Davis typically painted local modern subjects in rhythmic compositions with bold colors. Among his sources of inspiration were “skyscraper architecture; the brilliant colors on gasoline stations; chain store fronts and taxi cabs“ and jazz music. Long before postwar artists mined the world of trademark brands, Davis incorporated imagery from logos, commercial signage, and packaging into his paintings, such as the branded bag of tobacco in Lucky Strike (1921). Championed by the visionary dealer Edith Halpert at her downtown Gallery, Davis’s work was met with both enthusiasm and confusion despite being engaged with the stuff and forms of modern life in New York in the 1920s.
Photographed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
New York Interior (1921) is an early example of Edward Hopper’s interest in enigmatic indoor scenes, offering an unconventional view of a woman sewing, suggesting the impersonal, yet strangely intimate quality of modern urban life. We glimpse this private moment through a window, with the figure’s turned face and exposed back heightening her anonymity and our awareness of her vulnerability. The woman’s clothing and gesture are reminiscent of the iconic ballet dancers painted by French impressionist Edgar Degas, whom Hopper singled out as the artist whose work he most admired.
Why Not Sneeze, Rose Sélavy? is a 1921Readymade sculpture by Marcel Duchamp. Duchamp considered this to be an “Assisted Readymade” because the original object, the Birdcage, was altered by the artist with the addition of the other objects. These consist of 152 white cubes (made of marble but resembling sugar cubes), a mercury thermometer, a piece of cuttlebone, and a tiny porcelain dish. Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Why Not Sneeze, Rose Sélavy? By Marcel Duchamp→
