Information about cubism and the artist Thorvald Hellesen, his 1916 painting Balalaika, and my attempt to understand the image (about 4600 words; 18 photos)
You covered a lot of ground in this essay, Bill. Thanks for your thorough effort. I find myself more interested in simply looking at the different creations by 20th century artists than in figuring out whether or not I know for sure what genre categories they represent. I found myself chuckling as I read through the many -isms to which you made reference.
I really like the balalaika painting. It was a wonderful picture for your personally commissioned puzzle. I am glad that Thorvald Hellesen's work got rediscovered after apparently having been ignored for decades.
That must have been a very exciting time to have been an artist. The impressionists had shown that a group of like-minded artists could lead a revolution against the mainstream and re-shape public tastes, and several movements were competing to become the next successful revolutionaries. I get the impression that artists these days are much more likely to follow their own personal aesthetic muses, and less likely to try to develop a group-think about the direction in which art should be moving.
You covered a lot of ground in this essay, Bill. Thanks for your thorough effort. I find myself more interested in simply looking at the different creations by 20th century artists than in figuring out whether or not I know for sure what genre categories they represent. I found myself chuckling as I read through the many -isms to which you made reference.
I really like the balalaika painting. It was a wonderful picture for your personally commissioned puzzle. I am glad that Thorvald Hellesen's work got rediscovered after apparently having been ignored for decades.
Best regards,
Greg
That must have been a very exciting time to have been an artist. The impressionists had shown that a group of like-minded artists could lead a revolution against the mainstream and re-shape public tastes, and several movements were competing to become the next successful revolutionaries. I get the impression that artists these days are much more likely to follow their own personal aesthetic muses, and less likely to try to develop a group-think about the direction in which art should be moving.