More from the Cleveland Art Museum

Here are more photos of paintings from the Cleveland Art Museum that I enjoyed on July 3rd.

"Amorpha:  Fugue in Two Colors II,"  1910-11, oil on canvas by Frantisek Kupka, Czech, 1871-1957.  Kupka infused color and movement into Cubism resulting in a dynamic creation.  He was inspired by viewing his step-daughter running with a ball.

"Goldsmiths," 1919, oil on wood by Emil Nolde, German, 1976-1956.  Nolde was a leading artist of the German Expressionist group, Die Brucke, using emotive color.  He depicted biblical subjects deliberately crude but with vigor.  He said he fought for unconscious creation...labor destroys paintings.  

"Wrestlers in a Circus," 1909 oil on canvas by Ernst Ludwigh Kirchner, German, 1880-1938.
Kirchner was also a member of Die Brucke that began in Dresden in 1905.  He pursued an art of pure, raw emotion, while advocating a revolutionary approach based on complete freedom from social and aesthetic norms (according to the museum's painting description).  He served in the German army during WW I but was a principal target of the Nazis' assault on what they saw as degenerate art during the 1930's; 639 works by Kirchner were removed from German museums and either destroyed or sold to foreign collectors and museums.  Kirchner committed suicide.

"Self-portrait with Hat," 1919 oil on canvas by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, German, 1884-1976.  The artist painted this after he moved from Dresden to Berlin after WW I.  He was a founding member of Die Brucke in Dresden in 1905.  The bright colors "reflect the artist's desire to project his inner, emotional self."

"Morning Glory with Black," 1926 oil on canvas by Georgia O'Keeffe, American, 1887-1986
The artist celebrated the natural forms of flowers and also abstract design.

"Gray and Gold," 1942 oil on canvas by John Rogers Cox, American, 1915-1990.
Amber waves of grain are threatened by storm clouds like life in the U.S. when this was painted just after the beginning of WW II and America was at a crossroads.  This was painted near the artist's home of Terre Haute, Indiana, a crossroad of America. 

"Hills, South Truro," 1930, oil on canvas, by Edward Hopper, American, 1882-1967
Hopper said that he sought to capture "the sad desolation" of America.  Charles Burchfield described Hopper's art as "silent poetry."

"Saint Jerome," about 1638-1640 by Jusepe de Ribera, Spanish, active in Naples, 1591-1652
Saint Jerome translated biblical text into Latin around 400 AD.  According to the painting's description, Ribera shows him as a penitent, beating his chest with a stone to emulate Christ's suffering while contemplating a skull symbolizing human vanity.

"Saint Jerome," about 1621, oil on canvas by Hendrick ter Brugghen, Dutch, 1588-1629
This is an interpretation of Saint Jerome by a Dutch protestant artist. 

"Christ on the Cross," about 1600-10, oil on canvas, by El Greco (Domenicos Theotokopoulos), Greek, active in Spain, 1541-1614

"The Holy Family with Mary Magdalene," about 1590-95, oil on canvas by El Grego
The description states that the painting addresses Mary's role as mediator between Christ and the viewer, feeding him fruit held by Joseph representing fall of man, blood of Christ, salvation and sweetness of Christ's virtue.

"Stag at Sharkey's" 1909, oil on canvas, by George Bellows, American, 1882-1925

"The Old Road to the Sea," about 1893, oil on canvas by William Merritt Chase, American, 1849-1916

"Holiday on the Hudson," about 1912, oil on canvas, by George Luks, American, 1867-1933

"Sunny Autumn Day," 1892, oil on canvas, by George Innes, American, 1825-1894

"Twilight in the Wilderness," 1860, oil on canvas, by Frederic Edwin Church, American 1826-1900
The description states that painted on the eve of the Civil War, it can be interpreted as symbolically evoking the coming war.

"Storm in the Mountains," 1847, oil on canvas by Frederic Edwin Church

"View of Schroon Mountain, Essex County, New York, after a Storm," 1838, oil on canvas by Thomas Cole, American, born England, 1801-1848.  The information posted next to the painting states:  "Championing the unspoiled American wilderness, Cole declared, 'We are still in Eden'."  The painting depicts Native Americans in the right foreground foliage.

"View of Florence," 1837, oil on canvas by Thomas Cole