Category: Modern Art
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When Kandinsky moved mountains
Extraordinary ideas often arrive when we least expect them. Inspired by the sounds of a symphony, Wassily Kandinsky pioneered abstract art—transforming the raw emotion of music into visual masterpieces.
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René Magritte’s unthinkable thoughts
In the tragic aftermath of World War I, Magritte turned his back on Academic history painting. Instead, the Belgian artist shows us life’s ambiguities, depicted in witty and thought-provoking ways.
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The baffling paintings of Paul Cézanne
I’m at odds with historians who describe the hugely influential paintings of Post-Impressionist Paul Cézanne as famously silent and emotionally detached. To my eye, nothing could be further from the truth.
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Thiebaud’s love affair with paint
American artist Wayne Thiebaud paints cakes and freeways, two risky subjects because the art world takes itself very seriously. “There is room for wit,” he said. “Humor gives us a sense of perspective.”
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Jean Dubuffet’s stranger things
Immediately after World War II, French artist Jean Dubuffet began mixing paint with whatever he could scrounge up: string, tar, gravel, shards of glass. “Art should make us laugh a little and fear a little,” he said.
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Art history’s marvelous moon dance
Throughout history, the moon has served as a muse for artists, inspiring feelings of mystery, melancholy, wonder, and hope. Could the moon also be hiding one of the art world’s best-kept secrets?
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Why isn’t Norman Lewis famous?
Abstract Expressionism, the first American art style to achieve global recognition, promised limitlessness artistic freedom. But limitless for whom? How many Black abstract expressionists can you name?
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Matisse and that cursed armchair
Driven by anxiety, Henri Matisse painted moments of repose in order to catch his breath before returning to the turmoil of daily life. In doing so, did he compromise his status as a “serious” artist?