A Gallery Re-Opens

Otto Dix (1891-1968) "North German Girl", 1920



After being closed for 10 years
(to make space for a coat check room)
the Print and Drawing galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago
have finally re-opened with an exhibit called:

Collecting for Chicago: Prints, Drawings, and Patronage

to feature some recent acquisitions
as well as the donors who gave them.


Since most of it was collected
to exemplify Modernism rather than exceptional visual quality
little of it interests me.
(i.e., it's as mediocre as Andy Warhol)

But following my last post
about figure drawing,
I thought I'd include
some relevant examples from this show.

Otto Dix could do beautiful when he wanted ,
and there's something ominous about going in the other direction,
but still, let's face it,
he's in control.



Ernst Kirchner (1880-1938) "Portrait of Gustav Schliefler", 1922


So was Kirchner (in control)
in this little pen drawing
that seems to have been made
in about 10 minutes.

(Where multiple lines do the job
that heavy lines did for Dix)






Emil Nolde ( 1867-1956 ) "Hamburg Harbor" 1910

So you don't have to be Asian
to make a good brush drawing






Jonathan Richardson the Elder (1665-1745), self portrait, c. 1730-39


Exhibition notes tell us that JR specialized in
character study.

At the museum, I was rather underwhelmed
by this little drawing,
but all alone with this reproduction
I do feel the presence of
an interesting person






Egon Schiele (1890-1918) - 1907 , the artist's mother

Quite a talented teenager, wouldn't you say ?

On top of all that skill in rendering and design,
that poor woman is suffering!

Done any other artworld reputation
sit so high
exclusively on the basis
of figure drawing ?


******** and yet ********


other, far less famous, people
have drawn their own mothers,

and I think the results are no less impressive.

Like this one
by the blogger known as
Suburban Life