Daily Dose of Art: Childe Hassam ~ Poppies, Isles of Shoals. 1891, oil on canvas. National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. (With JessiePants, Karen Ann, Jo Fa, Pippi, Fifi, Deb and Kayla Li.) The oil Poppies shows the view from Celia Thaxters flower garden on the Isles of Shoals toward an outcropping called Babbs Rock. Although one could see ample signs of mans presence from Thaxters garden, Hassam usually excluded them from his paintings. Here, only a sailboat passing in the distance hints that we are not in a pristine, wild environment. The composition is arranged with three distinct and equal bands of space. In each zone different colors predominate: green and red for the flowers; blue, purple, and white for the rocks and water; and pale blue for the sky. Hassams brushwork is equally varied, ranging from lush red and white strokes defining the flowers to long drags of pigment to suggest the multihued surfaces of the rocks. At the bottom he left areas of canvas bare, adding yet another color and texture. For those accustomed to academic landscape painting, seeing one of Hassams Isles of Shoals paintings was, as one reviewer wrote, like taking off a pair of black spectacles that one has been compelled to wear out of doors, and letting the full glory of natures sunlight color pour in upon the retina.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 17:22:49 +0000
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