Raul Dufy
Blue is the only color which maintains its own character in all its tones it will always stay blue,” the artist mused. “Whereas yellow is blackened in its shades, and fades away when lightened; red when darkened becomes brown, and diluted with white is no longer red, but another color—pink.”
http://www.artnet.com/artists/raoul-dufy/
As his observation suggests Dufy does seem to have a passion for blue and uses it frequently as the predominant colour in his Mediterranean work. It appears in its primary hues and as cool blue toned reds and greens. This gives a harmonious feeling to the paintings. Sometimes he uses a little darken yellow but this is less dominant . I have not been able to find examples of where the cool colours suggest shade inside. The only one that I could find showing the window has dominant areas of empty canvas inside and out and the interior is only suggested by angles slat marks for the window shutter.https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/dufy-open-window-at-saint-jeannet-t03565 Open window at Saint Jeanette. I have not found examples suggested in the unit where darks and blues are used to suggest the cool inside a room .
Most of the time he paints loose gestural watercolour works resembling pen and ink sketches: leaving large swathes of empty white canvas. The white space adds to the light and warm atmosphere of the region. Meanwhile his trademark scrawly free marks indicate movement and emotion. I am interested that Dufy also manages to produce oil on canvas versions which viewed online look extremely similar to the watercolours. This to me seems unusual and possibly much harder than it appears as the temptation with oil is to fill the canvas with colour. Occasionally there are instances of this artist using a conventional oil style ( throughout the years that he paints) which often takes on a heavier , darker appearance altering the mood completely.
I do actually like the curvaceous lines in his fuller style fir the movement and grace that they suggest. He seems to use a smaller pallet of green and dark yellow and the work is simple concentrating on the movement and sweeps of the brush to convey emotion. Interestingly is is often the case that he leaves deliberate brush work on show, perhaps to give depth?
What is most important for my area of study is the use of perspective. Although his marks give the appearance of being casually thrown down on the paper, they are in fact carefully positioned geometrically to suggest to the viewer that they are observing the scene from an upper window. Dufy returns to this device again and again throughout his career indicating that he is pleased with this. I imagine he is trying to achieve the same feeling as looking on to entertainment from a theatre box: the viewer is present observing the activity below but still maintains distance , perhaps to allow personal reflection ?
Gallery from Bridgeman
Gwen John
I have already commented on John’s interiors in part 2 . Whilst her interiors are gloomy I feel that their simplicity is in readily effective. She paints a whole interior room in the nunnery and in her small flat in muted grey- whites and dark yellows but the transparent overlays of white light mark-making gives great feeling and emotion to paintings. They may partly reflect how John always looks in her portraits, austere on the outside and quite proper: plain grey colours; very neat presentation and muted rooms filled with shaded setting. However this is far from the whole truth digging down she has a hidden sparkle and this too comes through in her interiors- often a small chunk of the room is bathed in white light and just one simple object ( a cup or teapot) is coloured in a bright contrast and positioned to show a single beam of white light reflecting off it. This brings up the mood in her work.
Edward Hopper
His legendary work show urban settings with two or three people captured in a transient moment of conversation. He was interested in portraying loneliness in urban surroundings and connection between strangers. He uses dark outsides and the inside of cafes and rooms that are lit in complimentary bright colours. Often the viewer is at eye level and appears as an unseen observer inside the room or watching through the glass of a cafe. He uses very angular shapes in the furnishings and architecture which adds to the coldness and loneliness that he wishes to project.
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