Chaim Soutine 1894-1944

It is not often when I make a connection, but when I do it is a strong force - like being shot from a canon and reaching another destination. The experience is powerful, and a bit overwhelming.

For instance, when I breathe in the smell of the ocean, a warm rush of childhood memories spent on Cape Cod enters my mind, or when I see the color turquoise I am swimming in the crystal clear water of St. John, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The smell of fresh cut grass brings me to the rolling hills of Kentucky, and the smell of hay delivers me to Shamrock, Texas where the air is fresh and clean, and the only thing that surrounds me is wide open space. When the aroma of coffee fills the air, I am six years old standing on the tips of my toes at the A&P watching the machine grind the coffee beans, while my mom reminds me not to stand too close. I viewed many forms of art at The Met, and I was getting discouraged because I was not able to connect with what I was seeing until I came across Chaim Soutine’s French, born Lithuania, 1893-1943, Little Girl with a Doll, ca. 1919, Oil on canvas.

My initial reaction which I voiced to the stranger standing next to me was what was going on in this little girl’s life that she appeared so distraught? He just looked at me dumbfounded.

I walked within a few inches of the painting, and couldn’t help but notice the little girl’s charcoal, hollow eyes – they were filled with such sadness and despair. Clearly, the painting was of a little girl, she looked impish, although her face portrayed that of an elderly, exhausted woman. I began taking photos, and looked forward to researching the artist Chaim Soutine.

Chaim Soutine was an expressionist painter who was not happy with his works or his life. He did not believe he had talent. He portrayed his own violent emotions in his work using vivid colors and distorted images. His artistic style was mixed with Fauvism and Cubism. This explained what I clearly indicated in his painting A Little Girl with a Doll.

Chaim Soutine was born in Russia near Minsk, Belarus, to an observant Jewish household. He rebelled against his traditional background, and enrolled in classes at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vilnus, Lithuania. A local art patron who admired Chaim’s work sent him to Paris in 1913 where he enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and worked under Fernand Cormon.

In 1919 Chaim spent time in the town of Ceret, in the Pyrennes Mountains, and began painting landscapes with apocalyptic themes. In Paris he began painting portraits of figures, his favorites being maids, and valets, with a more expressive style. He socialized with great painters such as Jules Pascin, Marc Chagall, and Amedeo Mogdialiani. He roomed with Mogdialiani and was severely distraught when he died in 1920.

Soutine was prone to violent rages, bouts of depression and had attempted suicide. He often destroyed his own works. He was known for his bizarre behaviors; once, he kept an animal carcass in his apartment for his painting Carcass of Beef. Despite his rages and eccentricities, he managed to sell many of his works to Dr. Alfred Barnes an American Collector who helped Soutine’s work find a large audience in the United States.

Many believed Soutine’s best exhibition of his works was in Paris, 1937. Several months after his showing in Paris, France fell under the hands of the Nazis. Soutine fled on foot for his life. He hid and slept in forests while he ate leaves, grass and berries to maintain his strength. Two weeks before the French liberation on August 8, 1944, he died due to complications from surgery on a stomach ulcer.

Sad, and distraught...

Her eyes the color of charcoal, empty and lifeless...

The artist clearly displays his own pain through his subject

The doll she is holding is morbid too...

The image of the little girl's face is distorted

and acts as a mirror for Soutine's own life...

Did this girl exist, or was it a figment of Chaim Soutine's imagination?

And if she did exist, what was her name?

Chaim Soutine, I hope you

and The Little Girl with a Doll

have found peace...

My last paper will be posted the week of July 9th and it will feature the work of Chaim Soutine. French, born Lithuania, 1893-1943.

On the sixth day of July, I set sails for The MET.

"Set sails" does have a nice tone, but the reality was I departed from the New Haven train station, destination Grand Central, and rode the subway to 86th Street. With a bottled water in hand, and a new pair of Converse sneakers, I walked three blocks to the museum.

My plan was to tour the museum on a weekday rather than a weekend because I thought there would be less people. When I saw the crowds of people, I quickly remembered it was a holiday week. The security guards searched my bag, I purchased a ticket from a young girl who had a lovely smile, - and I was off.

Welcome to The Met!!! Please come with me and you will see some extraordinary art work.

This is The Museum Experience Course, but prior to taking your photography course, I doubt I would have even noticed - but when I saw the light I could hear your voice "it's all about the light."

Fragment of a literary tablet:

beginning and end of "Atrahasis," the Babylonian myth of the great flood

Clay - Mesopotamia, Babylon - Neo-Babylonian period, 7th - 6th century B. C.

The poem "Atrahasis," named after its hero, is an ancient Near Eastern precursor to the biblical story of Noah's ark. The text describes the creation of humankind and a great flood sent down by the god Enlil to destroy the people, who disturbed the gods with their noise. Atrahasis survived the flood by building a large boat.

Now this is History - pretty amazing!!! - See the writing on the tablet.

Bronze rod tripod

Cypriot, Late Bronze Age, ca. 1250-1050 B.C.

From Cyprus - represents some of the finest metal work produced in the eastern Mediterranean at the end of the Late Bronze Age. The decoration is a blend of Mycenaean Greek and Near Eastern elements.

It is hard for me to comprehend that work of this caliber existed during this period.

Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954) Seated Woman, Back Turned to the Open Window,

ca. 1922, Oil on canvas

Notice the dialgoue between the interior and exterior space, the lively paisley pattern set the stage for the sailboats at sea.

Limestone Geryon

Cypriot, Archaic, 2nd half of the 6th century B.C.

In Greek mythology, Geryon was a three-bodied creature who lived in the West with his dog, a herd of cattle, and a herdsman.

Said to be at the temple at Golgoi...I couldn't tell what this was until I got closer and saw the baby's foot hanging out of the hammock.

Gabriel Orozco Mexican, born 1962

Nina en Homaca (Baby in Hammock), 1999

Silver dye bleach print

A sleeping beauty...Lothar Baumgarten, German, born 1944
Haida Metamorphosis, 1969
Chromogenic print

The artist used pocket mirrors to create the triangular reflections that hover before the objects, though the shapes partially obscure the masks. It is intriguing, and a bit creepy.

Florine Stettheimer, American, 1871-1944

The Cathedrals of Fifth Avenue, 1931-Oil on canvas

Fifth Avenue - New York's shopping mecca

Darling I love you but give me Park Avenue...

Stuart Davis, American, 1892-1984

Percolator

1927-Oil on canvas

This painting was really neat because it deconstructs the rounded, cylindrical forms of an ordinary coffeepot into the Cubist language of flat, overlapping planes and wedges. It was the first time Davis used what he called "color-space" logic - placing colors in such a way as to suggest spatial relationships. Pablo Picasso, Spanish, 1881-1973

Cavalier and a Seated Nude

1967 - Oil on canvas

Sofa, design - Filippo Pelagio Palagi (1775-1860)

Made by Gabriele Capello (1806-1876)

For the King of Sardinia, Carlo Alberto (1798-1849)

Upon viewing the color, fabric, and pattern of the sofa, I knew the owners were royalty. The mahogany and maple is so luxurious!

Brise Fan

Pierced and painted ivory; silk ribbon, metal loop, French, 1830

The fan is delicate, elegant, and feminine. It would compliment any woman's wardrobe. My stomach was empty so I ate lunch in the museum dining gallery. The menu was pricey but the salmon was delicious! During lunch I watched through the glass windows of the museum a homeless man dance, and speak to himself outside on the grass, while the couple sitting next to me laughed, he was their entertainment.

I began to wonder what his story was. Was he a father, or someone's brother? Was he once successful, did he ever eat lunch where I sat? Did he have addiction problems or was he mentally ill? Did he ever experience the joy of seeing the wonders that exist at The Met? One never knows one's own fate.

As I walked to the subway, I humbly thanked my higher power for the precious gift I have been given - my life...