ROMARE BEARDEN (Charlotte 1911–1988 New York) Mecklenberg, evening. 1980. Oil, pencil, watercolor and collage (fabric, offset, paper) on paper firmly laid down on masonite. Signed lower left: Romare Bearden, also with artist, title, measurements and dated on a label on the reserve: "Mecklenberg, Evening" 13 3/4"/177/8" 1980 ROMARE bearden. 35.2 × 45.5 cm. Provenance: - Artists studio. - Directly from the artist to the present owner, since then private collection Switzerland. “A painting isn’t finished sometimes you get the surface.” Edouard Manet The Black American artist Fred Romare Harry Bearden was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1911. After a racially motivated attack on his family, they moved to Harlem, New York in 1915. From 1927 to 1929 Bearden lived with his maternal grandmother in Pittsburgh, where he completed his school education. In 1930 he began his studies at Boston University and took numerous art courses. Bearden moved back to New York, where he continued his studies and worked as a cartoonist for various magazines. In 1935 he graduated from New York University. His teacher, the German artist George Grosz, had immigrated to the United States in the 1930s, and had a great influence on the young student. He introduced him to European modernism and through him Bearden became acquainted with the collages of Hannah H?ch and John Heartfield. While studying, he also spent time as a social worker in Harlem, where, in addition to the artistic skills he learned from Grosz, he also became more familiar with the lives of marginalised groups and minorities. The social problems triggered by the Great Depression, the impending World War and everyday racism had a great influence on his art. Beardens first solo exhibition of paintings, gouaches and watercolours took place in New York in 1940. In 1942 he joined the US Army and was posted to Europe. After the War, he moved to Paris to study philosophy at the Sorbonne and returned to New York in 1952 again engaging himself as a social worker. His time in Paris strengthened and cemented his love of European modernism. 1959, gallery owners Arne Ekstrom and Michel Warren visited him in his studio and went on to represent him until his death. From the 1950s on, he was increasingly interested in collage, which became the dominant medium in his oeuvre. He mainly used photographs and found images from newspapers and magazines, which he assembled in complex, spatially dynamic compositions. Bearden and his wife became active in the Civil Rights Movement, since they had experienced racism and social and political inequality directly. Until 1969 he continued to work full-time for the Department of Social Services but left this job to focus exclusively on his art. In 1971, the Museum of Modern Art honoured Romare Bearden with a retrospective. In 1976, he was awarded the Gold Medal for Achievements in the Arts by the Governor of North Carolina. In March 1988, Romare Bearden died in New York at the age of 77. The present work "Mecklenberg, evening" from 1980 is part of a series of collages that Bearden created, inspired by his home in North Carolina. After Bearden’s parents moved to New York in 1915, spent his summers for the next five years with his grandparents and did not visit his old home again until 1940. That visit triggered a fascination with the "African American way of life" (Hanzal, Carla M. et al: Romare Bearden. Southern Recollections, London 2012, p. 42) which would occupy him for most of his life the last collage from this series was created in 1986. Thematically, Bearden dealt with the lives of the workers, but also family life. With his collages, he revived old memories of that time: "Time is a pattern ... You can come back to where you started from with added experience and you hope for more understanding", said Romare Bearden, only to realise without any illusions that with each return, reality disappears more and more and is replaced by myths (ibid., p. 39). In our collage, Bearden enters the home of a Black American family. The door and window are open, so that the viewers gaze wanders into a green landscape with a bright blue sky and white clouds. A couple is seated at the table another woman stands facing the viewer. This work strikingly illustrates the artists different influences. The view outside the home is reminiscent of Picassos linocut "Bacchanal à lacrobate" from 1959, in which a blue sky with white clouds also rises above a lush, green landscape. The woman bathing in front of the open door evokes associations with Degas "Le Tub" of 1886. The face of the woman sitting at the table is collaged with a newspaper clipping, the face of the figure standing at the front to the edge of the picture has been replaced by a mask, also seen in collages by Hannah H?ch. In addition to the influence of European modernism, there are allusions to "non-Western" art, particularly in the fabrics used in the collage.. The collaged elements of this work, which might not seem to fit together at all, are combined by Bearden with such aplomb that a compositionally coherent work emerges. The work demands engagement with what is depicted, and the themes that are brought into play. The relationship of the people depicted and the significance of the bathers, who bear no relation to the scene in the house become objects of attention.Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore points to a personal aspect in all his Mecklenberg collages: "It was the leaving that made Romare Bearden an artist. Snatched out of the nest of a large family with comfortable surroundings, banished from blue Carolina skies, the warm air coming in through the windows and doors, and the bright colours of urban garden, Bearden found himself set down in Harlem." (Ibid, p. 47). The great fascination of Romare Beardens work is the state of tension within which he inevitably created in his art: European modernism from the perspective of the American, the relationship of the Black American to the American artist and, last but not least, the fascination with "non-western" art. Unlike almost any other artist, he moved simultaneously within and outside the canons of Western art. The importance of Romare Bearden’s art is currently being recognised in the project fo the Wildenstein/Plattner Institute in New York to compile a comprehensive catalogue raisonné of his works, which we naturally support by presenting the work on offer. ROMARE BEARDEN (Charlotte 1911–1988 New York) Mecklenberg, evening. 1980. ?l, Bleistift, Aquarell und Collage (Stoff, Offset, Papier) auf Papier fest auf Hartfaserplatte. Unten links signiert: Romare Bearden, sowie auf der Rückseite auf einem Etikett mit Künstler-, Titel-, Massangaben und Datierung: "Mecklenberg, Evening" 13 3/4"/177/8" 1980 ROMARE bearden. 35,2 × 45,5 cm. Provenienz: - Atelier des Künstlers. - Direkt vom Künstler erhalten, seitdem Privatsammlung Schweiz. ?A painting isn’t finished sometimes you get the surface.“ Edouard Manet Der Afroamerikaner Fred Romare Harry Bearden wird 1911 in Charlotte, North Carolina, geboren. 1914 zieht**Familie nach Harlem, New York. Von 1927-1929 lebt er mit seiner Grossmutter mütterlicherseits in Pittsburgh, wo er seine Schulausbildung erfolgreich beendet. An der Boston University beginnt er 1930 sein Studium und belegt zahlreiche Kunstkurse. Bearden zieht zurück nach New York, setzt dort sein Studium fort und arbeitet als Cartoonist für diverse Magazine. 1935 schliesst er**New York University ab. Sein Lehrer George Grosz, der in den 1930er Jahren in**USA immigriert, hat einen grossen Einfluss auf den jungen Studenten. Er bringt ihm**europ?ische Moderne nah, durch ihn lernt Bearden**Collagen von Hannah H?ch und John Heartfield kennen. Parallel zu seinem Studium findet er Arbeit als Sozialarbeiter in Harlem.**gesellschaftlichen Probleme, ausgel?st durch**Grosse Depression, den aufziehenden Weltkrieg und den allt?glichen Rassismus, nehmen grossen Einfluss auf seine Kunst. 1940 findet Beardens erste Soloaussstellung mit Gem?lden, Gouachen und Aquarellen in New York statt. 1942 tritt er der US-Armee bei und wird nach Europa versetzt. Nach dem Krieg zieht er nach Paris, um an der Sorbonne Philosophie zu studieren und kehrt 1952 nach New York zurück, um weiterhin als Sozialarbeiter zu arbeiten.**Zeit in Paris hat seine Liebe zur europ?ischen Moderne best?rkt und gefestigt. 1959 statten**Galeristen Arne Ekstrom und Michel Warren dem Künstler in seinem Studio einen Besuch ab und werden ihn bis zu seinem Tod vertreten. Ab den 1950er Jahren setzt er sich verst?rkt mit der Collage auseinander und sie wird das beherrschende Medium seines Oeuvres. Er verwendet überwiegend Fotos und Fundstücke aus Zeitungen und Magazinen,**er in einer komplexen Komposition von r?umlicher Dynamik zusammenfügt. Bearden und seine Frau setzen sich politisch für**Rechte der Schwarzen ein, nachdem sie und ihre Familien für Generationen unter Rassismus und gesellschaftlicher sowie politischer Ungleichberechtigung gelebt haben. 1969 beendet er seine Arbeit im Departement of Social Services, um ausschliesslich als Künstler zu arbeiten. 1971 ehrt das Museum of Modern Art Romare Bearden mit einer Retrospektive. 1976 wird ihm**Gold Medaille for Achievements in Arts vom Gouverneur North Carolinas verliehen. Im M?rz 1988 stirbt Romare Bearden im Alter von 77 Jahren in New York. Das vorliegende Werk ?Mecklenberg, evening“ von 1980 stammt aus einer Reihe von Collagen,**Bearden inspiriert durch seine Heimat erschaffen hat. Seine Familie lebt seit Generationen in North Carolina, bis seine Eltern, nach einer rassistischen Attacke auf Bearden und seinen Vater, sich 1915 entschliessen nach Harlem/New York zu ziehen. In den kommenden 5 Jahren verbringt er seine Sommer bei seinen Grosseltern, besucht seine Heimat dann erst 1940 wieder. Der Besuch l?st seine neue Faszination des ?African American Way of Life“ (Hanzal, Carla M. u.a.: Romare Bearden. Southern Recollections, London 2012, S. 42) aus und wird ihn fast zeitlebens besch?ftigen 1986 entsteht**letzte Collage aus dieser Serie. Thematisch greift Bearden das Leben der Arbeiter, aber immer auch das Familienleben auf. Er frischt mit seinen Collagen seine Erinnerung an diese Zeit auf: ?Time is a pattern … You can come back to where you started from with added experience and you hope for more understanding“ sagt Romare Bearden, um dann aber auch illusionsfrei festzustellen, dass mit jedem Zurückkommen**Realit?t immer mehr verschwindet und durch Mythen ersetzt wird (ebenda, S. 39). In unserer Collage führt Bearden uns in das Heim einer afro-amerikanischen Familie. Tür und Fenster sind ge?ffnet, sodass der Blick des Betrachters in eine grüne Landschaft mit strahlend blauem Himmel und weissen Wolken schweift. Am Tisch sitzt ein Paar dem Betrachter zugewandt steht eine weitere Frau. Diese Arbeit veranschaulicht auf beeindruckende Weise**unterschiedlichen Einflüsse des Künstlers. Der Blick aus der Hütte hinaus erinnert an Picassos Linolschnitt ?Bacchanal à l’acrobate“ von 1959, in denen sich ebenfalls ein blauer Himmel mit weissen Wolken über einer satten, grünen Landschaft erhebt.**Badende vor der ge?ffneten Tür weckt Assoziationen an Degas‘ ?Le Tub“ von 1886. Das Gesicht der am Tisch sitzenden Frau ist mit einem Zeitungsausschnitt collagiert, das Gesicht der frontal zum Bildrand stehenden Figur wurde durch eine Maske ersetzt, was wir schon aus Collagen von Hannah H?ch kennen. Neben dem Einfluss der europ?ischen Moderne erfolgt hier also auch eine Anspielung auf ?non-western“ Art. Auch einige der Stoffe,**collagiert wurden, nehmen klaren Bezug darauf.**unterschiedlich collagierten Elemente dieser Arbeit,**eigentlich gar nicht zusammenpassen, werden von Bearden so souver?n kombiniert, dass dennoch ein kompositorisch zusammenh?ngendes Werk entsteht und gleichzeitig unsere Auseinandersetzung mit dem Dargestellten und den ins Spiel gebrachten Themen einfordert. Man fragt sich wie das Verh?ltnis der dargestellten Personen zueinnder ist oder nach der Bedeutung der Badenden,**in keinerlei Beziehung zur Szene im Haus steht und fast deplatziert wirkt. Das Faszinierende am Werk Romare Beardens ist das Spannungsfeld, in dem er sich mit seiner Kunst bewegt bzw. unweigerlich bewegen muss:**europ?ische Moderne aus Sicht des Amerikaners, das Verh?ltnis des afro-amerikanischen zum amerikanischen Künstler und zu guter Letzt**Faszination für ?non-western“ Art. Wie kaum ein zweiter Künstler bewegt er sich gleichzeitig in und ausserhalb des westlichen Kunstkanons. Dieser Bedeutung wird nun aktuell durch das Vorhaben des Wildenstein/Plattner Instituts in New York Rechnung getragen, ein umfassendes Werkverzeichnis seiner Arbeiten zu erstellen, was wir durch**Vorlage des angebotenen Werkes unterstützen.
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