Norman Rockwell was a deeper, more sensitive painter than I had imagined. This reflection comes from reading The Essential Rockwell. Interestingly, Rockwell appreciated Jackson Pollock, the abstract expressionist, and attempted to paint in the modernist style on occasion. However, he was a figurative painter in this bones, with little aptitude for abstraction. Nevertheless, note the painting that "the connoisseur" is gazing at. Rockwell's paintings tell us much about the human condition, but more about "greatness" than about "misery"--to use Pascalian terms.
Monday, June 07, 2010
"The Connoisseur"
Norman Rockwell was a deeper, more sensitive painter than I had imagined. This reflection comes from reading The Essential Rockwell. Interestingly, Rockwell appreciated Jackson Pollock, the abstract expressionist, and attempted to paint in the modernist style on occasion. However, he was a figurative painter in this bones, with little aptitude for abstraction. Nevertheless, note the painting that "the connoisseur" is gazing at. Rockwell's paintings tell us much about the human condition, but more about "greatness" than about "misery"--to use Pascalian terms.
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2 comments:
My estimation of Rockwell has increased lately. It turns out that many works attributed to him are not his. Many inferior illustrations from the Saturday Evening Post are attributed to him when in fact they were the work of others. When I learned to seperate his works from the others, I began to truly appreciate his talent.
"The Connoisseur" is owned by film director Steven Spielberg. Spielberg owns several original Rockwell paintings and he said this is his favorite one.
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