Monday 21 December 2015

Temporary exhibition at Calouste Gulbenkian Museum - The Delaunay cycle, Lisboa - The 20th of December 2015


Having been to an Art exhibition the day before did not interfere negatively on my decision to going to another Art exhibition the day after, particularly because it was one I was looking forward to since I had been back home. 


The Delaunay "influence" in terms of chromatic expression had played a one day major role  in my University years, when I ventured into one of the classes wearing some tight trousers with a Claudia Delaunay colourful design that had my colleagues look at me like they never had before and never would.  


This major exhibition assembled some of the greatest Portuguese painters who lived through the "Delaunay cycle" and were in some way influenced by it. Despite knowing many of the paintings I did enjoy my afternoon strolling along the various galleries which had their paintings in display.

Right at the entrance a 18,8 metre wide by 6,5 metre high panel painting  covering an entire wall caught visitors' attention almost immediately. It is a 1937 Sonia Delaunay's painting comprising four canvas which was intended for the wall of the main Railway Station  at he 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la vie Moderne de Paris.












As I moved onto a gallery on the first floor I came across some of Robert Delaunay, Amadeo de Souza-Cardos and Eduardo Viana's paintings, whose blending of colours and composition approach I fell for, though I must confess "the lacemaker" by Eduardo Viana is definitely my favourite.














"Portuguese still life" - Robert Delaunay 1915 (left)."The jug" - Robert Delaunay - 1916 (right).














"The light bright house" - Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso - 1915 (left).













"Strength, love and rage - Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso - 1915-16 (left). "Broken crystal - diamond heart" - Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso - 1914-15 (right).






"Mutilated woman - Crushing grace" - Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso - 1516.




















"The miller"- Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso - 1915 (left). "Windmills with telegraph wires" - Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso - 1915 (right).






"Promontory - Indigo Head - Seas of Ossian - Rose Orange" - Eduardo Viana

















"The lacemaker" - Eduardo Viana - 1916







"Portuguese still life" - Robert Delaunay - 1915-16






























Sketch by Sonia Delaunay applied to tiles so as to cever the façade of Fonseca asylum, whose patron (Apolinário Fonseca) can be seen in the centre of the composition surrounded by the whole community of Valença with its fortress in the background and the river Tuy to its left.







(To be continued)











No comments:

Post a Comment