Yesterday I watched "Seraphine" which arrived in my Netflix. Seraphine was a French painter, discovered in 1912 by German art collector Wilhelm Uhde, while working as a cleaning woman. Born in 1864, later in life, Seraphine taught herself to paint as she heard an Angel tell her to Paint so she did. Seraphine's work is categorized as Naive Style and captured Wilhem's eye so much so that he became her Patron and supported her financially so she could quit cleaning and commit herself to painting.
It's a story of her determination to paint amidst dreadful circumstances and total lack of provision and support from anyone surrounding her. Her employer took one look at her art telling her it was a waste of time. Supplies were too expensive for the pennies she made each day, yet she overcame by making her own paints and canvas. She used plants, earth and blood to create her vibrant colors and "lifted" wax from the Catholic church devotion candles for paint medium. Oh how spoiled we 21st Century Artist are! Imagine having to crush your own pigments from scratch? Or to make all your own linen canvas, prime them, build them?
Watching her chance discovery by the art collector was a huge triumph for an unknown, seemingly insignificant woman. Who would have dreamed her works would be part of the fabric in the history of art in the way that she did? The most significant reality of her life is the fine line between the creative mind and insanity. Sadly she was unable to take the fame, fell out of favor with Wilhem by her extravagant spending that nearly ruined him. She broke down, ending up in geriatric hospital at Clermont, where she died in 1934 at the age of 78.
"Séraphine's works are predominantly rich fantasies of intensely repeated and embellished floral arrangements. She used colors and pigments that she made herself from unusual and exotic ingredients she never revealed that have stood the test of time for durable vividness. Her paintings' surfaces have a matte, almost waxy appearance. Sometimes her signature (typically "S. Louis") was carved by knife, revealing a ground of contrasting color. In some cases, she appears to have signed her paintings before painting them." Séraphine an artist consumed by an irrepressible urge to create – "this famous internal necessity of which Kandinsky spoke", terms employed by Bertrand Lorquin.
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1 comment:
Wow, I think I need to see this movie! I randomly came across your site by searching what people had to say about naïve art. Séraphine is by far one of the best naïve artists, but it seems as though she had a very difficult life by what you say about the movie. I am not an artist myself, so I would not know how much of a burden it would be to have to crush your own pigments and make your own canvas . I am also pretty sure that she was admitted into the psychiatric ward at the hospital. It is really inspiring to hear or watch movies about artists who had nothing and became something with their talent. Another movie about an artist that I would recommend is “The Girl with the Pearl Earring” which is about Vermeer’s painting. It is not historically accurate, but it does give an idea of what life was like back then for painters.
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