Niobe Alexy Von Jawlensky Analysis
Cash Coffman
Ms. Miramontes
AHC 1133
McNay Art Museum Piece
After visiting the Mcnay Art Museum, one of the many intricate paintings that caught my attention was the melancholy gaze of the Greek symbol, Niobe. Niobe by Alexey von Jawlensky was in the 19th and 20th century exhibition where it stood out from the others with its color pallet, materials used, and its historical meaning behind the painting. Alexey von Jawlensky artistically portrayed the emotions of Niobe, previously described by Greek mythology, by emphasizing on the raw emotion of Niobe’s story using his unique style, which connected me with his work. Niobe is classified as an “Encaustic on board” painting, meaning that it was created utilizing hot wax. Special brushes and metal tools were used to shape the paint before the wax cools, creating the artists’ visions. Alexey von Jawlensky “attempted to further reduce …show more content…
Jawlensky completed the painting in 1917, in the midst of World War I. The turmoil of the war around him may have played a role in the creation of this painting. Niobe, was a Greek symbol who would boast about her fourteen children to everyone she would encounter. When Leto, another Greek female symbol, was exposed to Niobe’s boasting, she sent her two sons, Apollo and Artemis, to kill Niobe’s seven daughters and seven sons. Amphion, Niobe’s husband commits suicide after hearing the news of the deaths of his children leaving Niobe all alone. After this she is changed into stone, and flew, carried by a gust of wind; to her home in Lydia where she was stuck onto the peak of a mountain and is still there weeping. Jawlensky choosing to portray Niobe, a weeping widow, during this time where many people were being killed and many women themselves were becoming weeping widows was a strategic gambit to gain sympathy and attraction to his
Ms. Miramontes
AHC 1133
McNay Art Museum Piece
After visiting the Mcnay Art Museum, one of the many intricate paintings that caught my attention was the melancholy gaze of the Greek symbol, Niobe. Niobe by Alexey von Jawlensky was in the 19th and 20th century exhibition where it stood out from the others with its color pallet, materials used, and its historical meaning behind the painting. Alexey von Jawlensky artistically portrayed the emotions of Niobe, previously described by Greek mythology, by emphasizing on the raw emotion of Niobe’s story using his unique style, which connected me with his work. Niobe is classified as an “Encaustic on board” painting, meaning that it was created utilizing hot wax. Special brushes and metal tools were used to shape the paint before the wax cools, creating the artists’ visions. Alexey von Jawlensky “attempted to further reduce …show more content…
Jawlensky completed the painting in 1917, in the midst of World War I. The turmoil of the war around him may have played a role in the creation of this painting. Niobe, was a Greek symbol who would boast about her fourteen children to everyone she would encounter. When Leto, another Greek female symbol, was exposed to Niobe’s boasting, she sent her two sons, Apollo and Artemis, to kill Niobe’s seven daughters and seven sons. Amphion, Niobe’s husband commits suicide after hearing the news of the deaths of his children leaving Niobe all alone. After this she is changed into stone, and flew, carried by a gust of wind; to her home in Lydia where she was stuck onto the peak of a mountain and is still there weeping. Jawlensky choosing to portray Niobe, a weeping widow, during this time where many people were being killed and many women themselves were becoming weeping widows was a strategic gambit to gain sympathy and attraction to his