Existing comment:
Frederick Carl Frieseke
Portrait of John Belo, 1926
Frieseke is best known for the vivid color, energetic strokes, and densely patterned surfaces of the paintings he produced during his summers in the village of Giverny. However, around 1920, the artist's style underwent a subtle change. After leaving Giverny, Frieseke moved to Le Mesnil-sur-Blangy, Normandy, where this portrait was made. While its mix of patterns recalls earlier works, the purposeful use of contrasting techniques is absent here, lending the painting an ethereal quality. The dreamlike state is heightened by the soft palette, loose brush, blurred outlines, and frontal pose, all of which characterize Frieseke's later works. Generally contemplative, sometimes disturbing, this shift reads as an investigation of the internal self -- perhaps in response to the expressive emphasis of post-impressionism. |