“The Norwegian artist Odd Nerdrum is one of the greatest painters of the century. Unfortunately, according to his detractors, the century in question is the seventeenth ... His admirers praise him for his superb Old Master technique, while his critics condemn him as hopelessly reactionary. His work calls into question all our customary narratives about art history, and especially the modernist dogma that the artist can be creative only by turning his back on the past.
Nerdrum has openly acknowledged his debt to the Old Masters. He uses heavy layers of paint to create chiaroscuro effects reminiscent of Caravaggio and Rembrandt, and he also continually recalls the achievement of the great Italian and Dutch painters in his ability to capture the texture of things on canvas -- from shiny metals to rich fabrics. Above all, he knows how to convey every shade of human flesh. And yet the subject matter of Nerdrum's works is usually enough to place him in the modern world. His dark palette seems to underwrite a disturbing vision of the end of civilization as we know it.
…
When asked to define "what is lacking in contemporary art," Nerdrum characteristically put together an odd but suggestive list of four things:
- 1. The open, trustful face,
- 2. The sensual skin,
- 3. Golden sunsets, and
- 4. The longing for eternity.”
For more painting and further information, have a look at the website of The Nerdrum Institute.
As I said earlier, Chris - I love these images; there's more than a whiff of plague and pox about them somehow - they remind me too of images from Ken Russell's The Devils...
ReplyDeleteThe Devils trailer @
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9DFfrH-018
It's as if the figures belong to a remote community forgotten by time - perhaps another reference might be The Wicker Man. I guesson one level they're the progeny of pre-Edvard Munch Norweigan artist Christian Krohg, at least of his famous 'Sick Girl' (1881):
ReplyDeletehttp://silverandexact.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/sick-girl-christian-krohg-1881.jpg
By the way Phil I forgot to put tabs on the post, would you be able to do this if you get a moment for me? (can't find an edit button).
yep - will do - for future ref. just click on the little 'pencil' icon at the bottom of the post if you want to edit.
ReplyDelete<<<“The Norwegian artist Odd Nerdrum is one of the greatest painters of the century. Unfortunately, according to his detractors, the century in question is the seventeenth ...>>>
ReplyDeleteI would say 21st century, not 17th. By the time the fashionista art of the late 20th century is understood for what it is, petulant, willie-comparative fear of actually revealing the best they can do, it will be remembered as a rather awkward phase. Time has the talent of filtering the best and the most meaningful, qualities many lino patterns fail to have. Rant over.