An exhibition opening at the Wallach Art Gallery in New York explores the legacy of the black model for the development modernism and beyond.
“Through the exhibition of around 100 paintings from different stages of art history, as well as letters and photographs from archives, the show traces the evolving representation of the black female figure. The show includes another Manet portrait of Laure and his portrait of Jeanne Duval, Baudelaire’s mistress, a biracial woman of French Caribbean origin.” .... ”Interestingly, the show also delves into the work of Matisse, an artist whose name might be surprising in this context. Archival letters show that on his visits to the United States, Matisse worked with women of color and interacted with artists active in the Harlem Renaissance movement, which inspired a shift in his artistic style. The final segment of the exhibition features postwar and contemporary artworks, including work by African American artists such Romare Bearden and Mickalene Thomas, that look back critically at earlier representations of women of color, including those by Manet and Matisse.” More on the exhibition here at ‘Good Black News.’ Also here’s a review of the exhibition by Kaegan Sparks for Art in America Magazine.
