Willem De Kooning
had been widely acknowledged as one of the greatest painters of this century known for his daring originality. Several exhibitions in the U.S. and abroad have celebrated the artistic achievements of this eminent artist's 60-year career. This essay covers part of his early life with real focus on his late paintings. His last works, painted in the 1980s, as he was in deteriorating health have come under criticism by some critics. was born on April 24, 1904 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. His father was a beer distributor and his mother ran a bar. At the age of twelve, he became an apprentice at a commercial design and decorating firm. He studied for eight years at Rotterdam's leading art ...
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Gorky, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, began to be recognized as a major painter in a movement called "Abstract Expressionism". This new school of thought shifted the center of twentieth century art form Paris to New York. was recognized as the only painter who had one foot in Europe and one in America. He combined classical European training in Holland with a love for popular American culture. The restlessness and energy of American life was a source of great inspiration and passion for him. Gary Garrells, the chief curator at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art said, " He had the wildness of Pollock but mixed with the impeccable craftsmanship of the European tradition. He was not interested in style, he was interested in the process of looking and knowing and getting under the skin." , 93, was the last survivor of his famous peers. One would not have predicted for him a great old age. Among the leading figures of hard-living generation, he belonged by ...
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mutually exclusive contradictions without the resolution of synthesis, of harmony and balance. By the end of 1970s, he had reached a point of near total spiritual exhaustion- partly due to heavy drinking and partly for a tendency to forgetfulness and a gradual detachment from the world around him. Much was said of Kooning about his last drawings, " as a doodling of a helpless old man," but the reality was quite different. De Kooning succumbed to Alzheimer disease in late 1970s. According to Peter Schjedahl, in his essay, De Kooning later life was compared to King Lear in Shakespeare's play. It is said of him , " The wonder is, he hath endures so long./ He but usurped his life." Peter ...
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"Willem De Kooning." Essayworld.com. April 14, 2006. Accessed April 25, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Willem-De-Kooning/44385.
"Willem De Kooning." Essayworld.com. April 14, 2006. Accessed April 25, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Willem-De-Kooning/44385.
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