A very surprised nymph...
11:33 a.m.
23/11/15 - The MNBA has, in its permanent collection, an iconic piece by Edouard Manet (France, 1832-1883): The Surprised Nymph (La Nymphe surprise), a 1861 painting, which opened a key period in the artist's career and in Art History. It became a turning point between Courbet's physical realism and the optical realism of the Impressionist movement, seed of French Modernism. The painting was truly meaningful to Manet, who kept it till his death.
This artwork is one of the many recreated by Jeff Koons (USA, 1955) in his series "Gazing Ball Paintings", currently on display at the Gagosian Gallery in New York (21st street).
Gazing Ball (Manet's Surprised Nymph), by Jeff Koons (2014-15)
Technique: oil on canvas, glass, aluminium / Measures: 177.2 x 136.5 x 37.5 cm
In this series Koons dialogues with artists of the Past, such as Manet, Tiziano, El Greco, Courbet, Gauguin, Fragonard, Leonardo Da Vinci and others. A blue glass ball is placed in front of each painting (copies of the original). This, according to Koons, connects the observer (reflected in the ball), in a metaphysical process, with the cultural heritage represented by the painting, in real time.
Gazing Ball (Manet's Luncheon on the Grass), by Jeff Koons (2014-2015)
Technique: oil on canvas, glass, aluminium / Measures: 160 x 206.4 x 37.5 cm
Gazing Ball (Manet's Olympia), by Jeff Koons (2014-2015)
Technique: oil on canvas, glass, aluminium / Measures: 140.3 x 206 x 37.5 cm
Gazing Ball (Rembrant's Lucretia), by Jeff Koons (2015)
Technique: oil on canvas, glass, aluminium / Measures: 161.9 x 135.3 x 37.5 cm
Gazing Ball (Fragonard's Young Girl Playing with her Dog), by Jeff Koons (2014-2015)
Technique: oil on canvas, glass, aluminium / Measures: 174 x 136.5 x 37.5 cm
Gazing Ball (Da Vinci's Mona Lisa), by Jeff Koons (2015)
Technique: oil on canvas, glass, aluminium / Measures: 172.7x 115.6 x 37.5 cm
Gazing Ball (El Greco's Vision of Saint John), by Jeff Koons (2014-2015)
Technique: oil on canvas, glass, aluminium / Measures: 175.9x 156.2 x 37.5 cm
Gazing Ball (Klimt's Kiss), by Jeff Koons (2015)
Technique: oil on canvas, glass, aluminium / Measures: 159.4 x 158.9 x 37.5 cm
Gazing Ball (Turner's Ancient Rome), by Jeff Koons (2015)
Technique: oil on canvas, glass, aluminium / Measures: 138.4 x 135.3 x 37.5 cm
Gazing Ball (Van Gogh's Wheatfield with Cypresses), by Jeff Koons (2015)
Technique: oil on canvas, glass, aluminium / Measures: 139.7 x 175.6 x 37.5 cm
Most of the copies on display are larger than the original versions. The Mona Lisa, for instance, is almost three times larger. Koons accepts he is not the first artist to make use of the Gioconda, something already done by Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol. But Koons goes a bit farther: he takes possession of 35 masterpieces and reproduces them, adding the blue ball on a painted aluminium stand. In 2013 he presented the same concept, but with copies of classic sculptures. In an interview with The Guardian, Koons explains that “this experience is about you, with your wishes, your interests, your participation and your relationship with the image".
Keep reading... "Comentario sobre la Ninfa Sorprendida", by L. Malosetti Costa, here.
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