Intersections of Art History and Lived Experience
Flowers, Italy by Joseph Stella (1931)
Okay, that title is admittedly a long one. But it, in its entirety, is a subject worthy of exploration during Mystic Month. Why Mystic Month? Well, oftentimes artistic movements and styles are developed from deep contemplation. Groups of people come together to discover and develop visual philosophies about humanity and how we view the world. There is something to be said for following the rules of a particular movement and exploring those philosophies. Yet oftentimes our own creative voices can be found in the moments when we make the choice to break those rules, to do things a bit differently because it feels truer to our own understanding of the world.
A LOCAL EXHIBIT
There are many examples of this concept in the art world, and I was so fortunate to catch the last day of an exhibit at the Brandywine River Museum on Joseph Stella, who immigrated to New York from Muro Lucano, Italy in 1896. Before seeing this exhibit, I knew this artist for his Futurist style architectural paintings, which were highly influential in the development of the American Avant-Garde Art Movement.
Battle of Lights, Coney Island, Mardi Gras, by Joseph Stella (1914)
Upon arriving in the United States, Joseph Stella lived in New York until a visit to Italy and France in 1909 where he became acquainted with with the explorations highly experimental European artists of the time. These artistic philosophies would grow to become Futurism, Cubism, and Dadaism. “For the first time, I realized that there was such a thing as modern art … as true and great as the old one,” Joseph Stella (1913). Upon his return to New York, he became known for art that interpreted the modernity of urban life. These early works were well-reviewed by critics a number of years before they were well-received by the public.
Voice of the City of New York Interpreted, by Joseph Stella (1920-1922)
With the outbreak of World War I, he was kept apart from his native Italy for many years. When he was finally able to visit again in 1922, he was struck by the expanses of nature and the structure of Italian Art and Society. When I saw this portion of Stella’s body of work, I was taken with how spiritual these paintings felt, a strong departure from bridges and building architecture, with nature itself becoming architectural in a striking Art Nouveau style. This spiritual quality occurred in his Art Nouveau works as well as his religious works, which placed nature itself at the forefront of the composition of our world and the connection to the divine.
At a time when anti-Catholic and anti-Italian sentiments were growing, Stella found himself radically following what he described as a “Mystical Rapture.” His return to nature combined with the purity of early Italian art styles leant his works a particular clarity, one in which his spiritual connection to nature and his deep connection to Italy come through powerfully in his paintings.
Purissima by Joseph Stella (1927)
The nearly life-size Madonna in Stella’s Purissima is part Christian Icon and part Mother Nature. Mount Vesuvius and Capri anchor her to the Italian landscape, and natural elements such as lily stems and moon glow transcend the religious iconography of the time to create a throne and halo that speak to another aspect of the divine.
The Virgin by Joseph Stella (1926)
Stella places the Madonna in Italy, her halo lending an atmospheric glow to the landscape of Naples. Stella described of this work “the Virgin praying …protected, on both sides, by almond blossoms, crowned above by the wreath of the deep and clear gold of the orange and lemon trees.” His spiritual connection with nature becomes integral to his spiritual connection to his Italian, Catholic roots.
I so enjoyed exploring this “Mystical Rapture” of Stella’s, and found myself fully enveloped by the world he created through his art. I was a world that I almost recognized from the art and iconography I’ve come to know through art history, and yet made new and distinctly his own through the lens of his connection with nature. It was a world more vivid and expressive than those I’d experienced through a strictly religious or strictly botanical lens, and I found that I wanted to stay there a while and see where these forms and colors and architectural florals would take me in my own mystical explorations.
RULE BREAKERS
A common theme in Stella’s paintings of the birds of Italy, the swan represents both purity and sensuality, both gentle beauty and power. When painted in the circular shape common to religious art of the Renaissance, the swan becomes a spiritual entity, aglow against the darkness and empowered by the colorful atmospheric landscape.
Do you let yourself break the rules and structure of art, writing, or design? Do you find yourself and your voice shining through in these moments? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Swan (with Rainbow) by Joseph Stella (1924)
