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19. Maurice Prendergast, American, 1859-1924. On the Beach, No. 3, c. 1915. Oil on canvas, 66 x 84.7 cm. Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection, 1653.26
The unconventional colors and textures of On the Beach, No. 3 are characteristic of this American post-impressionist's work. Adapting the ideas of light and color developed by the impressionists and post-impressionists, Maurice Prendergast made them uniquely his own. The thick application of paint is similar to Vincent van Gogh's technique, but Prendergast has applied the paint in broader and coarser brush stokes, emphasizing the physical presence and weight of the material. In some areas he has painted directly over a different color, still incompletely dry, forming peaks of one color highlighted with another. Ranging from pale blues to deep purples, the colors of this work seem to glow with an inner luminosity. Resembling carefully placed rag dolls, the faceless figures are heavily outlined and filled with solid color; they are set before a landscape with massive trees. Despite their awkwardness, the flowing pattern of color and line directs the viewer's eyes around the painting, creating a rhythmic pattern.
Prendergast spent the first ten years of his life in the British crown colony of Newfoundland. In 1868 his family moved to Boston, where he attended the Free Evening Drawing School. After traveling to France and attending the Académie Julian, he returned to Boston. Accompanied by his brother Charles, also an artist, Prendergast often traveled back and forth from the United States to Europe, finding inspiration in each new city.
From the beginning of his career, critics commented on Prendergast's use of pure and brilliant color. In 1907, while visiting France, he was impressed by an exhibition of Paul Cézanne's watercolors, whose works, together with those of the Fauve painter Henri Matisse, confirmed the direction in which Prendergast's painting was headed, where color was the most important element. The array of brilliant overlapping colors creates a thick surface of color patterns, giving his canvases their distinctive coarse texture. These features make Prendergast one of the most innovative American artists of the early 20th century.
Vivian Kung and Patricia Richmond
Teacher Resource Center
Department of Education and Public Programs
© 1997 The Cleveland Museum of Art |