Biography from AskART:
| The following is submitted by Cornelia Seckel, publisher ART TIMES
John LaFarge at Hudson River Museum
By RAYMOND J. STEINER
ART TIMES December 1990
SHOULD
STAINED GLASS be what comes to mind when John LaFarge is mentioned, a
visit to an exhibit of his works on paper* might be well worth the
trip. Though it is true that he was known for his works in glassin fact
creating innovative blending and layering of different opalescent
colors within a single sheet for an astonishing variety of effectshe
turned out an enormous amount of work during his lifetime which
included sculpture, paintings, drawings, watercolors, photographs, wood
engravings, illustrations, murals and architectural designs. Even
concentrating on his drawings and watercolors as it does, the present
exhibit includes over 150 works which range from his student days
(1856) to his latest years (1903).
Equally as surprising as
his range of mediums, is La Farge's range of subject matterhe appears
to have had a voracious creative appetite, applying his considerable
talents to as many different projects as possible. Far from the narrow
specialist of today, he was a genuine example of what was once known as
a "renaissance man."
Those selections from his early days
included in the show (The Crucifixion of St. Peter, Head of a Boy,
etc.), reveal a strong academic taste and grounding. And, although it
had prepared him with a substantial basis in sound draftsmanship, one
could hardly say that he was bound by academicism in his later life.
LaFarge, as can be gathered above, was nothing if not experimental.
Often overlooked in the assessment of the man, LaFarge was painting en
plein air before the Impressionists "invented" the method, had traveled
and painted in Tahiti and the South Seas a year before the idea
occurred to Gauguin, had incorporated "Japonisme" into his work before
it became fashionable in Paris and, in fact, introduced elements of
psychology (and physiology!) into art criticismjust one more activity
he felt inclined to dabble in.
As tightly drawn as may be his
pencil drawings and studies for design and decoration, we get some idea
of a looser style in his landscape watercolors, especially those from
the South Sea "period" (1890-1891). He is strongest, however, in his
figural studies and, when they are included in his landscapes, it is
the figure which dominates the composition. Even in his "pure"
landscapes, it is when he places some bit of foliage or detail in the
foreground that his pictures come alive. It is, in fact, detail and its
precise rendering, undoubtedly a carry-over from his early training,
that might be considered his "trademark." Thus, his design for a
memorial window, Angel Sealing the Servant of God, or Seated Woman
(another window design) reveal a loving eye for line ala Ingres or
Degas.
Just as strong as his control of line, is his sense of
color and design, surely the basis of his popularity as a decorative
designer and stained glass artist. It was in his constant application
of all that he learned, in as many mediums as he could command, in the
profusion of figures, flowers, landscapes and architectural details
that he turned his hand to, that made LaFarge the consummate artist he
was. What is impressive is how often he was more than just competent,
often attaining a delicacy of tone or color that is breathtaking.
It is good that we have such an institution as The Hudson River Museum,
small enough to concentrate on a specific aspect of a single artist and
independent enough to devote their space to a scholarly (rather than a
"popular") exhibition. Such an intimateand importantinsight into an
artist is pricelessand the accompanying catalogue (with an Introduction
by Barbara Bloemink) by James L. Yarnall, who also authored the
Catalogue Raisonné of John LaFarge, a further testament to a fine
combination of beauty and scholarship.
Whether you must travel up, down or across to the Hudson, this is an exhibition you shouldn't miss.
*"John
LaFarge: Watercolors and Drawings." The Hudson River Museum of
Westchester, 511 Warburton Ave., Yonkers, New York. (Oct 28-Jan 6,
1991). Thence, The Munson-Williams-Proctor Inst, Utica, NY (Feb 23-Apr
21, 91) and The Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, IL (Jun 15-Aug
11, 91).
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Biography from AskART:
| John
LaFarge was born in New York City in March 1935 of French descent and
Roman Catholic background which was unusual at the time. He graduated
from Mount St. Mary's College in Maryland. His ties with France were
strengthened by a lengthy European grand tour following his graduation
from college; he was much impressed by the stained glass in the
medieval architecture. In Paris, he studied with Thomas Couture and
with Ruskin, who focused on the importance of art being morally and
spiritually uplifting.
Shortly after he returned to the United
States, LaFarge abandoned the study of law and moved to Newport, Rhode
Island to study painting with William Morris Hunt. His influences were
the Japanese prints, found in abundant number in his parents' home and
the flower paintings of Fantin-Latour. He also painted landscapes with
some little success. But not much in sales, and he abruptly shifted his
attention to decorative work, winning commissions for murals and
painted decorations for churches and buildings. It set a new direction
in American art and initiated the movement now known as the American
Renaissance.
It was through his involvement with decorative art
LaFarge produced his most original achievement, the invention of
opalescent stained glass. He employed a jumble of contrasting textures,
colors and materials unlike any that had been used in stained glass
before. By the 1880s he had become a well-known figure in the New York
social world as well as an artist very much in demand. The pressure of
work exacted its toll on his personal relationships. His life became
divided between a bohemian existence in New York City and a proper
Catholic household in Newport where his wife brought up their six
children. He was involved with a law suit against Louis Tiffany when
his wife gave birth to their youngest child, and he had not known of
her pregnancy.
In 1886, he escaped from his responsibilities
with a trip to Japan with Henry Adams; a stay that, though brief,
colored his work for the remainder of his career. In 1890 and 1891 they
traveled to the South Seas. In the space of roughly a year there he
created several hundred watercolors which he exhibited in New York City
in 1895. He also started writing in earnest, completing eight books and
publishing several dozen essays. His last creation was a memoir of his
friend Winslow Homer, which he wrote on his own deathbed and which was
not published until after he died.
Even La Farge's appearance
was exotic, for he had dark olive skin and heavily lidded eyes of an
Oriental cast. His cultural, quizzical, reflective approach and his
quiet, indirect speech were far from stuffy, and he was fond of
limericks, gently malicious gossip and fat cigars. His cultural
background, his artistic attitudes and his intensely refined
sensibility were in many respects at odds with the dominant tendencies
of American life. Yet no other artist of the 19th century so enriched
American culture and none so inventively transformed an enormous range
of media.
Written and submitted by Jean Ershler Schatz, artist and researcher from Laguna Woods, California.
Sources include:
Henry Adams in Architectural Digest or Smithsonian
From the internet, AskART.com
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Biography from AskART:
| Born and raised in New York City in a cultured French family, John
LaFarge became a leading figure in the arts in New York in the late
19th century, known for his exquisite murals, stained glass designs,
and innovations of technique. He also was a noted writer and lecturer
on art.
He graduated from Mount St. Mary's College in Maryland
and then went to Europe where he was much impressed by the stain glass
in the medieval architecture. In Paris, he studied with Thomas Couture,
and in London, he was much influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites led by
John Ruskin, who focused on the importance of art being morally and
spiritually uplifting.
Returning to the United States in 1858,
he studied with William M. Hunt at Newport Rhode Island. In 1874, he
completed his first window commission, and unlike other stained glass
artists, executed the work himself rather than having artisans do the
labor. I n the process of working, he discovered layering of two or more
pieces of glass, rather than painting on it, and thus became the
inventor of opalescent glass, which he patented in 1880. Many of his
designs of this period including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and
the home of Cornelius Vanderbilt, depicted peonies blowing in the wind.
He later reworked some of these designs in leaded glass.
In
1876, he painted murals for Trinity Church Boston, and this job was
followed by other mural commissions. In 1886, he and friends Henry
James and Henry Adams traveled to Japan, and from this experience he
adopted many Oriental motifs into his work.
Source:
Matthew Baigell, Dictionary of American Art
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