Portrait of Tristan Tzara
| Portrait of Tristan Tzara | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Robert Delaunay |
| Year | 1923 |
| Medium | oil on paperboard |
| Dimensions | 104.5 cm × 75 cm (41.1 in × 30 in) |
| Location | Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía,Madrid |
Portrait of Tristan Tzarais an oil on paperboard painting by the French painterRobert Delaunay,created in 1923. It depicts the Romanian poetTristan Tzara,a leading name of theDadamovement and a personal friend of the artists couple Robert andSonia Delaunay.It is held in theMuseo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía,inMadrid.[1]
History[edit]
During theFirst World War,Robert and Sonia Delaunay took refuge inSpainandPortugal,where they continued their artistic work on the observation of light and colors. On their return, the influential artists of the 1910-1914 era had dispersed or died, or had been replaced by new artists, theDadaists,who later would become theSurrealists.The Delaunays joined the new artistic and social life of their time, becoming friends with new influential artists, such asPhilippe Soupault(of whom Robert also painted a portrait),André Breton,Louis Aragon,Jean Cocteau,or once againIgor StravinskyandVladimir Mayakovsky.But the most faithful friend of the decade, the one who spent many evenings with the Delaunays, wasTristan Tzara,the founder and leader of theDadamovement.[2]
Description and analysis[edit]
Tzara is seated, on a grey background, he wears a monocle and has his arms crossed. The most striking element of the painting isn't the poet's thoughtful face, but the orange scarf he wears, which is in the center of the painting and occupies the largest space. Moreover, it is the scarf who shows the most striking and flamboyant colors, while Tzara's look seems pale and weathered. This scarf was created bySonia Delaunayusing the simultaneist technique, by painting on the fabric. The portrait is morerealisticthanorphicbut still shows some elements from that movement, particularly in the treatment of the scarf and the face of Tzara.[3][4]
This portrait was created at a time when Robert Delaunay had returned to figuration, after 1918. He would abandon it definitively in the 1930s.
References[edit]
- ^Portrait of Tristan Tzara, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
- ^Michel Hoog,Delaunay,Paris, Flammarion, 1976 (French), p. 87
- ^Michel Hoog,Delaunay,Paris, Flammarion, 1976 (French)
- ^Portrait of Tristan Tzara, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía