Jules Olitski: An Inside View

Jules Olitski is a world-renowned artist who was born in the year nineteen twenty two. He however, died in the year two thousand and seven at the ripe old age of eighty-five. One of his most revered works of art is a painting that goes by the name of Bathsheba Reverie. This painting is a large lyrical abstract that glows with splendor and screaming colors. The painting is done on a canvas with yellow being the most predominant color in the painting. It exhibits an incorporation of color lithography. This ends up in giving it a more subtle layering of color. The painting adorns a formal structure that is reasonably open core bordered by a couple of multiple swaths of color at the perimeter. The painting also has tonal discoveries that are evident in many color field paintings. It is created through animated brushstrokes and shimmering color.

The name of the painting gives a biblical connotation, which ends up in raising eyebrows (Art experts Inc, 2009). One wonders on the relationship between a black bob that is painted as if it is floating on a region of light emanating acid colors and the religious book of the Old Testament that is contained in the Christian bible. The story is told in the Old Testament that Bathsheba was a very beautiful woman who was married to a Hittite by the name Uriah. Her splendor and beauty attracted the king who ruled the land at the time who was known as David. The King shamefully impregnated her and proceeded to conceal the shameful act by arranging to have the husband killed in battle.

To get a better understanding between the painting and the biblical Bathsheba, it would be wise to take into consideration another painting that depicted the said biblical Bathsheba. The latter painting was created by Rembrandt who was deeply loved by Jules and ended up influencing him greatly in his career (Graham, 2010). Rembrandt had done a depiction of Bathsheba, which reminisced on the fateful consequences of her pregnancy. The artwork by Rembrandt could have had significant influence on Jules’ because of the close relationship that the two artists shared.

The painting evokes illicit emotional musings. The emotional effect is brought forth by the brilliant hues that depict a beautiful sunset. The depiction of the sunset creates a relaxed mood that is evident of many evenings after a hard day’s work. The brilliant hues later on diffuse and explode into a mixture of eccentrics that depict the mysterious cosmos of the outer space. This gives the sense of the nebulae of an unknown galaxy that exists far from our very own Milky Way galaxy. The space depiction evokes feelings of loneliness and unresolved mysteries. The expansive nature of outer space tends to make one feel minute and obsolete (Moffet, 2010).

The painting has earned a place among a special class of paintings that are known as non-representational or abstract paintings. Such works of art, like this one, evoke all kinds of reactions and feelings depending on the person viewing the content. This painting in particular highlights on the artist’s expression of energy. It reveals his feelings and deep connection with the universe and its limitless nature (Thompson, 2004).

The painting also adorns a black bob that is painted in such a way that it seems to be suspended at the very centre over the heart of the picture. This could be taken to be an allusion of the death that is certain to all living things. The artist has a strong attachment to religion and this could have influenced his painting of the black bob in the dead centre. The black bob could also be a representation of the mystical black hole that is said to inhabit the centre of the universe. The Black bob also represents the terminal disease that the artist had been suffering from. Prior to his death, Jules was suffering from a terminal cancer, which he later succumbed. His knowledge of this grim reality could have led him to depict it in his painting.

References

Art experts inc. (2009). Jules Olitski. (1923-2007). Retrieved from http://www.artexpertswebsite.com/pages/artists/olitski.php.

Graham, A. (2010). Andrew graham Dixon archive: Bathsheba Reverie – Yellow by Jules Olitski. Retrieved from http://www.andrewgrahamdixon.com/archive/readArticle/47.

Moffet, K. W. (2010). A few thoughts on Mediums New and Old. Retrieved from http://kenworthwmoffett.net/kenworthwmoffett/writing_one_few_thoughts.htm.

Thompson, S. (2004). Junk for code. Retrieved from

http://www.sauer-thompson.com/junkforcode/archives/001783.html.