alexej jawlensky

Polyptych

"diptych" describes a two-part work of art;
"triptych" describes a three-part work;
"tetraptych" describes 4 parts;
"pentaptych" describes 5 parts;
"hexaptych" describes 6 parts;
"heptaptych" describes 7 parts; and
"octaptych" is the term used for an eight-part, or eight-panel, work of art.

Polyptychs typically display one "central" or "main" panel that is usually the largest of the attachments, while the other panels are called "side" panels, or "wings."

Gerhard Richter, 48 Portraits 1971/1998 48 photographs on baryta paper Each photograph: 689 x 539 mm Number 1 in an edition of 4 © Gerhard Richter

48 Portraits

photography, painting and installation... the work of contemporary german artist
gerhard richter contains elements of all three. 48 portraits (1971/72) is a series of
paintings that were first shown in the german pavilion at the venice biennial in 1972.



richter presented these portraits, hung in a line, all at the same level,
and ordered according to the position of the head, with a sequence of
gazes that fanned out from the centre to the left and right.

these painterly images, based on the black and white reproductions
in encyclopaedias, came out after having excluded pictures of artists,
women and politicians from a selection of 288 original photographs
chosen by richter for another, previous work.

german artist gerhard richter was born in dresden in 1932.
since the early 1960s he has tirelessly explored the medium
of painting at a time when many were heralding its death.
he has produced a remarkably varied body of work, including
photography-based portrait, landscape and still-life paintings;
gestural and monochrome abstractions; and color chart grid paintings.

Jonas Burgert

In 2009 I got to see the work of German artist Jonas Burgert at the Haunch of Venison. The paintings are on a giant scale and depict a fictitious wonderland of figurative apparitions. The pale background hues are juxtaposed with figures clad in near fluorescent materials in all sorts of patterns and arrangements.

These paintings are a re-vitalisation in my eyes for painting in the 21st Century. Large scale works derived from postcards and collected material depicts a dramatic view of the world in destruction and decay.

Cesar Klein

César Klein was a German Expressionist painter and designer, probably best known as one of the founders the November Group and the Arbeitsrat für Kunst. He studied at the Hamburg School of Applied Arts, the Düsseldorf Art Academy, and the Royal Museum of Applied Arts in Berlin.

This female nude is a distinct example of skin painted in a multitude of colours. Skin itself contains most colours. Throughout a simple movement by the arm there can be a flurry of combinations made by colours. The shadows cast on the skin, moles, cuts, hair, blemishes, light, muscle movement and many others factors.

This painting has a splendid contrast of a multitude of colours with the bright white pages of the book.

Ludwig Meidner, Mein Nachtgesicht. 1913.

After burrowing a book entitled 'Expressionist Painter's' I came across this painting. The self-portrait was painted in 1913. It was painted by candle light which may explain the fertile colours and flickering texture.

When I first saw this self-portrait I was both impressed and taken-back. The colours are very intimate, the red neck fracturing the warm-yellow face and cold-green body. The paint has been constructed in thick angular brush strokes, rendering a movement in the surface as if the candle light was still dancing on the painting itself.

Lucian Freud

Lucian Freud's paintings are full of gestural marks. The singular brush strokes are efforts of instinctual force applied by the artist.

This manner of painting means a very direct and personal approach to the portrait. The detail is gained by varying brush sizes and colour layers. Tones manifest simple dimples and distinct characteristics in the face.