Romare Bearden was a man of many talents. With his wide range of scholarly interests and knowledge- including music, literature, the performing arts, history and world art- he became quite the fine artist himself. While attending NYU he became known for his cartoonist pieces in the monthly journal, The Medley. Bearden published many journal covers during his university years and the first of many texts he would write on social and artistic issues. After joining the Harlem Artists Guild, Bearden began his lifelong study of art. He gathered inspiration from famous western artists such as Duccio, Giotto, de Hooch, Cezanne, Picasso and Matisse. Bearden also used African art-particularly sculpture, masks and textiles as inspiration for his work. His success as an artist was recognized at his first solo exhibition in Harlem in 1940 and his first solo show in Washington, DC, in 1944. His pieces were then exhibited throughout the United States and Europe. His collages, watercolors, oils, photomontages and prints are filled with visual metaphors from his past in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Harlem and from a variety of historical, literary and musical sources.
I chose the piece “Maudell Sleet’s Magic Garden.” It struck my attention right away with all of the bright colors present in the piece. It doesn’t look like a typical collage but I liked how the colors look like different layers. At first glance you eyes are drawn to the foreground of the piece where the garden lies full of vibrant reds, yellows, oranges and greens. Tending the garden is a woman (Maudell). Her sky blue dress is complimentary to the colors in the garden. Due to the easy flow of the colors, the woman looks as if she is not only tending her garden but growing with it as well. Because of this, the piece evokes an all over feeling of growth from the garden to the stretch of trees in the background. It also brings to mind a feeling of comfort and joy. Although the bright colors used would usually represent anxiety, in combination with the softer and duller colors it makes you feel happy. Overall,this is a strong piece because of its use of vibrant fun colors that presents the viewer with a sense of bliss and content.
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