Today I am featuring the delectable work
of artist Wayne Thiebaud (b. 1920).
of artist Wayne Thiebaud (b. 1920).
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| alicenell.blogspot.com |
Wayne Thiebaud's long career is reflected in a wide range of subject matter, but he will probably always be associated with the canvases of pastries that made him famous in the 1960s.
As a teenager, Thiebaud spent a summer working at the Walt Disney Studio, drawing the "in-betweens" that provide the illusion of motion from one animated gesture to another. His earliest jobs were as a cartoonist and commercial artist. After his WWII Army service, Thiebaud earned a BFA and MFA from what is now California State University, and he became a college art professor shortly thereafter.
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| artic.edu | postcrossing.com |
In the late 1950s, Thiebaud started painting what I will refer to as retail still lifes. Though this work predates Pop Art, by happy coincidence Thiebaud was associated with Pop Artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, and had his work exhibited with theirs in the first major Pop Art shows of 1962.
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| nga.gov |
Thiebaud's style is geometric and includes ...
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| nga.gov |
... as you can see in this detail, richly textured applications of paint that seem so complementary to his subject matter.
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| newyorker.com |
His shadows are rich in color, and while his subjects fall within realism, the coloration is decidedly impressionistic. While Wayne Thiebaud benefited from being associated with Pop Art, it would be wrong to attempt to box him into any style — his work is unique.
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| purefecto.com |
In the 1970s and 1980s, Thiebaud painted distinctly geometric street scenes, and in the 1990s, he turned to aerial landscapes that are a gorgeous world of realism and abstraction:
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| poulwebb.blogspot.com |
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| artfixdaily.com |
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| famsf.org |
In 1994, President Clinton presented Wayne Thiebaud with the National Medal of Arts, and today, at age 92, Thiebaud still creates delectable, lush paintings.
Hello Mark:
ReplyDeleteWhat utter joy, what amusement, and what catalysts for serious thought and reflection these paintings of Wayne Thiebaud are. This is art like no other and what huge appeal it all has, not least for the very geometric aspects which creep into so much of his work. At ninety-two we so very much hope that his desire to paint and enthral us all will continue for many more years to come.
Hello, Jane and Lance:
DeleteI have read on another site that Thiebaud was once asked by a student how he would define an artist, and Thielbaud responded that "an artist creates his own world." I think that is what Thiebaud has done, and I enjoy visiting his world!
Who said that art can't be SWEET. Thiebaud's aerial landscapes are fascinating and so ephemeral in style. The colors are harmonious and pleasant at the same time. Thank you Mark. Another great post.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gina! There are certain artists whose work seems to be motivated in part by a desire to delight, and I certainly place Wayne Thiebaud's in that category ...
DeleteHello Mark,
ReplyDeleteFrom William Dean Chocolates to Wayn Thiebaud's pastry paintings and everything in between - I got my Ruffnerian fix.
Anyes
xx
Hello, Anyes - You must be thinking that my blog is slowly turning into a foodies site! I think chocolate and art have mixed pretty well here lately!
DeleteThese are amazing -how have I not heard of him?I love all his work - particularly the pastries and the aerial views.
ReplyDeleteHi, Stefan - I look at Thiebaud's aerial views and wonder whether he might have been inspired by NASA satellite views. My favorite is that first landscape.
DeleteDear Mark,
ReplyDeleteI wasn't familiar with Thiebaud until now-- what a beautiful hand he has! Amazing color sense and brushwork... I was struck most by the similarity between his landscapes and those of Richard Diebenkorn (one of my all-time favorite painters...). I wonder, as they are both west-coasters, are they connected in some way? They must be! Thank you for this post-- it was the perfect "art vitamin" for the day!
Warm regards,
Erika
Dear Erika,
DeleteThe great thing about blogging is that in our sharing back and forth, we all get introduced to new things; I was not familiar with the work of Richard Diebenkorn, so your comment sent me on a Google search. I can see how one would draw a comparison between the two artists' work. So thank you for your own "art vitamin" of the day!
Best wishes,
Mark
Hello Mark, I see in Thiebaud's work a commentary on the American dream--perhaps approving, perhaps criticizing, perhaps both. All of his paintings seem to celebrate an easy abundance, both in quantity and variety. In the rationed and deprived Depression-WWII era, he seemed to paint elements of the American ethos that people had been struggling and fighting for. In that sense there is more than a little irony that he depicts confections which while appealing don't seem fundamentally important, kind of like a visualization of Marie Antoinette's "Let them eat cake."
ReplyDeleteEven the aerial views show ideal American landscapes with farms and snippets of towns, suggesting the source of all that plenty. Thanks for introducing us to another appealing and fascinating artist.
--Road to Parnassus
Hello, Jim,
DeleteThank you for your own commentary. Certainly Wayne Thiebaud was at his prime at what I would consider the height of the American dream (and I realize that's a hard statement to make). I would add to the first part of your comment that while Thiebaud's early work represents those things for which we might yearn, it's also a statement about choices. I have a feeling it's not a critical view, but there's certainly irony in Thiebaud's work.
I would love to know more about his progression to landscape-painting. It may be as simple as having found a fuller expression for his rich experiments in color.
Dear Mark,
ReplyDeleteI think I have said this before but I always learn new and interesting things on your blog.
I had never heard of Mr. Thiebaud before.
At first his 'cake paintings' look very simple but when you study them you see how cleverly composed they are. and with what detail.
I like them best of all.
The 'satellite' paintings are interesting. They are the sorts of paintings you could gaze at for a while and constantly see new things within them.
Bye for now
Kirk
Dear Kirk,
DeleteIn the close-up of the garlanded cake, look at the top and the pink rim that surrounds it. One has the sense in seeing this detail that Thiebaud applied paint just as he might have frosted a cake. That alone delights me! One sees at a glance a realism, but also evidence of the artist moving paint around the canvas. The painting and the artist's fingerprint.
I agree with you that Thiebaud's landscapes are very meditative and would continue to reveal surprises.
Mark
Exactly. That is what prompted my comment. I thought to myself: he has 'iced' this part of the painting as if he were icing the cake itself'.
DeleteDear Mark - I love Wayne's world, thank you for the introduction.
ReplyDeleteI can see his work hanging happily in the home, and in fact, I would be pleased to own one myself.
Everybody today seems to be crazy about cupcakes, illustrating and photographing them, but Wayne Thiebaud is light years ahead.
A very enjoyable post.
Dear Rosemary,
DeleteAre cupcake stores the rage in Britain, too? They seem to be springing up all over the place here, and I keep wondering how they stay in business. Of course these cupcakes are not the simple ones that Wayne Thiebaud or I grew up with, either!
I have always loved these! The sweets are well know, but that first landscape has always fascinated me. The second one is amazing as well. It's all about those color choices.
ReplyDeleteHi, Theresa - I really like Thiebaud's later work. I notice that the majority of his landscapes have bodies of water in them, water that reflects and in turn gives richer definition to his other brilliant color choices.
DeleteThanks for this, Mark. I happen to LOVE Thiebaud's work but I didn't realize he was 92 - good for him! For me, his work is quite young and sprightly and so I envisioned a younger man. That'll teach me.
ReplyDeleteI love the examples of his work you've posted. My favorite being the highway painting with the purple sides. Fabulous.
And by the way, who doesn't love cake???
Hi, Yvette - I think that's also my favorite of Thiebaud's later paintings (of those I've seen). Looking at Thiebauds multi-colored shadows, I wonder if he looks at views through prisms?
DeleteWhat a treat.. that first streetscpae is really unusual ..with that strange angle.
ReplyDeleteThanks for introducing me to Thiebaud and though Im ashamed to admit it, Giambologna
Hello, smr - Having been to San Francisco, I can tell you that there are streets there that really do look like that!
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