Figure 2--A Field of Pumpkins Grown for Seed: Translation #11
Artist
Jess
(American, 1923 - 2004)
Date1965
MediumOil on canvas mounted on wood
DimensionsUnframed: 29 1/2 x 36 inches (74.93 x 91.44 cm)
Framed: 34 x 40 1/2 x 3 3/8 inches (86.36 x 102.87 x 8.57 cm)
Framed: 34 x 40 1/2 x 3 3/8 inches (86.36 x 102.87 x 8.57 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: acquired through the generosity of the William T. Kemper Foundation–Commerce Bank, Trustee
Object number2006.26
SignedSigned, titled, and dated '65, with photo affixed on reverse
InscribedNoel Antoine Pluche quotation written in black marker
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionThis heavily textured and vividly colored painting depicts a man sitting on a pumpkin in a field of pumpkins. He is holding a pumpkin, resting it on his knees, with his head turned away from the viewer looking toward trees in the distance.Gallery LabelFigure 2--A Field of Pumpkins Grown for Seed: Translation #11 is part of a visionary series titled Translations. A man sits atop a huge pumpkin, while also holding one in his arms. He gazes at the distant horizon. The painting is infused with mystical light, and its exaggerated colors lend it a hallucinatory quality.
Jess' painting technique was obsessive. The narrow crevices of the painting's surface are not incised; instead, Jess built up segmented forms, layer upon layer, while preserving the intricate linear network between them.
Jess' Translations were inspired by black-and-white photographs. The source for this painting was a photograph that appeared in the 1909 Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture.
Copyright© The Jess Collins Trust
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