Strindberg, August: PAINTINGS OF AUGUST STRINDBERG, THE. The Structure of Chaos

Author: Rosenblum, Robert
Country: Denmark
Language: English
Year Published: 1993
No. of pages: 56
Illustrations: 28 Color Illustrations. 13 B&W Illustrations.
Binding: Softbound
Size: 8”x 5 1/2”
Weight: 1.00
ISBN: 8788978494
Biblio/Bio: Bio. Bibl.
Code: 5317

Price: $49.50

Strindberg in Valencia - an odd collision of cultures? Here is the combination of this gloomy, tempestuous genius from Stockholm with a Mediterranean seaport fabled for its sunlight, gardens, and oranges. Here he is not represented in his usual role as a major playwright and novelist, but in one of his lesser roles, that of an amateur painter, mainly of the northern seas. The book includes photos of his paintings, which portrayed dark and chaotic visions of stormy skies and turbulent water for he experienced nature as something unstable, irrational, and potentially menacing. Within this turmoil, there often appear symbols of rest, hope, salvation.For the art historian, the question of where to locate the unique power of Strindberg’s paintings is a fascinating one. Given the cosmis mystery and darkness of his vision of nature, he seems, broadly speaking, to be a melancholy heir to the tradition of Northern Romantic landscape painting defined by the great master, Caspar David Friedrich, whose work, incidentally, was seen in a major retrospective at the Prado in 1992, a timely preparation for the experience of Strindberg at IVAM in 1993. A fascinating read as well as for the eyes !!