The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (175 page)
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Authors: Ian Chilvers
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Frankenthaler , Helen
(1928– ).
American painter, an important figure in the transition from
Abstract Expressionism
to
Colour Field painting
. In her early work she was influenced by Jackson
Pollock
and she developed his drip technique by pouring and running very thin paint on the canvas like washes of watercolour. She first used this method in
Mountains and Sea
(artist's collection, on loan to NG, Washington, 1952), which is regarded as one of the seminal works of post-war American painting. It particularly impressed Morris
Louis
and Kenneth
Noland
when they saw it in 1953. In 1962 Frankenthaler switched from oil to acrylic paint, which allowed her to achieve more richly saturated colour. Her limpid veils of colour float on the surface of the canvas, but they often evoke suggestions of landscape. Since 1960 Frankenthaler has also made aquatints, lithographs, and woodcuts; in 1964 she began to work in ceramics; and in 1972 she made her first sculpture. From 1958 to 1971 she was married to Robert
Motherwell
.
American painter, an important figure in the transition from
Abstract Expressionism
to
Colour Field painting
. In her early work she was influenced by Jackson
Pollock
and she developed his drip technique by pouring and running very thin paint on the canvas like washes of watercolour. She first used this method in
Mountains and Sea
(artist's collection, on loan to NG, Washington, 1952), which is regarded as one of the seminal works of post-war American painting. It particularly impressed Morris
Louis
and Kenneth
Noland
when they saw it in 1953. In 1962 Frankenthaler switched from oil to acrylic paint, which allowed her to achieve more richly saturated colour. Her limpid veils of colour float on the surface of the canvas, but they often evoke suggestions of landscape. Since 1960 Frankenthaler has also made aquatints, lithographs, and woodcuts; in 1964 she began to work in ceramics; and in 1972 she made her first sculpture. From 1958 to 1971 she was married to Robert
Motherwell
.
Fréminet , Martin
.
.
French , Daniel Chester
(1850–1931).
American sculptor. He made his name with the famous statue of
The Minute Man
(1875) in Concord, Mass., a monument to commemorate the rising of the citizens of the town during the early years of the Revolution (the figure was ready to fight for his country in a minute). After this success, French went on to become the most illustrious sculptor of public monuments of his day, his best-known work being the seated marble figure of Abraham Lincoln (dedicated in 1922) on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.
American sculptor. He made his name with the famous statue of
The Minute Man
(1875) in Concord, Mass., a monument to commemorate the rising of the citizens of the town during the early years of the Revolution (the figure was ready to fight for his country in a minute). After this success, French went on to become the most illustrious sculptor of public monuments of his day, his best-known work being the seated marble figure of Abraham Lincoln (dedicated in 1922) on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.
fresco
.
.
A method of wall-painting in which pure powdered
pigments
mixed in water are applied to wet plaster freshly laid on the wall (the word ‘fresco’ is Italian for ‘fresh’). The paint fuses with the plaster, making the picture an integral part of the wall. This technique is also called
buon fresco
or
fresco buono
(true fresco) to distinguish it from painting on dry plaster, which is called by analogy
fresco
secco
or simply
secco
.
Buon fresco
is exceptionally permanent in dry climates, but if damp penetrates the wall, the plaster is liable to crumble and the paint with it. Consequently the art has been practised chiefly in dry countries, particularly in Italy (though not in Venice), and seldom in northern Europe. The technique is of great antiquity, going back to Greek times, and it is also found outside Europe, for example in China and India.
Giotto
was the first really great master of fresco, and thereafter many of the leading Italian masters produced works in the medium. It became less common in the 18th cent, and Giambattista
Tiepolo
was the last in the line of great Italian painters who used it. It was revived in the 19th cent., notably by German painters such as the
Nazarenes
and
Cornelius
, but some notable decorators, such as
Delacroix
and
Puvis de Chavannes
, preferred to use the method of
marouflage
. In the 20th cent. the greatest exponents of fresco have been the Mexican muralists
Orozco
,
Rivera
, and
Siqueiros
.
pigments
mixed in water are applied to wet plaster freshly laid on the wall (the word ‘fresco’ is Italian for ‘fresh’). The paint fuses with the plaster, making the picture an integral part of the wall. This technique is also called
buon fresco
or
fresco buono
(true fresco) to distinguish it from painting on dry plaster, which is called by analogy
fresco
secco
or simply
secco
.
Buon fresco
is exceptionally permanent in dry climates, but if damp penetrates the wall, the plaster is liable to crumble and the paint with it. Consequently the art has been practised chiefly in dry countries, particularly in Italy (though not in Venice), and seldom in northern Europe. The technique is of great antiquity, going back to Greek times, and it is also found outside Europe, for example in China and India.
Giotto
was the first really great master of fresco, and thereafter many of the leading Italian masters produced works in the medium. It became less common in the 18th cent, and Giambattista
Tiepolo
was the last in the line of great Italian painters who used it. It was revived in the 19th cent., notably by German painters such as the
Nazarenes
and
Cornelius
, but some notable decorators, such as
Delacroix
and
Puvis de Chavannes
, preferred to use the method of
marouflage
. In the 20th cent. the greatest exponents of fresco have been the Mexican muralists
Orozco
,
Rivera
, and
Siqueiros
.
Freud , Lucian
(1922– ).
German-born British painter. He was born in Berlin, a grandson of Sigmund Freud , came to England with his parents in 1931, and acquired British nationality in 1939. His earliest love was drawing, and he began to work full time as an artist after being invalided out of the Merchant Navy in 1942. In 1951 his
Interior at Paddington
(Walker Art Gal., Liverpool) won a prize at the Festival of Britain, and since then he has built up a formidable reputation as one of the most powerful contemporary figurative painters. Portraits and nudes are his specialities, often observed in arresting close-up. He prefers to paint people he knows well: ‘If you don't know them, it can only be like a travel book.’ His early work was meticulously detailed, so he has sometimes been described as a *‘
Realist
’ (or rather absurdly as a
Superrealist
), but the subjectivity and intensity of his work has always set him apart from the sober tradition characteristic of most British figurative art since the Second World War. In his later work (from the late 1950s) his handling became much broader. In 1993 Peter
Blake
wrote that since the death of Francis
Bacon
the previous year, Freud was ‘certainly the best living British painter’.
German-born British painter. He was born in Berlin, a grandson of Sigmund Freud , came to England with his parents in 1931, and acquired British nationality in 1939. His earliest love was drawing, and he began to work full time as an artist after being invalided out of the Merchant Navy in 1942. In 1951 his
Interior at Paddington
(Walker Art Gal., Liverpool) won a prize at the Festival of Britain, and since then he has built up a formidable reputation as one of the most powerful contemporary figurative painters. Portraits and nudes are his specialities, often observed in arresting close-up. He prefers to paint people he knows well: ‘If you don't know them, it can only be like a travel book.’ His early work was meticulously detailed, so he has sometimes been described as a *‘
Realist
’ (or rather absurdly as a
Superrealist
), but the subjectivity and intensity of his work has always set him apart from the sober tradition characteristic of most British figurative art since the Second World War. In his later work (from the late 1950s) his handling became much broader. In 1993 Peter
Blake
wrote that since the death of Francis
Bacon
the previous year, Freud was ‘certainly the best living British painter’.
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