Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Art Museum
Courbet, Gustave. Rocks at Mouthier. Circa 1855. The Phillips Collection.
Upon entering the new exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM)—“A Modern Vision: European Masterworks From the Phillips Collection”—one word immediately comes to mind: emotion. The exhibit draws from the collection at the first museum of modern art, the Philips Collection, which opened in 1921. It was founded by Duncan Phillips (1866-1966), who collected masterworks based on the emotion contained in the images he saw. It’s clear from the 50 works presented that they spoke to his soul. So much so that when he found another painting that spoke to him, such as Claude Monet’s Val Saint-Nicolas, near Dieppe (Morning) (1897), he would sell off his existing Monets to purchase this one (currently on display).
The well-known artists included in this exhibit helped create and dominate the world of modernism (approx. 1850-1960). Along with Monet, “A Modern Vision” includes Eugène Delacroix, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Raoul Dufy, Paul Klee, Pierre Bonnard, Wassily Kandinsky, Georges-Pierre Seurat, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Moving past the big names, the collection also displays stunning works by Berthe Morisot, Ben Nicholson, Chaim Soutine and Oskar Kokoschka, among others.
MAM co-curator Tanya Paul worked with the Phillips Collection and has served its founder’s intentions faithfully. Phillips collected in “units,” grouping works by the same artists, and in particular those that he had a personal relationship with, such as Bonnard and Braque. Within the six rooms of the exhibit, we see the connection Phillips made to the emotion expressed in the work.
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One of the most captivating and haunting examples is one of the darkest in the exhibit: Delacroix’s Paganini (1831), a portrait of the Italian violinist-composer. In a collection filled with vibrant colors and defined lines, the raw, unfinished quality of this work stands out—a ghostly, phantom-like figure staring back at whoever looks in. The subject’s eyes pierce through the darkness; the emotion spills out of the frame.
Phillips considered art as a universal language, an idea exemplified with Degas’ Melancholy (late 1860s). Degas continually sought ways to depict lighting, and this work shines as daylight floods the back of the painting behind a young woman with closed eyes leaning over the back of a sofa, facing an unseen fireplace. The tension of the moment, the tight spaces confining the young woman, the obvious discomfort, physically and emotionally, continues to resonate. At 7 ½ x 9 ¾”, the painting’s small size bursts with the woman’s interior feelings, leaving the viewer to wonder about her sad circumstances.
One of the most important works in this exhibit (and in the entire Phillips Collection itself) is displayed in the same unit: Degas’ Dancers at the Barre (circa 1900). Degas was a perfectionist, constantly dissatisfied with his work. Dancers at the Barre reflects his ongoing experiments with movement and dance, taking 20 years to complete. The lithe figures in pale blue tutus gracefully, effortlessly stretch, their quiet yet determined focus setting a contemplative mood as we peer over their shoulders.
Two of the artists prominent in “A Modern Vision” had ongoing personal relationships with Phillips. Bonnard and Braque each are represented with four works in their respective units that showcase their creative evolution—particularly after World War II with three of Braque’s works: The Philodendron (1952), The Shower (1952) and Bird (1956). Birds in Braque’s work symbolize a desire for hope and peace. Phillips was so enamored with the image in this collection that he not only acquired it but asked the artist for permission to use the image as a logo for his museum.
Braque, along with Picasso, helped found the Cubist movement, but later works show a more expansive side as his spaces become broader and more defined. Contrast that to the fourth painting—another highlight of “A Modern Vision.” In Braque’s The Round Table (1929), painted at the height of his Cubist powers, the distortions are carefully wrought to reflect the tensions of the world surrounding the central image. Duncan preferred Braque work to Picasso (although two key Cubist works by Picasso are featured in this exhibit: Still Life with Glass and Fruit (1939) and Woman in Green Hat (1939).
Bonnard’s The Open Window (1921) is a culminating achievement of “A Modern Vision.” Although always considered an Impressionist, Bonnard painted from memory, and this work showcases the lush, vibrant, dreamlike quality of interior and exterior worlds.
A Modern Vision: European Masterworks From the Phillips Collection is on view in the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Baker-Rowland Galleries through Sunday, March 22. For more information, visit mam.org.
