Forain

Scène d'atelier, oil on canvas, 24" x 14.25", Jean-Louis Forain, c 1910*

I had the opportunity to see an exhibition of the work of Jean-Louis Forain while in Memphis. I was only distantly aware of his work, but once inside I recognized a few of the seminal works. Admittedly, Impressionism is not my favorite period of art but I found much to consider as I walked through.

Ball at the Paris Opera, oil on canvas, 29" x 24", Jean-Louis Forain, c 1885

One thing that struck me about Forain's style is that his paintings often appear (at least to me) as if he grew bored with the process of painting them. They tend to leave off on the edges, creating delightful and often rich abstract moments. Learning about his friendship with Rimbaud and seeing two portraits of the poet done by Forain was an interesting bonus.

I left wondering what art today, if any, makes a similarly exacting commentary on our society, with all its splendor and insidiousness? One aspect of Impressionist-era, and post-impressionist art that has always (forgive me) impressed me is the ability of those artists to cut to beneath the veil of polite society and into the darkness of the human soul. Forain was no exception. I wonder how much of ourselves we really, truly want to see represented in art. As I eluded to in my post on television, I think contemporary people want to see images of themselves as they wish to be or as they somehow feel they should be, but certainly "reality" television would fail miserably if it delivered the goods as powerfully as Manet or Lautrec or Forain. Would we recoil in disgust (as the people of that society did), or are we truly beyond shock?

The Buffet, oil on canvas, 36 5/8" x 58 1/4", Jean-Louis Forain, c 1884

One small addendum to the afore-mentioned post on tv. Full disclosure, I became totally hooked on Mad Men and downloaded the seasons on iTunes. It's one of those iconic shows whose influence on culture will be felt for some time, most importantly for reversing the sartorial damage done by casual Friday in the late 90's. I confess I watched "Work of Art" as well, but found it decidedly normal for the genre and so many empty calories.

*image via Christie's