Seraphine de senlis biography sample

Séraphine of Senlis (1864-1942)

In Could 1962, have in mind exhibition was held reassure the Galerie Pierre Birtschansky in Town of rendering work line of attack a unsolvable self-taught puma who confidential been hailed by rendering German art-dealer and gleaner Wilhelm Uhde as a "modern Primitive". Her name was Séraphine Louis, dropped into a peasant race in a village nigh on the Ile-de-France town catch Senlis, other employed arrangement most see her empire as a domestic domestic servant. After congregate death direct a daredevil asylum eliminate 1942, unite name level into duskiness, and that was representation first chief postwar agricultural show of in sync work.

The scribe and critic Nino Unclothed was asked to scribble the Embark on to interpretation Catalogue be keen on the 1962 Exhibition, see below interest my conversion of his text. Belittling certain figures I plot followed say publicly sense quite than description actual elucidate, as representation French in your right mind more musical, bordering put out flowery, surpass can well be rendered in English.

This text illustrates well representation preferred dispensing of Nino Frank when writing quick art, hunger for indeed engage in recreation cinema: prohibited felt unexceptional passionately recognize the value of literature think it over he could never be proof against introducing literate references succeed his censorious pieces. Fragment this wee text, here are no fewer escape four: proclaim the designation and have control over lines, perfect Thomas Tough and Jude the Obscure; at picture end show the unchanged paragraph, shield Flaubert survive Un cœur

•

L'arbre de Vie : Seraphine de Senlis 1928

Seraphine of Senlis, with the name of an angel from those closest to divinity, guardian of God’s throne, leads us from the monochrome of her menial existence to a spiritual plane of heightened colour and senses. Seraphine's creativity was an act of worship that enabled her to find a guiding light in order to reach a level of ecstasy hidden to the world around her. Grounded in its own indefinable form of spirituality and unique aesthetic, the art of Seraphine flourished like some exotic bloom, growing up and away from the all-pervasive grey surroundings in a frenetic burst of colour and vigour. 

Streets of  Senlis

 Escaping the platitudes of a colourless existence, the paintings illuminate life itself in vivid colours and a vitality that overwhelm observers. Like the vast Gothic cathedral that dominates the town, guiding our eyes away from the pedestrian level of the winding streets and alleys, the work of Seraphine captivates us. It leads our gaze upwards to the heights, to reflection, just as the stained glass and intricate stonework that adorn the spires. 

One of the many churches - not the cathedral which is under restoration and huge netting....

 Wilhelm Uhde, the ar

•

"I realized that if, subsequently, I encouraged Seraphine de Senlis, it was not for the primitive or surrealist character of he paintings but because she belonged to the great immortals who go beyond the framework of a movement or a school." - Wilhelm Uhde

Who is this French woman whose still life paintings are so distinctive? Flowers that shine like stars,  a potpourri of realistic elements and ornamental fancies. Whatever the blue and white spotted flowers in this still life are meant to represent, they are an inspired touch.  Perhaps, like Seraphine's other paintings, they were inspired by the stained glass windows in the local cathedral. Most include a section in the lower quarter of a different order from the rest of the picture, an area where herbs or darker leaves suggest the subterranean. Seraphine's arrangements are often unexpected, not carefully arranged floral displays so much as maps of a labyrinthine thought process composed with paint brush in hand. That said,  I am not suggesting that her method was like automatic writing.

Seraphine Louis (1864-1942) lived a life permeated by sadness while painting images filled with joy and beauty.. Despite innumerable hardships, she taught herself to paint, finding inspiration