Pearls, Bertram Hartman

Episode 163. I'm David Cateforis with another Art Minute from the Spencer Museum of Art. Bertram Hartman, a Kansas native, painted Pearls in 1914, shortly after returning to the United States from studies in Munich, Germany. The large painting with its imaginative imagery shows the influence of the decorative German Art Nouveau style. Amethyst and coral-colored canyon walls are reflected in the tranquil waters of a pool below. Four nude maidens relax at the water's edge. One, like a dark female Narcissus, bends over to contemplate her image in the water.Three flamingos fly overhead and three wander among the women adding counterpoints of carnelian to the lavender water and stone. A solitary tree follows the canyon's rocky striations to the top of the high walls. Hartman used a staccato method of applying oil paint in thick, buttery daubs, first blending the colors on his palette to form pastel shades. He learned this technique in Munich. Born in Junction City in 1882, Hartman studied in Chicago prior to Munich and ultimately settled in New York, where he participated in the American modernist movement. With thanks to Martha Elton for her text, from the Spencer Museum of Art, I’m David Cateforis.