Circular Forms

Circular Forms
Robert Delaunay, Circular Forms, 1930. Oil on canvas, 50 3/4 x 76 3/4 inches (128.9 x 194.9 cm)
Robert Delaunay, Circular Forms, 1930
By EMMA SHAPIRO

To Steve, 

Orphism, or Orphic Cubism, developed from the rising intellectual cubism of the period. It focuses on musical elements within color and lyrical abstractions. Guillaume Apollinaire coined the term while observing Frantisek Kupka's painting, noting that it was "the art of painting new totalities with elements that the artist does not take from visual reality, but creates entirely by himself." Robert Delaunay and his wife were of the main contributors to the movement, along with Leger, Kandinsky, and Picabia. 

Robert Delaunay sought to depict how something felt. He prefered the term "simultaneism" to describe his work, wanting his paintings to show the movement of modern life. He based his separation of colors into distinct shapes off of divisionism - an application of pure colors, instead of mixing, which enables the viewer to interact optically with the painting. Delaunay painted the distortion of color through stain glass windows to emphasize these patches of color. He painted Circular Forms off the windows in Saint Severin, a Parisian Gothic church. He thought the use of windows created a metaphor for the transition between internal and external states. 

I chose to gift you this painting as recognition for your courage and strength. I have admired yousince I was little. The painting attempts to display the continuous movement of life and humanity, just like you have continued to move forward since your accident. I thought you would enjoy how Orphism ties music together with art, because of your dedication to Judaism and also the musical and visual arts. I know you believe that art should be displayed in a museum, rather than owned by an individual collector, which is why I will donate this piece to a museum of your choice, in your name. You and Joan are two of my biggest supporters, and I cannot thank you enough for all that you have taught me.

Editor's Note: Students were asked to give a painting to someone they cared for. These are their moving responses. 
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Simultaneous Contrasts: Sun and Moon

Emma Shapiro
Robert Delaunay, Simultaneous Contrasts: Sun and Moon, 1913
By EMMA SHAPIRO

Orphism, sometimes considered a one-man movement, began with Robert Delaunay around 1910. He focused on the musical undertones of the world and the ripples, planes, and colors incorporated within. He purposefully strayed from subject matter and stylistic rules. He removed the primary focuses from art, such as illusion of depth, compositional balance, and iconic and textural elements, as much as possible while still retaining the idea of the work. 


The interaction of colors fascinated him. In Simultaneous Contrasts: Sun and Moon, Delaunay depicts the rhythms of the universe, the circular frame representing the universe. He uses an array of reds,oranges, blues, and greens to show the contrast of the sun and moon and the rotation of day and night. Delaunay said that, "The breaking up of form by light creates colored planes. these colored planes are the structure of the picture, and nature is no longer a subject for description but a pretext." Delaunay believed that the fusion and unity of color symbolized the possibility of a harmonic modern world. He did not think of his works as still pieces of art but rather as workls constantly moving with light waves, sound waves, and the tiny particles of the newly prominent scientific ideas of his era. 



Robert Delaunay prided himself in his dissimilar techniques to other artists. Next to Robert Delaunay's signature on Simultaneous Contrasts: Sun and Moon, Delaunay put the date "1912". Viewers now know that the creation of the painting had actually been in 1913, but he dated it earlier to appear avante-garde.
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The Eiffel Tower

Austin Krause
Robert Delaunay, The Eiffel Tower, 1911
Robert Delaunay, born in Paris, knew at an early age that he wanted to become an artist. Following his dreams, he was influenced by the “city of painters” which was where he adopted his renowned style of abstract forms and unusual combinations of color that closely relates to Paul Gauguin and Wassily Kandinsky. Delaunay found his biggest love in Orphist paintings. He loved to paint well recognized abstract forms, such as the Eiffel Tower, accompanied by “trippy” combinations of color. Experimenting with colors, angels, depth, and tone was the love that he found in painting.

Delaunay fell in love (and later married) a Russian painter named Sonia Terk. Through out their pre-marriage relationship, the couple did not paint together. Only when they were married that Robert Delaunay and Sonia Delaunay became a painting duo. Her style was almost a complete opposite of Robert's, as seen in the main black and white portraits that were currently being painted. But through the years and shared experiences with her husband, her artistic painting style slowly transformed to be identical to Robert's Orphist style of painting.

One of Robert Delaunay's most famous series is the Eiffel Tower Series. Delaunay worked diligently to complete over six paintings of the Eiffel Tower. The interesting thing about these paintings is the fact that they are all unique in their own way. After each one he completed, he strived to make the next one ever more appealing. The way that this was done was through color harmonies and the angel in which the spectator of the painting views the abstract figure, the Eiffel Tower, and can recognize it as an entirely different work, but by the same artist with the same style.

The Eiffel Tower, painted in 1911, is one of the most appealing works that Delaunay completed. The extreme color combinations are not present in this painting which makes it seem all the more mellow and relaxed. Accompanying the different choice in color harmony than usual, Delaunay painted the buildings to both sides of the renowned monument to sway and flow with the deformed tower itself. But at the same time, the free flowing buildings, while looking like they can be easily manipulated in soft wind, produce a comfortable amount of depth with almost no effort. The “trippy” style that Delaunay has evolved over the course of his artistic career has truly made it entertaining to view his work for long periods of time, something that not all artists have.

  • 12:00 AM