Kees van Dongen was a modernist painter and was counted among the Fauves ("Wild Beasts"). So it’s clear that he was something like the contrary to the traditional history painter. Nevertheless he called this painting "Princess of Babylon", referring to a historical subject. But that’s all, his Princess is a modern "femme fatale", maybe a prostitute. In modern art history is no longer tellable, it’s raw material to illustrate recent circumstances.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Babylonian Princess
"Princess of Babylon" (1904-1910) by the Dutch Kees Van Dongen (1877-1968).
Kees van Dongen was a modernist painter and was counted among the Fauves ("Wild Beasts"). So it’s clear that he was something like the contrary to the traditional history painter. Nevertheless he called this painting "Princess of Babylon", referring to a historical subject. But that’s all, his Princess is a modern "femme fatale", maybe a prostitute. In modern art history is no longer tellable, it’s raw material to illustrate recent circumstances.
Kees van Dongen was a modernist painter and was counted among the Fauves ("Wild Beasts"). So it’s clear that he was something like the contrary to the traditional history painter. Nevertheless he called this painting "Princess of Babylon", referring to a historical subject. But that’s all, his Princess is a modern "femme fatale", maybe a prostitute. In modern art history is no longer tellable, it’s raw material to illustrate recent circumstances.
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