Tapies, Van Gogh, and Munch: Modern Art Symbolism

Introduction: Tapies and the Post-Impressionist Legacy

Antoni Tapies' Composition with Figures (1945) is a work of modern art that uses the impasto technique to create a figurative and symbolic painting. Its style and use of color appear to be inspired by Van Gogh, yet its melancholic tone and expression — most clearly seen in the hollow hopelessness of the central subject's eyes — appear inspired by Munch. Tapies' Composition comes at the beginning of his career, but at a moment in history when the modern world had already attempted to rip itself apart twice, through World War I and World War II.

One sees in this composition a subject located between two extremes, with a "celestial light" above that does not seem able to fill the figure below. What the light is doing remains indeterminate, because the more closely one looks at the painting, the more one realizes it contains complexities that arouse in the viewer both a respect for the unknowable and a reverence for things spiritual. Part of that feeling of reverence stems from the fact that Tapies channels two artists who also evinced a reverence for the spiritual side of life, though perhaps in unconventional ways. The overall Post-Impressionist and Symbolist aesthetic of the piece reflects the movement of Modern Art from the time of Van Gogh and Munch through to Tapies (Wolfe, 1975). This paper explores this aesthetic and shows how it fits into the larger modern art-historical framework.

Symbolic Composition and Spiritual Conflict

Tapies' Composition depicts an androgynous figure at the center of the canvas, flanked on either side by anonymous twins. Above the nameless central figure is a symbolic but abstract form — a bird, a dove, a small person? Conventional religious allegory would suggest it is a bird, a symbol of the Holy Ghost, whose spiritual purity radiates outward in the form of yellow light. The two flanking figures reverently bow their heads and close their eyes as though in prayer with the Spirit. Yet the central figure's eyes are open, and the face expresses fear, worry, concern, and even dread.

The source of light is positioned behind the central figure so that he or she is more in shadow than in light. The heads of the two flanking figures reflect some of the light and, sitting somewhat higher than the central figure, project a condescending tone — as though their spirituality were dwarfing the central figure, who appears to be the intended recipient of the gift of light. The light does not appear to be getting through; it may even be stolen by the "angels" to the left and right. Their satisfied expressions contrast with the unfulfilled expression of the central figure, suggesting conflict between the main subject and the light brought by the Holy Spirit.

Something is getting in the way — whether the two attendants or something inside the central figure itself, some psychological or spiritual obstacle that blocks out the light. This obstacle echoes the dread found in Munch, while the light echoes Van Gogh: both artists made use of impasto strokes, and the same technique is evident here (Cirlot, 2009). The subject is, however, distinctly modern in the sense that the inner conflict is all the more apparent, visually represented in clear symbolic terms (Turner, 2015).

Tapies blends the Symbolist style with the abstract to create a work that focuses on action rather than character. The characters are not the heart of the narrative — the action is. What is conveyed is spiritual exhaustion or spiritual loss. The personal conflict of the central character remains unknown, as the subject is rendered primarily in abstract and Symbolist form: the individual's gender is not even discernible. The action — the dissemination of light and the overbearing smugness of the "light-grabbers," whose faces press close to the central figure as if judging him or her for failing to "receive" the light — serves as the painting's true narrative point. The frustration apparent on the face of the central figure is the most palpable expression in the work, indicating that this frustration is the subject and that the viewer is meant to feel it.

Munch's Psychological Aesthetic and Its Parallels

Munch's work was influenced by the Post-Impressionists, and the exploration of psychological states in his paintings closely parallels the exploration found in Tapies' Composition. Munch's The Scream (1893) and Dance of Life (1900), for instance, both offer vibrant depictions of an unhealthy inner state. In The Scream, the central figure is in a state of mental anguish; the specific circumstances are unknown, and just as in Tapies' Composition, the precise reasons are not necessarily important. What matters is the action Munch is depicting: an ordinary person experiencing a mental breakdown on an otherwise peaceful, beautiful day at the shore. What should be a kind of holiday turns into a nightmare — the reasons one might speculate about include betrayal, loss of love, fear of death, and existential dread.

The technique Munch employs is more important in terms of overall aesthetic: it is abstract; colors and lines are distorted, yet the impression remains discernible. This is the picture of madness and frustration underneath the surface of convention. Likewise, Dance of Life depicts a zombie-like group of apparently dead people waltzing. The meaning is clear: the society Munch observes is morally and spiritually dead, devoid of genuine life even though all external signs of life are present. Munch shows what is internal — and this is precisely what Tapies does in Composition. The poses and gestures of the figures in Dance of Life suggest the onset of ennui and despair, characters going through the motions and little else. This sense of ennui is most apparent in the faces of the characters, just as frustration is most apparent in the face of the central figure in Tapies' Composition.

Conclusion: Modern Art Between Harmony and Dissonance

Tapies' Composition with Figures represents a progression from the bright wonder of Van Gogh to the dark depression of Munch, and explains in hindsight the conflict between the two: the way that Post-Impressionism lends itself to abstraction, and the way the human psyche contends with a world going mad with war. Tapies focuses on light and dark, centering on the conflict between the dissemination of spiritual light and the inability of its intended recipient to receive that light and make it his or her own. Within the wider framework of Modern Art, Tapies thereby displays the action that underlies the transition from realism to abstraction and from harmony to disharmony and fragmentation. Composition with Figures is a painting that depicts a world on the brink of falling into an abyss of meaninglessness.

References

Cirlot, L. (2009). Grove Art. Oxford University Press.

Johnson, P. (2003). Art: A New History. NY: Harcourt.

Turner, E. (2015). Art review: Marble dust & more in Miami's Antoni Tapies exhibit. Hampton's Art Hub. Retrieved from http://hamptonsarthub.com/2015/03/18/art-review-marble-dust-more-in-miamis-antoni-tapies-exhibit/

Wolfe, T. (1975). The Painted Word. NY: Picador.