National Museum of Modern Art in Rome
- Dora Ozyurt
- Jun 23, 2024
- 3 min read
After the Vatican, which I described in my previous article, I continued my art tour in Italy with GNAM (The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea / National Museum of Modern Art) in Rome.
GNAM /The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
A marvelous building. The building itself is a work of art.
GNAM Entrance
There were a lot of lion statues on the stairs, as if preserving the art. There were those who went to bed as if they were happy with art.
GNAM Entrence
The museum is divided into two parts. In one part, there are masters such as Klimt, Kandinsky and Pollock. And then there's the section with Robert Morris' very impressive works. I saw Gustav Klimt's "The 3 Ages of Woman", which he painted in 1905 with oil on canvas with dimensions of 178x198 cm.
The 3 Ages of Woman / Gustav Klimt
Klimt has always made works decorated with bright paintings, but in this work, he symbolized these 3 eras by using a black background. An old woman in this work covers her face with her neck bent. The young woman was at the center of the picture, holding her daughter in her arms. And as the youngest age, the girl child is symbolized. He portrayed the ages of life both emotionally and realistically. Thus, it symbolized the introduction, development and conclusion part of life as if it were a story. It's as if he has colored the summary of our lives on the canvas. In the same section of GNAM, I saw Jackson Pollock's 114x86 cm "Watery Roads", which he made with oil on canvas in 1947.
Watery Roads / Jackson Pollock
Like me, Pollock wanted to be a painter since he was a child. :) 'When I'm painting, I'm not really aware of what I'm doing. I am not afraid to make changes to the picture, to spoil the overall look; because painting has a life of its own," Pollock said. He began to transfer emotions and images to his paintings.
Jackson Pollock painting with the drip technique
Pollock, who started painting by placing the canvas on the ground and dripping the paints on the canvas from 1947, used the drip technique he created. While creating this technique, Pollock was influenced by the working methods of Native American sand painters. In addition to all these, Pollock used unusual objects such as sticks, trowels, paint cans and knives in his paintings.
Jackson Pollock with the tools he used while painting
The painting No:5, which he made in 1948, was among the top 5 most expensive paintings sold all over the world with 140 million dollars. In the last years of his life, he abandoned the drip technique and began to use darker and darker colors in his paintings. Again, in the same section of GNAM, I saw the Angular Line (Linea Angolare) made by the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, the father of abstract art, with 70x60 cm oil paint. He made this work at the age of 64.
Angular Line / Wassily Kandinsky
Kandinsky, who was the child of an aristocratic family, painted, gave piano and cello concerts while attending high school. He studied economics and law at university. After opening a huge exhibition in Moscow, he decided to pursue the magic of colors and went to Germany to study painting at the age of 30. He had to return to Russia due to the First World War and in the meantime nearly 500 of his works were lost :(
Wassily Kandinsky
Kandinsky's first works were nature studies. He made his first abstract work with watercolor in 1910 at the age of 44. He met with Picasso, Matisse and Klee to discuss abstract painting, and to talk to Mondrian, Delaunay and Miro about abstract geometric paintings. I wish I could be there and listen. Until the 1st World War, he made moving and multi-colored works in his paintings. Later, he started to compose with geometric color lines.
Another part of the GNAM that impressed me a lot is Robert Morris' Monumentum exhibition.
From the Past / Robert Morris
Unfortunately, the works of the artist, who passed away in November 2018, in the last years of his life are exhibited.
Keep It to Yourself / Robert Morris
Using resin, Belgian linen, black carbon fiber and varnish, the meaning of the artist's works impressed me a lot as a resin lover.
And I Fall Like a Dead Body Falls / Robert Morris
His works that refer to Rodin and Goya are 'And I Fall Like a Dead Body Falls', 'Keep It to Yourself', 'Cross-Intersecting', 'From the Past' are my favorites.
Cross Intersecting / Robert Morris
I feel very lucky to be able to visit the exhibition, which ends on January 12, and to be inspired. I hope that this exhibition you visited with me inspired you as much as I did.
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