The Last Look of John Donne
Marsden Hartley
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
Marsden Hartley occasionally painted imaginary portraits of historical figures such as this one of John Donne, the seventeenth-century English metaphysical poet and dean of Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London. The solemn portrait is based on an engraving of Donne’s carved tomb effigy that was the frontispiece for a collection of his sermons. The shrouded body is presented in a palette of blues and whites, cool colors evocative of death, while the striated pattern of folds approximates the hard, carved stone of the tomb.
Caption
Marsden Hartley (American, 1877–1943). The Last Look of John Donne, 1940. Oil on academy board, 28 1/8 x 22 in. (71.4 x 55.9 cm) frame: 37 1/2 x 31 1/2 x 2 3/4 in. (95.3 x 80 x 7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Milton Lowenthal, 71.201. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
The Last Look of John Donne
Date
1940
Medium
Oil on academy board
Classification
Dimensions
28 1/8 x 22 in. (71.4 x 55.9 cm) frame: 37 1/2 x 31 1/2 x 2 3/4 in. (95.3 x 80 x 7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Milton Lowenthal
Accession Number
71.201
Frequent Art Questions
Was Hartley influenced by Munch? I see some resemblances.
Their treatment of paint is quite similar, isn't it? Munch was very influential in the development of German Expressionism, which was one of Hartley's primary artistic influences, along with other European avant-garde movements like Cubism.If you're looking at Hartley's "The Last Look of John Donne," he is definitely using paint in an expressionist way that draws on artists like Munch. For instance, his strokes are bold, broad, and simplified, and meant to express emotion.Thank you! I lived many years in Munich and I am familiar with German Expressionism. To be honest I have to thank my boyfriend, who immediately found the resemblance with Munch’s work.Who is Marsden Hartley?
Hartley was an American Modernist painter who was working in the early-to-mid-20th century alongside artists like Georgia O'Keeffe, Max Weber, and Gaston Lachaise.Hartley, like many of his contemporaries, was known for his emphasis on essential form (like the simplified shapes you see here), expressive lines, and bold colors.There is another example that's even more typical of his work on view on the 5th floor. It's called Painting No. 48.Thank you!How does this work relate Hartley's other work on view, "The Last Look of John Donne?"
"Painting No. 48," is a much earlier work, completed in 1915 as opposed to 1940 for "John Donne." Here, Hartley is still working in a primarily abstract style. He uses color and shape to convey emotion as opposed to a more representational style.However, both pieces do share Hartley's characteristic sense of mysticism. While abstract, with its haloes of light and undulating forms, there is something spiritual about "Painting No. 48." Meanwhile, the otherworldly blank gaze of cleric and metaphysical poet John Donne speaks to an artist literally peering into the celestial realm.
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