Ms. Modjeska was a Polish immigrant who fled her country in 1876 and eventually settled in a Polish agricultural colony in the small pioneer village of Anaheim, California. The colony suffered financial failure during the drought and depression of 1877, and Ms. Modjeska was forced to learn English and return to the stage—first in the title role of Adrienne Lecouvreur, soon followed by appearances as Ophelia, Juliet and Camille (Marguerite Gautier). Over the next thirty years she became one of America’s most beloved actresses. Modjeska was featured (anonymously) as the fictional actress, Maryna Zalezowska, in the Susan Sontag novel, In America.
The challenge of painting a scene from Camille was in the creation of a Victorian room on a Victorian stage, a room that could theoretically be disassembled between acts, and yet have the feel of an overfilled Victorian era sitting room on a stage in late nineteenth-century California.
The scene is at the beginning of the play, when Marguerite, having been discomposed by a bout of coughing during a party at her apartment, says, “Ah! How wretched I look!”
The lighting was chosen to replicate the nature of stage lighting, which causes a spot lighted subject to leap into sharp focus while the rest of the set fades to murky darkness. The wooden floor implies the frontier aspect of the California theater, and the costume replicates existing apparel from the photography of Ms. Modjeska.
And this weekend, I start the last painting in this six-part series, Maud Adams as Peter Pan.
5 comments:
This painting looks great. How many do you have going at once? You know I'm half Polish. Meanwhile, thanks for giving me a new line to say when I look at the mirror when I get up in the morning: "Ah! how wretched I look!"
I just googled Anaheim, California. Its slogan is "It's So California!" I got a laugh out of that. Also, it's eerie to think that 75 years after Ms. Modjeska arrived, Disneyland arrived. (Is this the same Anaheim?)
Your painting is truly impressive.
Are these paintings around 24 x 36 in?
Will the whole class get together and show their work all in one place sometime this summer?
I was picturing them about 4 x 6 feet!
Yes, it's the same Anaheim. Odd, isn't it. There's a place there called Modjeska Canyon that named after her, and apparently her house is still there (named "Arden" after the forest in As You Like It). I've just started reading the Sontag novel based on Modjeska's life. Very interesting.
The paintings are all 24x34. I sized them to make a convenient print size when they're reduced (and that's big enough--it takes a long time to cover that much board).
We have a thesis show in July with everyone's work (I have much to do). And last weekend was spent writing the thesis paper to accompany all this.
If you ever want to make yourself paint, enroll in an MFA program.
I have a scale problem, have trouble painting and drawing small. Let me know if you need any proofreading on that paper since I do that for the profs here. Yes, I can only really get any artwork done if I have a show scheduled somewhere! My friend Lou and I are trying to get a show set up in Nashville. Right now I'm just flailing and lazy.
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