Posts filed under: Ballets Russes

Rupert Bunny’s paintings glow with the kind of luminous energy that could only derive from a young Australian residing in Paris at the turn of the 20^th century. His work is so sumptuous that at times it’s easy to forget his humble beginnings in 19^th Century St Kilda. At barely 20 years old Bunny left the brown earth of Victoria for a more cosmopolitan European culture, quickly aligning himself with the Parisian art scene. Bunny received the most recognition and critical acclaim of any Australian artist of his time and it’s not difficult to see why. Rupert Bunny: artist in Paris, currently showing at the National Gallery of Victoria, exhibits Bunny’s exquisite range of work, from delicate depictions of mythological sea-idylls to his vibrant and richly saturated danse chromatique series.

His early work displays atmospheric light that lends itself to strong poetic feeling. Pastoral demonstrates Bunny’s skill in creating large-scale mythological work. The dream-like quality of the painting is accentuated through the use of faded pastel tones and poppies (a symbol of sleep). In many of Bunny’s earlier works, red flowers can be seen scattered on the ground. The bright bursts of colour stand out from the peachy melons and soft turquoises he was using at the time. In Endormies, one of Bunny’s most ambitious works, light falls on the subjects like dappled sunlight shining through summer blooms.

In 1909, impresario Sergei Diaghilev collaborated with revolutionary artists such as Picasso, Stravinksy and Nijinsky, shocking the world with his dazzling new dance troupe the Ballets Russes. In 1913, Bunny, like everyone else, watched in awe at the profound affect the premiere of Nijinsky’s Rite Of Spring had on the Parisian public. Influenced also by Matisse and Gauguin, it was at this time that Bunny began to reinvent himself as a modern artist. (more…)