Jean Nerfin

Framed Abstract Post-Impressionist Landscape Oil Painting by Jean Nerfin

1993

RALPH DELLA-VOLPE (1923-2017) Fine Art Painter, American Contemporary The Valley Oil on canvas Hand signed lower left and again to stretcher and verso 16 x 20 inches. frame dimensions: 22 1/4 x 26 inches, wood frame Provenance: The Estate of the artist Ralph Della Volpe TRAINING: National Academy of Design The Art Students League, NYC Ralph Eugene Della-Volpe's semi-abstract paintings of often simplified, minimalist, beach scenes and anonymous portraits "convey profound awareness of mood and character", and his paintings are hardly as literal as they may first appear (Arts Magazine. "New York Exhibitions". 1965). His brightly-colored, light-infused, ornamental compositions bring together aspects of many modernist art movements including Fauvism, Impressionism, Symbolism, and abstraction. Della-Volpe first studied painting at the prestigious National Academy of Design before joining the Army during World War II. As a soldier, the artist saw action on Utah Beach, winning a Purple Heart, and his experiences undoubtedly affected his later artistic style. The Fauvist "coloristic exuberance" found in the works beginning in the mid 1960's, with their vibrant fuschias and yellows, seem to offset what could be an otherwise solemn tone to many of his works at the time. Upon his return from military service, Della-Volpe’s style evolved significantly. In the years following the second world war, his work was solemn, imbued with a quiet darkness. Over time, this darkness faded: by the 1950s, influenced by his time at the Art Students League, his oeuvre was overtaken by the tenants of Abstract Expressionism. Paintings from this period boast bold brushwork, energetic compositions, and strong color. Although the next decade saw Della-Volpe trade expressionist abstraction for figuration, his love of color continued to shine through his work.Della-Volpe took a teaching position as the first artist-in-residence at Bennett College in Millbrook, New York where he remained for 28 years, serving as chairman of the Art Department for most of that time. Obviously influenced by impressionism 's preoccupation with the treatment of light, Della-Volpe's own works have a "faultless tonal quality, with its sense of failing light—the areas of silvery gray deepening into rosy tans" (Arts Magazine. "In the Galleries". 1960). Della-Volpe has exhibited widely throughout his career and has lectured on art at colleges, universities, and galleries across the country. SOLO SHOWS: Hotchkiss Library, Sharon, Conn Millbrook Library, Millbrook,NY Gregory James Gallery...

Three engines sit in a wasted landscape described in a palate of warms grays, browns and ochers in broad quickly applied brush strokes. Quick and confident brush strokes describe th...