Thursday, May 9, 2013

Principles of Modernism: Unmodulated Color

Sawtooth medallion about 1900

Art historians analyze trends and describe them, often using jargon like "unmodulated color," which means plains or solids to a quilter.

Not Modern
In painting they are talking about large areas of flat color without the traditional shading seen in this 1889 portrait of a shepherd by William-Adolphe Bouguereau 


Modern
In this portrait of a clown done in 1896, Henri-Toulouse-Lautrec relies less on shading to depict the figure and her clothing: Unmodulated color.


One reason folkarts appealed to the modernists was the use of flat areas of color.

Amish Quilt
Early 20th century


Chintz Quilt
Early 19th century

We can apply the same principle to modern-looking quilts. Prints add texture and modulation to the areas of the composition--- the visual equivalent of a romantic painting.

Amish Quilt
Early 20th Century

Plains look more modern.



Early 20th Century



Mid-19th-century

Early 19th century
The age of the quilt has nothing to do with how modern it looks.
The calimanco wool quilt above from the collection of the American Folk Art Museum
is about the same age as the chintz quilt below.




Early 19th century

Early 20th century



You see the use of flat planes of color in modern prints too.
The early 19th-century chintz above is full of shading, highlights and visual texture.

CFA Voysey's "Bird & Tulip" from about 1900 uses a minimum of shading with very different effect.

Not Modern


Modern


10 comments:

  1. Modern vs. Not Modern at a glance--great little guide. Thank you!

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  2. Thank you! I knew that solids looked more modern, but didn't know why. Now I know!

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  3. Great lesson! Your info helps clarify why we put certain quilts into which category.

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  4. You continue to educate and refine my understanding of quilts. Thank you! Of the quilts in this post, the two which appeal to me most are the mid-19th century Ohio star with black print and the 19th century chintz. That makes me a non-modern, right?

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  5. love these quilts...we can all learn from older quilts

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  6. What I want to know is, what shifts in society create shifts in taste? We are in a Modern upswing now...why? We know it will shift away again eventually, back to the Romantic...what will cause that? Tell us, O Art Historian!

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    1. Dear Miss Aller (a true Romantic herself): If I could predict what next season's trends would be I'd be RICH, RICH, RICH!
      One reason trends shift is people get habituated to the visuals and then bored. That's my psychology degree speaking.

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  7. Thank you so much for tackling this subject. I read all your blogs but I especially enjoy this one. It puzzles me why the current 'Modern' quilt movement has chosen that moniker. What have we abstract/ improv/ artsy/ etc. quilters been doing all these years?! Not to mention all the innovative quilters who came before us?! Cheers, Claire W.

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  8. I love reading this blog, revisiting some earlier posts today, as I always learn so much. Thank you, thank you!

    Elizabeth

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