Exchange: Rico Lebrun, "Terrified Woman with Child"

Rico Lebrun, "Terrified Woman with Child"

Resource Authors: Eunice Lee, Jaden Serafin, Maya Kreiner, Muhammad Thohir, Paige Spence, Richard Li

A Quick Background of Rico Lebrun:

by: Eunice Lee

“My aim is a continuous, sustained, uncontrived image, motivated by nothing but passion,”

-Rico Lebrun

Rico Lebrun, an Italian-American artist born in 1900, is renowned for his compelling and often haunting visual explorations that delve into the depths of human existence. His work spans various mediums, including painting, drawing, and sculpture, characterized by its raw emotional intensity and profound psychological depth. Lebrun's artistic journey unfolded against the backdrop of the 20th century, influencing his art deeply, particularly his experiences as a WWII refugee, which infused his creations with a sense of existential angst and the fragility of the human condition.

Lebrun's oeuvre is marked by a striking fusion of classical influences and modern expressionism. His works often depict contorted figures and fragmented forms, imbued with a sense of struggle, torment, and resilience. His mastery of line and form reveals an acute understanding of anatomy, yet he transcends mere representation, delving into the realms of the subconscious and the visceral. Through his art, Lebrun grappled with themes of suffering, mortality, power dynamics, and the complexities of human nature, inviting viewers to confront the darker aspects of the human experience.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rico Lebrun's Early Life

By: Eunice Lee

Rico Lebrun was born in 1900 into a working-class family in Naples, Italy. His first years and adolescence were imbued with cultural richness and personal adversity, all of which profoundly shaped the trajectory of his artistic journey. Lebrun’s passion for art can be traced back to the setting he grew up in; art flourished in Naples as it had an artistic legacy amidst the vibrant Italian Renaissance remnants–like new, emerging forms of art, architecture, and literature–that intertwined throughout the city. Though the artist never explicitly mentioned whether his setting had a crucial influence towards his career, it was evident that Lebrun drew inspirations from well-known Italian artists like Caravaggio and Michelangelo, and their specific forms of art–like visceral expressiveness, or focus on anatomical precision–which he admired with his “budding” artistic vision.

Another factor that shaped Lebrun into the artist he became was the time he was born. One of the most impactful events within his early life was the tumultuous aftermath of WWI, and growing up during this time period indubitably shaped the medians Lebrun incorporated into his artworks, as well as his uniqueness as an artist. The post WWI era in Europe was filled with devastation and societal upheaval, and this inevitably impacted young Lebrun’s psyche, ultimately fostering an acute sensitivity to human suffering and the complexities of the human condition.

Trying to escape this treacherous time was one of the many reasons Leburn and his family moved to America from Italy in 1924. Like many immigrants, his family likely sought better opportunities, such as economic prospects or improved living conditions from the aftermath of the war. This led to the artist spending most of his life there, allowing him to receive his title as an “Italian-American artist”. To further build his artistic persona, Lebrun attended the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, California. He studied there during the 1930s and received formal training in art, which significantly contributed to shaping his artistic style and skills. Lebrun's time at Chouinard allowed him to develop his unique approach to figurative art and laid the foundation for his later artistic endeavors.

With this artistic education mixed with his personal life, Lebrun is able to create his own unique style as an artist. For example, from an audience perspective, we are able to see that this theme of “struggling” and “suffering” permeates his artistic oeuvre. One of his paintings that students studied in AMCULT 244, is called “Terrified Woman with Child” (1947), a painting characterized by a singular color and harsh, messy brush strokes. The subject of the painting is seen with a child on her back, inferred to be straining and struggling, even though her expressions aren’t shown. The way she is drawn–the brush strokes and the materials used to create the painting– is what personalizes her struggle, and is a distinctive aspect that can be seen in some of Lebrun’s work. This idea can be further explained in the section, “Artist Authenticity”.

The exposure of classical artistry, focused education, and encounters with post-war Europe were the main aspects that made Lebrun into the extraordinary artist that he is. He had a desire to capture the “rawness” of his muses, which propelled him towards a career marked by profound introspection, social commentary, and a relentless pursuit of “truth” through his art.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rico Lebrun's Life in America

By: Maya Kreiner

In 1924, Lebrun immigrated to the United states to work on commercial artwork in magazines such as Vogue, The New Yorker, and Fortune. He lived in New York until 1930 then studied abroad in Italy under Luca Signorelli for 6 years. This led him back to the US to become a mural artist working with a process called fresco. This type of mural painting was the same technique as Diego Rivera. Lebrun created murals for Harvard University, New York Post Office, and Pomona College.

After his third mural in 1963, he stayed in California and worked with Disney on the production of Bambi. At the same time he gave art talks at colleges around the US.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lebrun's Subject Approach

By: Thohir Zuhdi

One of the prominent aspects of Rico Lebrun’s work that could differentiate him from other artists would be his process in approaching a drawing and choosing a subject, in which he blurs the line between the “alive” and the “inanimate”. In his statement in the book published by The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) on the Americans, 1942: 18 artists from 9 states exhibition he was a part of, he states how “drawing describes the content of the times in its resilience of contour” and “the contour is often the catalyst.” This is evident in most of his paintings, including Terrified Woman With Child, where emphasis is put on the strength of the silhouette and curvatures of the body– seen in the thick, black lines that would make up a complete figure. In the 1942 exhibition, he showcases his work from the years 1940-1941 where all of his subjects are human figures, from clowns to common people. His work in the early 40s reflects his fascination with human anatomy; he would approach it how an architect approaches a landscape, seeing its totality while admiring its separate parts and absurdities.

There are a few pieces of Lebrun’s artwork that defined his highly-accomplished career, but one exemplary work of his from the mid-40s was especially consequential to his artistic perspective according to Lebrun himself. In 1945, he created his abstract painting, Vertical Composition, which was part of a series of paintings he created during his stay at Rancho Jabali, a ranch owned by fellow artist and former student Channing Peake in the Santa Ynez Valley north of Santa Barbara. Resulting from his solitary walks in the ranchlands, he explored space and form in new ways, now with a different subject: farm machinery. In Lebrun’s book Drawing, he describes the farm machinery in the same way he would depict human anatomy and even described it in animalistic forms. In his words, “The open works of the tractor were organs with the clangor of orange blood. . . . The seeding and planting machines were made in the likeness of the locust and the mantis—savage, alert, predatory. The disk harrows were vertebrate; so was the bone-white, upright structure of the axle and wheel.” His perspective toward his subject matter did not change, despite the subject matter itself changing, in which he admitted “Perhaps I moved away from the figure, but not from the anatomy.” His theme of death and destruction, which were described to be the “main ingredients” in his work, did not stray away from this series and his following work, including Terrified Woman with Child.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comparisons to Lebrun's Other Works

By: Jaden Serafin

Rico Lebrun’s “Terrified Woman With Child”, which is currently owned by the University of Michigan Museum of Art, was dated by Lebrun as being created in the year 1947. However, Lebrun produced two other very similar drawings in 1948. His work “Running Figure” is currently owned by the Whitney Museum of American Art. This piece in particular seems extremely similar to “Terrified Woman With Child” as it uses the same medium, similar subject, and same type of paper. However, “Running Figure” has slightly different dimensions, has much thinner jagged line work, and is positioned more towards the right as opposed to being centered. The other similar piece is Lebrun’s “Running Woman With Child”. This piece uses the same medium, similar subject, and same style of line work as “Terrified Woman With Child”. However, it is unclear if “Running Woman With Child” used the same paper or the same dimensions. The only information on “Running Woman With Child” is from Lebrun’s book “Rico Lebrun Drawings”. The book credits “Running Woman With Child” as being part of the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1961 (Page 13). However, it isn’t clear where this piece currently resides as the Whitney Museum of American Art does not seem to currently list it as part of its collection in their catalog.

It is interesting that Lebrun chose to create these three similar pieces. “Terrified Woman With Child” and “Running Figure” were both bought by their respective museums very shortly after they were initially created, with “Terrified Woman With Child” being purchased in 1949 and “Running Figure” being bought in 1948. These pieces being purchased so briefly after their initial creation indicates the popularity of Lebrun during this time. All pieces appear to have been purchased while Lebrun was still alive which does support the idea that he named these pieces. Based on this series and other sets, such as Rico Lebrun’s later series “Dante's Inferno,” it appears that Lebrun worked with a type of repetition of figures in which past drawings would inform the creation and composition of future works.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rico Lebrun on Color, Realism and Artist's Reception

By: Richard Li

In a 1963 Artforum interview, Lebrun revealed his artistic principles and the nuanced relationship he shares with color. He expresses a profound affinity for the color black, characterized by its encompassing quality, containing the entirety of the color spectrum, and he contrasts it with what he perceives as superficial or decorative colors. Lebrun also delved into his studio practices, providing insights into his use of color, particularly emphasizing what he referred to as “inside body color" This, he suggests, is akin to the color within a fruit before exposure to the air altering its vibrancy. Lebrun acknowledges the difficulty of handling this type of color but asserts its logical place within the creative confines of the studio.

Regarding artist’s reception Lebrun suggested this idea of"spiritual devastation" which arises when artists, particularly those associated with the Avant Garde movements, are promptly accepted and patronized rather than being confronted or resisted. This leads to a contemplation of the consequences for artists who seek to inflict a "mortal wound" on conventional art and societal expectations, only to find themselves acknowledged and potentially stripped of the confrontational essence that defines their work.

In response to the question of equating "realism" with figure imagery, Lebrun challenges this notion, asserting that realism shouldn't be confined to the depictions of the human form. He emphasizes the authenticity inherent in portraying the figure, as it directly connects with our physical existence. While he doesn't dismiss the value of figurative art, Lebrun suggests that realism extends beyond figures. Even when painting a landscape, he expresses the belief that capturing the organic relationships between natural elements—rocks, trees, rivers—and the human body is crucial. Expanding the notion of realism to encompass a broader understanding of interconnected structures, highlighting the organic unity between the human form and the surrounding environment.

Relating to his 1947 painting “Terrified Woman With Child” at UMMA, it is clear that he conveyed deep and powerful emotions through the positioning of the figures with stark contrasts, deep shadows, or intense hues to amplify the sense of terror and urgency. Capturing the raw and visceral aspects of the human experience in his art without showing any facial expression. The palpable fear and vulnerability of the depicted figures transcend traditional boundaries, showcasing Lebrun's commitment to authenticity and the exploration of human connection beyond the confines of realism.

Created For

K-12 Educator
K-12 Student
Museum Visitor
UMMA Docent
UMMA Staff
University Faculty
University Student

Advanced Search

UMMA Object Specific Fields

Query builder

How to Use the Query Builder

Rico Lebrun, "Terrified Woman with Child"

Resource Authors: Eunice Lee, Jaden Serafin, Maya Kreiner, Muhammad Thohir, Paige Spence, Richard Li

0 Comments

0 Tags & 0 Keywords

Tags

1 Collection Object Source

Created For

Rate this Resource

AVG: 0 | Ratings: 0

Created by

& Author Notes

Last Updated

Report