World Renowned Realist Artist Jenness Cortez Drawing Of A Ballerina 1979 Signed

Description: For sale is an exceptionally well rendered drawing by the world renowned contemporary realist artist Jenness Cortez . (1944 - Charcoal on paper. Cortez is well known for her sporting scenes, including racehorses and equine subjects as well as her spectacular realist interior still life scenes featuring western themes which can sell for over $100,000. This elegant portrait was done in 1979 before she moved into her sporting scenes. It features a poignant glimpse into the life of a ballerina alone in her studio practicing until near exhaustion. The artist captures her resting in between sessions. She looks off to the left of the viewer into the distant. She could be pondering many things, but one gets the sense she is pondering the complexity of her routine or perhaps life itself. Maybe she is just catching her breath and distracted by something in the studio while visualizing her routine. Even as she sits she is still "en point"....with her feet extended up on her toes. A dancer is said to be en pointe when the body is supported in this manner, and a fully extended vertical foot is said to be "en pointe" when touching the floor, even when not bearing weight. Just an elegant beautiful portrait of a ballerina. Signed and dated 1979. Framed and matted BUT NOT HAVING GLASS. Condition: Overall good. The frame having some small separation in the corner joints as pictured, but very sturdy and stable. Measurements: Frame - 26" x 23 1/4" Sight Size - 15" x 13 1/2" Jenness Cortez is a distinguished figure in the contemporary revival of classical realist painting. She was born in Indiana and exhibited a very early talent for art. As a teenager, she took private lessons with Antonius Raemaekers, a well-trained Dutch-born painter and superb teacher whose early instruction continues to influence her work. By choosing to study at the Herron School of Art, one of the oldest independent professional schools of art in America, Cortez received a rigorous five year training in all technical aspects of art making. To add to her store of technical mastery, Cortez then went to New York to study at the Art Students League under yet another gifted teacher, Arnold Blanch, whose influence on the young art student was profound. Throughout her remarkable career Cortez has become proficient in a variety of subject matter including sporting and wildlife art, contemporary art, landscape, portraiture, interiors and still-life. Early in her career she worked as an editorial illustrator and etcher, then returned to her love of painting, with animals as her primary subject matter. For twenty years (1977-1996), became world renown for skillfully portraying horses most notably, thoroughbred racehorses. In the mid-1990s a growing interest in again broadening the challenges of her work inspired Cortez to move from horses to landscapes, and then to cityscapes and at last to interiors and still life painting where her focus remains today. At the beginning of the 21st century, Cortez began concentrating on a form of still life painting inspired by the age-old tradition of “art in art.” In 2003, the “Homage to the Creative Spirit” series became her primary mode of expression. This tradition was most notably employed by such 17th-century Dutch artists as Johannes Vermeer, usually to impart a hidden meaning to astute viewers. Similarly, Cortez’s paintings offer layered meanings built on specific themes. She starts with an iconic masterwork and surrounds it with meticulously rendered book covers, photographs, sculpture, antiques, and other objects with cultural or historic significance. Each intricate Cortez creation challenges the viewers’ intellectual curiosity and celebrates the sheer pleasure of beautiful painting. In this work, Cortez plays author, architect, visual journalist, art historian, curator and pundit to help open our eyes to what we might otherwise have overlooked or taken for granted. Each painting presents a specific theme, mixing straightforward cues and obscure allusions, complemented by references to other artists’ lives and times. Each of her works touches upon important questions about the nature of painting and the significance of art objects, and presents subtle shades of meaning that invite contemplation. By depicting iconic artworks in her own paintings, Cortez underscores a classic paradox of realism: the painting as a “window” into an imagined space, and as a physical object; both a metaphysical presence and a material entity. Jenness Cortez has been exhibiting her work since 1975, and has had more than 40 solo shows throughout the United States. Her work is in numerous public and private collections including those of the New York State Museum, Skidmore College, SUNY Empire State College, Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, and HM Queen Elizabeth, II. Jenness Cortez lives and works in rural upstate New York.

Price: 680 USD

Location: Kingston, New York

End Time: 2024-12-25T18:08:29.000Z

Shipping Cost: 20 USD