Balthus-Girl with Goldfish

One of the pieces in "Cats and Girls" by Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski) at The Metropolitan Museum of Art that I found rather intriguing was "Girl with Goldfish" created in 1948. The play on a twisted rivalry between a cat and goldfish is showcased in this piece as the artist shows a direct view of the face of a cat that has what appears to be a knowingly dark smirk on his face as he anticipates the meal that is sure to follow the scene. In case one is unable to reflect this storyline, the artist has also produced another painting of oil on canvas that depicts the aftermath of the cat's devouring of the goldfish, at least one of them. The girl is no longer present within the scene of the aftermath of the event, as though to convey that such an act is not appropriate for the eyes of an innocent young lady, and the cat has a rather pleased look over what he has accomplished.

It has been said that Balthus created the cat as a direct representation of himself and part of me views this as him showcasing his greed and hunger for what others may have. Maybe this is part of the reason why he created so many paintings representing the female form, through his desire for maybe not the actual form of the young women, but the innocent and graceful nature that they represent. Perhaps he made himself into the cat to show his desire to have the grace and confident nature that cats tend to convey. Maybe this is a bit too philosophical of an interpretation, but after all it is only a possible interpretation.

Balthus-Girl with Goldfish (1948)

Balthus-Girl at a Window

Finally, the French artist Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski) who lived from 1908-2001 created a piece that didn't have unnecessary sexual undertones written all over it. The piece titled "Girl at a Window" was created in 1957 with oil on a canvas and comes from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection (1998) and is currently being held at the exhibition of Balthus titled "Cats and Girls" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Standing at 160 by 162 centimeters, this painting features a young girl looking out a window over a beautiful backdrop with hills, a big tree, and what appears to me as a tall wall with a gate leading out of the estate that the house is in. While you cannot see the young girls face, for some reason I get the emotional response that she yearns to break free of her current surroundings and view the world outside of the estate that she is looking over. As we talked about in class with Sarah Schmerler you can view art with the idea of it as either a window or a surface. While this is of course a literal window, one still must view the piece as though we are there looking both in front of that windowsill at the scene with the young girl and beyond at the scene that she is looking at herself to place ourselves within the dynamic of the story that is being told through painted documentation. Part of me also wonders exactly why the artist chose not to show the girl's face in this picture while in the others that were set up much more provocatively he had no problem doing so. Something else to think about I suppose.

 Girl at a Window-Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski)

Balthus-Thérèse Dreaming

Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski) is a French artist from Paris who lived from 1908 to 2001. His current collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is titled Cats and Girls-Paintings and Provocations, so a person is already given a rather blunt warning that the work within the collection is going to be something that will elicit some type of strong emotion out of you. As I wandered throughout the collection I, along with whom I am sure were many other people, could not help but notice that the level of provocative energy and risque technique shown continued to increase. Toward the beginning of the collective works was a painting titled "Thérèse Dreaming" made in 1938 with oil on canvas at 150 by 130 centimeters.

This piece first observed seems innocent enough, but as I continued to observe it, it only seemed to make me more uncomfortable. I know that it is important to rid yourself of judgement of the art that you are viewing and try to see it with an open mind, but at some level it seems almost impossible. Knowing that the artist was a male only makes the discomfort more prominent, as sexist as that may sound. While the painter was able to capture an essence among his subjects that did not seem possible through painting, I felt as though he could have done so without the need to paint the vast majority of them with their legs open, in peculiar positions, or even completely nude altogether. The whole "natural" look really wasn't befitting for me and I'm really surprised that the artist was able to get away with such context during the time period that he produced the majority of his work. It's rather funny how the idea of nudity and sexuality of young women (and men for that matter) has come full circle so many times from accepted to not and then back again. Just something to think about.

Thérèse Dreaming Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski)