Positano

Will Barnet, Positano, 1960, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., 1969.47.4
Will Barnet, Positano, 1960, oil on canvas, 57 x 42 1⁄4 in. (144.8 x 107.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., 1969.47.4

Artwork Details

Title
Positano
Artist
Date
1960
Location
Dimensions
57 x 42 1⁄4 in. (144.8 x 107.3 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract — geometric
Object Number
1969.47.4
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1969.47.4

Artwork Description

Will Barnet painted Positano in New York based on his memory of a moonlit night along Italy's southern coast. He had created monumental abstract canvases for several years and was about to return to painting human figures. This work hints at the shapes of heads and arms silhouetted against a luminous sky, but the darker forms themselves also suggest the vastness of a pitch-black night. In this way, the two principal areas of color shift back and forth from solid forms to empty spaces.

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      An interview with the artist Will Barnet. Will Barnet studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, then moved to New York in 1930 to attend the Art Students League. After his first son was born, Barnet began a series of paintings that show scenes of family life. He experimented with abstraction for several years, aiming to "eliminate realistic space" in favor of simple geometric forms. His later work is more representational and focuses almost entirely on the female form. ("Will Barnet, Works of Six Decades," American Art Review, June-July 1994)