Miguel Covarrubias (Mexican, 1904-1957), 米格爾·珂弗羅皮斯


Elefantes en la selva circa 1932signed oil on canvas56.5 x 68.9 cm (22 1/4 x 27 1/8 in)This work was executed circa 1932.
|Adriana Williams has confirmed the authenticity of this work.ProvenancePrivate Collection, US米格爾·珂弗羅皮斯叢林中的大象油彩畫布約1932年作簽名: COVARRUBIASAdriana Williams已鑑定作品為真跡來源美國私人收藏Born in Mexico City in 1904, Miguel Covarrubias built a multi-faceted career and was recognized widely for his range. First and foremost a painter, he excelled as a caricaturist, illustrator, set designer, writer, art historian and keen ethnologist. Active from the 1920s to the 1950s, Covarrubias avidly explored the Harlem renaissance; Balinese, Mexican, and Caribbean cultures; relations between Mexico and the U.S., and further afield, as well as providing caricatures for Vanity Fair and the New Yorker on a regular basis. Together with his close friend Diego Rivera, Covarrubias shared an admiration for indigenous cultures and a desire to keep them from the destructive hand of modernity, which was bound to uproot many long-held traditions. Covarrubias' most significant works, as well as his most celebrated, are those that relate to his life in Bali, clearly reflecting his own passion and fondness for the island. In 1929, Covarrubias won the National Directors' Medal for Painting in Color for an advertisement he painted for Steinway & Sons. With the resulting prize-money, he planned an extended three-month honeymoon with newlywed wife, Rosa Rolando who was a dancer and theatre choreographer. Through the Panama Canal, the couple travelled across the Pacific Ocean and down the China Sea, stopping at Yokohama, Tokyo, Kobe, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Manila, Java, and finally Bali. Once there, Covarrubias immersed himself in Balinese culture, befriending the people as well as learning about their everyday lives and rituals. While Covarrubias always remained loyal to his Mexican nationality and missed New York City for its excitement and fervor, he formed a lifelong deep-rooted connection with Bali, and his time spent there inspired some of his greatest oeuvres. Depicting a herd of elephants in a dense bamboo forest, Elefantes en la selva wonderfully illustrates this appreciation for the Balinese flora and fauna. With trees and flowers native to the tropical island, Covarrubias paints each trunk, leaf and petal in exquisite detail. Adorned with white birds and flower petals and experimenting with multiple variations of green, the artist illustrates the livelihood of the jungle he encountered and cherished. Upon closer inspection, the eye is drawn to a multitude of details, such as the red lady bug resting on foliage near the bottom center. Whilst three elephants in the back are captured in strict motion, a smaller elephant in the foreground is distracted by a dragonfly, playfully chasing the insect towards the viewer. Resembling the ethereal fantasy jungle landscapes of French painter Henri Rousseau, Elefantes en la selva showcases the same exemplary lush gradations of colour. Whilst Rousseau had never travelled outside of the country and paintings, such as The Dream, were shaped by visits to zoos and botanical gardens in France, the present work from 1932 is based on Covarrubias' fond memories of his extended stay in Indonesia. The artists' deep-rooted admiration for Bali remained after his return to New York where he received a Guggenheim fellowship to conduct further research and published his seminal book Island of Bali in 1937 which he illustrated himself. Perfectly combining refined artistry with a deep compassion for the island, Elefantes en la selva is a magnificent milestone in Covarrubias' oeuvre, and amongst his most significant works. 多才多藝的米高・柯瓦盧畢亞斯（Miguel Covarrubias）一九〇四年出生於墨西哥城（Mexico City），一生跨足多個領域並成就非凡。除了繪畫的「主業」，他也是一名諷刺漫畫家、插畫家、劇場設計師、作家、藝術史學家和充滿熱情的民族學家。他活躍於一九二〇到五〇年代，殷切地探索哈林文藝復興運動（Harlem renaissance）；峇里島、墨西哥和地中海文化；美國和墨西哥關係都在他的興趣範圍內，更遠的領域則包含為《浮華世界》（Vanity Fair）和《紐約客》（New Yorker）雜誌定期畫諷刺漫畫。他與好友迪亞哥・里維拉（Diego Rivera）尤其關注原住民文化，致力於保存其文化，不致被現代化的發展辣手摧殘。在峇里島居住時期的創作，是柯瓦盧畢亞斯最重要也最受人喜愛的作品，這些作品反應出他對峇里島的熱愛和鍾情。一九二九年，柯瓦盧畢亞斯為史坦威（Steinway & Sons）畫的廣告獲頒國家會長彩畫獎（National Directors' Medal for Painting in Color），拿到這筆獎金後，他帶著身為舞者和劇場編舞家的新婚妻子羅莎・羅蘭多（Rosa Rolando）起程到海外度過為期三個月的蜜月旅行。他們穿越巴拿馬運河，橫跨太平洋後往南行到達南海，途中造訪橫濱、東京、神戶、上海、香港、馬尼拉、爪哇，最後抵達峇里島。在峇里島，柯瓦盧畢亞斯融入當地文化，與本地人結為好友並了解他們的日常生活和儀式。雖然柯瓦盧畢亞斯熱愛自己的祖國墨西哥並想念紐約的繁榮盛景，他和峇里島結下一生的情緣，在那裡創作出其畢生最精彩的重要作品。《叢林中的象》中，他對峇里島動植物的喜愛更是一覽無遺。在《叢林中的象》一作中，柯瓦盧畢亞斯巨細靡遺地畫出熱帶島嶼原生草木的每個樹幹、葉子和花瓣。他用白鳥、花瓣加以點綴畫面，也用不同色調的綠色作為實驗，呈現他眼睛所見並珍惜的叢林與生命力。仔細研究作品，觀者的眼睛不禁被無數的小細節吸引，像是中下方葉片上棲息的紅色瓢蟲。背景中三隻象的姿態比較穩重，前景則有一隻追逐蜻蜓的頑皮小象朝著觀者奔來。《叢林中的象》近似法國畫家亨利・盧梭（Henri Rousseau）筆下充滿幻想魅力的叢林景色，具有同樣富饒茂盛的色彩，不過盧梭從來沒有實際外出旅行，《夢境》這樣的作品均是造訪法國動物園和植物園後的創作；一九三二年的《叢林中的象》，則是柯瓦盧畢亞斯依據其長住印尼那段美好時光的回憶繪製而成。柯瓦盧畢亞斯對峇里島始終有份深深的愛戀，即使回到紐約仍念念不忘。回到紐約後他得到古根漢美術館的獎助金進行進一步的研究，最後在一九三七年發表了重要著作《峇里島》（Island of Bali），並親筆完成其中收錄的所有插畫。《叢林中的象》完美地融合了精湛的藝術功力和藝術家對於峇里島的鍾愛之情，堪稱柯瓦盧畢亞斯創作生涯中偉大的里程碑之作。