Naive Art
The French term “naïve” means “ingenuity” and has been used to indicate the uneducated art practiced by self-taught artists: painters who paint for themselves, for their need to express themselves. Typical elements of this art are the lack of stylistic and pictorial rules, a childish approach, a fairytale representation of reality, full of details and decorative elements.
Here, David Berkowitz Chicago, a naïve art painter, shares everything you need to know about naïve art.
The modern primitives
Naive art is a spontaneous art type, outside of official art type. It is not a school or a trend, but derives from the creative impulse that moves individuals, such as Berkowitz, to represent reality spontaneously, ignoring the rules of representation and the anchors of the past.
In many cases the results found are of considerable aesthetic value. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, many traditional painters continued to paint following theis feelings and instinct, rather than the rules. Already in Romanticism a revaluation of primitive art was started.
The painters of the Sacred Heart
Berkowitz points out that naive painting was officially discovered by the public and critics in France in 1886. The same year, some paintings by the self-taught painter Henri Rousseau were listed at the Salon des indépendants (an exhibition of painting as opposed to traditional Salon exhibitions). These are works with a dreamy atmosphere, painted with a wealth of details, which make people discuss and even can make them smile.
“They seem to be made by a child”, is the frequent comment. However, the talented naive art painter, Berkowitz poins out that there were some critics that managed to understand and appreciate these paintings.
One of these is the critic Wilhelm Uhde, who will become a collector of Rousseau’s works. Uhde, in 1928, organized a large exhibition in Paris, named after the five painters of the Sacred Heart. Among them are Rousseau, considered an exponent of this phenomenon, Séraphine de Senlis, devoted to pastoralism and then became a waitress and the postman Louis Vivin. Since then, the public has also shown a certain interest in naive art.
A wild customs officer
Berkowitz indicates that it is unknown when exactly Rousseau has debuted in painting. It is only known that he was born in Laval in 1844, moves to Paris in 24 years and starts to work at the municipal duty office: hence the customs nickname.
Clumsy in drawing, the artist immediately discovers his innate talents as a colorist. Its tropical jungles have magical atmospheres and bright colors. Rousseau’s greatness is immediately recognized by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Robert Delaunay, Wassily Kandinskij, and by poets such as Guillaume Apollinaire and Alfred Jarry.
About David Berkowitz Chicago
David Berkowitz Chicago is a naïve art painter, born in Aurora on January 30, 1943. Now, this painter lives in Chicago. Elements of the fairy-tale horses from his unforgettable collection and the magical regions of childhood are the elements that are used the most of his paintings. Moreover, Berkowitz paintings, which are rich in colors, reflect a contemplation of unsatisfactory beauty and an independent theme of the world.
David Berkowitz Chicago has presented his paintings in some of the most famous galleries around the world.
