#edith prellwitz

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Seated Woman with Cat

- Edith Prellwitz

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Edith Prellwitz - Young Woman Knitting (n.d.)

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"East Wind" ,c.1922

Edith Mitchill Prellwitz (1864-1944),

American painter

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Edith Prellwitz

[lagaleriapopurri]

Edith Mitchill Prellwitz

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Afternoon Tea

Edith Prellwitz, 1899

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Edith Mitchill Prellwitz - Dawn.

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Dawn by Edith Mitchill Prellwitz (American artist, 1864-1944)

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Edith Prellwitz (1864 - 1944) - Rose | Valeria V | Flickr

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Dawn, Edith Mitchill Prellwitz

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Edith Mitchell Prellwitz - Afternoon Tea (ca. 1899)

[vmfaeducation]

Get SmART!

The Stony Road to Fortune by Hiba Seager

  Lotus and Laurel, 1904

Henry Prellwitz (American, 1865-1940)

Oil on canvas, 30 x 60 in.

Gift of Joseph T. and Jane Joel Knox, 2008.42

Lotus and Laurel is a distinctly Greek- and Roman-inspired painting. On the far left, we see two women watching the scene unfold; a man carrying a rust-colored amphora is directly behind them. In the middle of the painting are two female figures in loose dresses that appear to be a part of the group. On the far right two shadowy figures can be observed; the hooded figure is dressed in a loose grey gown and seems to exude mystery. The youth appears to look back at the womanly figures before preparing to turn and walk beyond the boundaries of the painting.

Henry Prellwitz crafted this painting in 1904 using oil on canvas.The painting's ethereal quality is achieved through the soft brushstrokes used in combination with lighter color tones. These brushstrokes combined with darker shades make the figures seem less defined and more mysterious. Prellwitz used dark overtones most prominently on the right side of the painting to amplify this mysteriousness. The identity of the hooded figure on the far right of the piece is particularly uncertain because of the dark shadow cast upon the face.

Luckily, we have the artist's own words to help us begin to interpret the work. While Lotus and Laurel was being displayed at the world's fair in Missouri in 1904, Prellwitz submitted a statement for the fair's official history book to give background on his motivations. He stated that "the youth, clad like a pilgrim on the stony road to Fortune, encounters the maids of pleasure. . . . As he seems about to turn to the life of music, wine and love, Ambition, holding aloft the laurel wreath, recalls him." With this succinct summary, the gestures of the figures of Lotus and Laurel fall into place—the women are trying to entice the youth to stay. The youth's pose is perhaps the most significant. By placing him just about to turn, Prellwitz conveys both the youth's reluctance to leave and his sense of ambition and responsibility as he sets off on the "stony road to Fortune."

Ultimately, Lotus and Laurel is a masterful piece of art, but also a fitting tribute to Greek and Roman styles of dress; similar depictions of classical dress can be found in the Ancient Art Galleries of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. I personally was attracted to the piece because of its resemblance to Roman painting. I was surprised to find it in the American Galleries, but after reading the label I learned there was an American Renaissance when these types of paintings were abundant! I think the combination of the content and the allusions in the painting make it a successful work.

  Bibliography

1.  O'Leary, Elizabeth L. et al. American Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Richmond: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2010.

  Fun fact!: Henry Prellwitz’s wife, Edith, was a prominent American painter as well!

Whadda ya know?!?: Are there any other artworks in the museum that remind you of the Greeks and Romans?

Want to know more?:

For more information on the artist and this specific painting, visit http://pinkney.cov.virginia.gov/default.asp?IDCFile=%2Fvmfa%2FDETAILS.IDC%2CSPECIFIC%3D21993%2CDATABASE%3D35049646.

For more information about the time period in which Prellwitz worked, visit http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?period=11&region=na.

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Edith Prellwitz (detail)

[simena]

Edith Prellwitz  (detail)

[mermaidenmystic]

Elegy, also known as Fate by Edith Mitchill Prellwitz (American artist, 1864-1944)

[mermaidenmystic]

Triptych ~ c. 1898 ~ Edith Mitchill Prellwitz (American artist, 1865-1944)

“A triptych is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open.” They are often used as altars.

(best copy i can find for now)