Charles Emmanuel Marks

CHARLES EMMANUEL MARKS (USA, 1917-France, 2007)
"Woman and laundry rock". 1949.
Oil on canvas.
Signed, titled and dated on the back.

Measurements: 79 x 59,5 cm.

This painting by Charles E: Marks, both for the subject (a woman in an intimate moment) and for the cubist style, establishes a visual and conceptual dialogue with several works by Picasso, especially with "Woman combing her hair" from 1940. Marks' use of cubism (fragmentation of the body, geometrization of forms, expressive use of color or line) suggests a conscious admiration or appropriation of Picasso's language. This painting can be interpreted in a context of anguish and post-war. Marks had first-hand experience of the war, as an aviator, and in the late 1940s his style evolved from Cezannean figuration to Picasso's expressionism. However, Marks dialogues with Picasso without adopting his style, opting instead for a hybridization between his American-French identity and the European heritage of Cubism.

Charles Emmanuel Marks was born in Philadelphia. He graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and lived most of his life in Paris, France, where he exhibited his paintings frequently. He served as an aviator pilot in the Navy during World War II.