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Woman III
Willem de Kooning • Painting, 1953, 172.7×123.2 cm
Description of the artwork «Woman III»
Woman III is one of the most famous and most expensive paintings by Willem de Kooning. Like all the works from the Women series that were painted in the early 50s (1, 2, 3), it caused a lot of controversy. The artist’s nervous and aggressive manner, combined with such, to put it mildly, non-standard depiction of female nakedness, puzzled and frightened the public. De Kooning’s dealer later said that he worked on this series with some particular cruelty and he even left small holes in the canvas with his brush sometimes, furiously applying the strokes.
De Kooning’s “women” were dramatically different from any female depictions in Western art. They were aggressively sexual and terrifyingly outspoken. These women were too far from the stereotypical image of the submissive American housewife of the Cold War times. Deliberately abandoning this idealization, de Kooning created completely new heroines, who were considerably much more realistic, despite their abstractness.
Throughout his career, the artist has tirelessly studied the relationship between a subject and a background on canvas. His “women” became the ideal subject for such a study. De Kooning seemed to interfere, fuse the female figure into the surrounding space, combining the lines of her body with the background in long strokes. Moreover, the artist used the same colours and shades for the figure and its surroundings, making it dissolve in an indistinguishable environment.
Despite all the controversy and ambiguity, the painting was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in Tehran in the 70s. However, after the 1979 revolution, strict rules regarding the visual arts were adopted in the country, and the canvas was quietly sold to business tycoon David Geffen. In 2006, at a private auction, Woman III was bought by billionaire Stephen Cohen. The canvas cost him $ 137.5 million, which made it one of the ten most expensive paintings in the world.
Written by Yevheniia Sidelnikova
De Kooning’s “women” were dramatically different from any female depictions in Western art. They were aggressively sexual and terrifyingly outspoken. These women were too far from the stereotypical image of the submissive American housewife of the Cold War times. Deliberately abandoning this idealization, de Kooning created completely new heroines, who were considerably much more realistic, despite their abstractness.
Throughout his career, the artist has tirelessly studied the relationship between a subject and a background on canvas. His “women” became the ideal subject for such a study. De Kooning seemed to interfere, fuse the female figure into the surrounding space, combining the lines of her body with the background in long strokes. Moreover, the artist used the same colours and shades for the figure and its surroundings, making it dissolve in an indistinguishable environment.
Despite all the controversy and ambiguity, the painting was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in Tehran in the 70s. However, after the 1979 revolution, strict rules regarding the visual arts were adopted in the country, and the canvas was quietly sold to business tycoon David Geffen. In 2006, at a private auction, Woman III was bought by billionaire Stephen Cohen. The canvas cost him $ 137.5 million, which made it one of the ten most expensive paintings in the world.
Written by Yevheniia Sidelnikova
