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Who? Sonia Delaunay, Russian (1885-1979) What? Electric Prisms (Oil on Canvas, 8 x 8 feet) When? 1914 Where is it now? Georges Pompidou Center, Paris Why is this artist/artwork important? Sonia Delaunay was instrumental in developing a form of abstract art based on studying the interaction of colors and shapes. She called this art Simultaneous Design. She later applied these ideas to the area of fashion design and found a way to integrate the “high” art of painting with the applied arts of textile and fashion design.
Sonia Delaunay Information Sheet Sonia Delaunay was born in 1885 in Russia (Ukraine). When she was 5 years old she moved to St. Petersburg to live with her wealthy Uncle, who encouraged Delaunay’s interest in art, literature and music. She was sent her to a top high school in St. Petersburg, where her art teacher noticed her talent and suggested that she pursue it further. -‐-‐Delaunay traveled to Berlin when she was 18 years old to pursue her art studies and two years later (1905) went to Paris for further studies. -‐-‐It was an exciting time in Paris. Artists, writers, musicians from around the world flocked to Paris, where they had gatherings at each other’s apartments and cafes to exchange ideas. -‐-‐There were lots of art shows at the time and artists were experimenting with new ways of making things (They will have already learned about Van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat, Rousseau and Matisse all of whose art was being shown at the time. They may have also learned about Picasso—he is also taught in 5th grade). -‐-‐Newest stuff was being shown at the Independents Salon and at Art Galleries Cubism—Taking apart objects and rearranging them Abstraction—no subject matter, art that is based on colors, shapes and lines. Science and color theory also very important (like with Seurat) Subject matter should be modern—things that were symbols of modernity One artist, experimenting with all these ideas was Robert Delaunay—she would marry him in 1910 Robert Delaunay—The Eiffel Tower, 1911-‐2 -‐-‐Modern Subject (Eiffel tower) -‐-‐Cubist idea—taking apart, interaction of shapes -‐-‐Colors not totally from the real world -‐-‐Sonia and Robert explored these further and came up with an idea for art they called Simultaneous Design
-‐-‐combination of abstract or almost abstract forms, colors and a sense of motion (motion was produced by the effect of colors and shapes placed next to each other—if you put complementary colors (red & green, orange and blue, yellow and purple next to each other, the colors appear brighter)—if you place “cool” colors next to “warm” colors
Sonia Delaunay, Electric Prisms, 1914 -‐-‐She and Robert were walking in Paris saw the new electric streetlights that had just replaced the gas ones -‐-‐the electric streetlights cast a halo of moving colors -‐-‐based on ideas of color interaction, but also what she saw as the varied effects of artificial lighting in the city
-‐-‐so fascinated with the effects of color and light that she eventually got rid of all subject matter— became totally abstract
Moved into totally abstract art—gets rid of the subject matter, just interested in the interaction of forms and colors Rhythm, 1938 -‐-‐ bright compositions of curved stripes, circles (color discs) & prisms -‐-‐creates sense of movement as colors and lines play off each other -‐-‐movement is similar to music, eye moves around the painting from color to color Sonia Delaunay was also interested in other forms of art—known as “Applied Arts”—textile design, book binding, illustrations, costume and set design -‐-‐Made clothes and costumes that used the same ideas as her paintings, but meant to interact with them. 1920s—more and more involved in fashion and textile design
-‐-‐She set up her own studio for the creation of Simultaneous fabrics. Become involved with making costumes and sets for movies
-‐-‐Sonia Delaunay became a major figure in the fashion world
Sonia Delaunay Images:
Sonia Delaunay in 1901
Robert Delaunay, The Eiffel Tower, 1911-‐2
Sonia Delaunay, Electric Prisms, 1914
Sonia Delaunay, Rhythms, 1938
Sonia Delaunay, Color Rhythm Number 1076, 1939
Sonia Delaunay, Simultaneous Fashions, 1920
Sonia Delaunay’s Fashions on the Cover of Vogue, January 1925
Sonia Delaunay in Her Studio Wearing Her Designs, 1925
Sonia Delaunay and Her Matching Decorated Citroen Car
Sonia Delaunay with Friends in Her Studio, 1924
Sonia Delaunay, Costume and Set Design for 1926 French Movie
Sonia Delaunay Projects: Delaunay Marker Drawing Create a “Simultaneous Design” picture and or fashion design, by repeating shapes and colors to create a rhythmic design. Materials: Plastic or paper cups (for tracing) Compass or protractor (for tracing) Pencils Markers Ruler Heavy Stock Paper
1. Have students trace circles of various sizes with a pencil on their paper. The circles can overlap, be concentric or totally separate. The more circles they make, the more interesting the design.
2. After the circles are drawn, have students use their rulers to draw straight lines from one side of the paper to the other. The lines can be vertical, horizontal or diagonal. They do not have to be evenly spaced.
3. Once the design has been made, have the students color in their circles or portions of circles with marker. In order to create a sense of rhythm, they should repeat the colors throughout the picture. Suggest that each color be used in at least 3 different places.
Fashion or Industrial Design Project After the above picture has been made, have students make an article of clothing using the design. Additional Materials Cardboard or cardstock Scissors Glue 1. Have the students draw an article of clothing (or it could be an object)—a shirt, coat, dress, a car—on a piece of cardboard or cardstock
2. Cut the item out 3. Use the item as a template on the design sheet and trace it. 4. Cut out the traced form from the design sheet and glue it on top of the template.
