Bluemner, Oscar
(b. 1867
d. 1938)
Painting diary, 12 June 1911 - 30 Jan. 1912
Oscar Bluemner's (1867-1938) art evolved directly from his painting diaries, which he kept from 1911 to 1936. Bluemner, who was trained in Germany as an architect, had an architect's penchant for planning. On his walking tours of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with his painting diary in hand, he made rough outlines of landscapes and plotted complex color arrangements. Each sketch from nature was Bluemner's blueprint of light, line, mass, shadow, and color. Later he embellished his books with additional studies and made extensive notes on his theories and observations. His diaries are evidence of his all-consuming commitment to aesthetic exploration. "One rule," wrote Bluemner, "draw and paint, equally, constantly, separately, thinking, feeling."
[Painting diary], 12 June 1911 - 30 Jan. 1912 / Oscar Bluemner. Diary : 1 v. : handwritten, ill. ; 17 x 21 cm. Oscar Bluemner papers, 1886-1939, 1960. Archives of American Art.
161 p., 157 of them are numbered on the lower right with an additional 2 loose pages inserted in the book. Graphite and pen were used to write the diary entries while pen and crayon were used to create the sketches.
Titled on first page as Bluemner’s “First [Painting] Diary.” Diary entries are in English and German. Many of the entries are Bluemner’s observations about his works of art or painting in general, such as “…one must take care to keep pigments and mixture pure on the palette, on the brush, on the canvas….” (p. 1) or “do not put on color unless it is done with full feeling” (p. 37). Other entries include a list of “oil colors on hand” with an enclosed sample sheet of the colors, a list of watercolors, and an inventory of objects with prices.
There are many small (approx 3 x 4 cm) black and white sketches dispersed throughout the diary entries. Other sketches were completed on separate sheets of paper and attached to the versos of the diary pages. These include 13 black and white sketches with color notations, ranging in size from 13 x 9 cm. to 21 x 25 cm., and six colored sketches, measuring 11 x 16 cm. to 17 x 21 cm. The sketches are of countryside and landscape scenes, many include houses, trees, rolling hills and one sketch features a bridge over a river.
Condition: both back and front covers are intact, yet ripped and torn at the edges and corners. Pages are in very good condition; binding is loose. Smudged ink and water stains appear on a few of the pages.
[Painting diary], 12 June 1911 - 30 Jan. 1912 / Oscar Bluemner. Diary : 1 v. : handwritten, ill. ; 17 x 21 cm. Oscar Bluemner papers, 1886-1939, 1960. Archives of American Art.
161 p., 157 of them are numbered on the lower right with an additional 2 loose pages inserted in the book. Graphite and pen were used to write the diary entries while pen and crayon were used to create the sketches.
Titled on first page as Bluemner’s “First [Painting] Diary.” Diary entries are in English and German. Many of the entries are Bluemner’s observations about his works of art or painting in general, such as “…one must take care to keep pigments and mixture pure on the palette, on the brush, on the canvas….” (p. 1) or “do not put on color unless it is done with full feeling” (p. 37). Other entries include a list of “oil colors on hand” with an enclosed sample sheet of the colors, a list of watercolors, and an inventory of objects with prices.
There are many small (approx 3 x 4 cm) black and white sketches dispersed throughout the diary entries. Other sketches were completed on separate sheets of paper and attached to the versos of the diary pages. These include 13 black and white sketches with color notations, ranging in size from 13 x 9 cm. to 21 x 25 cm., and six colored sketches, measuring 11 x 16 cm. to 17 x 21 cm. The sketches are of countryside and landscape scenes, many include houses, trees, rolling hills and one sketch features a bridge over a river.
Condition: both back and front covers are intact, yet ripped and torn at the edges and corners. Pages are in very good condition; binding is loose. Smudged ink and water stains appear on a few of the pages.
Forms Part of: Oscar Bluemner papers