Barnett NewmanAmerican, 1905–1970Vir Heroicus Sublimis
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
On public display.
- Checked
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
Vir Heroicus Sublimis is a 1951 painting by Barnett Newman, an American painter who was a key part of the abstract expressionist movement. Vir Heroicus Sublimis—"Man, Heroic and Sublime" in Latin—attempts to evoke a reaction from its viewers through its overwhelming scale (his largest canvas yet at the time he released it) and saturated color. The painting is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Particulars
- Accession number
- 240.1969
In the catalog
Sources
- The Museum of Modern Art
- Image: The Museum of Modern Art — © the artist or rights holder
Meanwhile, in the life of Barnett Newman
The whole life1948
The Subjects of the Artist school
With William Baziotes, Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell and David Hare he founds the Subjects of the Artist School at 35 East 8th Street; its well-attended public lectures feature speakers such as Jean Arp, John Cage and Ad Reinhardt.
spring 1949
The Subjects of the Artist school closes
The Subjects of the Artist School fails financially and closes in the spring of 1949.
1950
First solo exhibition and crushing reviews
Stages his first solo exhibition, at the Betty Parsons Gallery, and it is met with devastating criticism. Other accounts date the debut to 1948; soon after his first exhibition, at the Artists’ Session at Studio 35, Newman remarks that artists are, to a certain extent, making the world in their own image.
1950–1958
An eight-year pause
After the harsh reception he takes an eight-year pause, devoting it to developing his mastery; the result is the retrospective of 1958.
