Marion Barthelme Lecture: Jenny Saville on Cy Twombly 14 Feb 2024
Take Aways:
How he uses backward scribbles to show the anatomy of the body, upper line made by wrist, middle line made by rotating whole arm, lower line by using his whole body.
Classical References - repeating words from classical myths, rubbing them out and rewriting them for emphasis. Repeating them. Smudging and blurring them.
Drips - Saville talks about how Twombly is the master of the drip. How he uses the drip, especially in the form of watered down white paint, to bury references, in the same way that history does.
Many of his painting techniques are from classical painting, although they may look modern. Saville references Velaquez, Rembrant, Monet, Picasso. She takes us up close to some famous paintings, Degas, Monet etc and the close ups are remarkable Twombly like.
Also, that he controls the temperature of the paintings with this technique, taking down the tone of the colours, in specific areas and also overall.