Pierre Geismar 1932

Curator: Raoul Dufy painted this portrait of Pierre Geismar in 1932, rendered in vibrant oil paint. It is currently exhibited here in our Modernism wing. Editor: My initial impression is cool and detached. It is predominantly blue, which tends to evoke feelings of serenity or sadness. The subject’s expression seems rather formal, almost aloof. Curator: That’s interesting! The cool detachment you pick up on might stem from the historical context. In the interwar period, the bourgeois subject, often male, was undergoing re-definition—navigating shifting socio-economic realities. Dufy, though, disrupts traditional portraiture here. Editor: Yes, the Fauvist style contributes to that disruption. The bold, unmodulated color, particularly that overwhelming blue, and the almost frantic, scribbled lines do not feel concerned with representational accuracy so much as emotional expression. Even the cigarette he holds feels…symbolic. Curator: Absolutely, but consider what a symbol the bourgeois man himself might be. What societal pressures were they subject to? Dufy’s fauvist leanings, paired with his social circle, puts pressure on the norms that portraiture of wealthy, presumably straight, white men were subject to. He toys with these expectations of traditional portraiture in order to represent change. Editor: So the blue becomes, perhaps, the weight of tradition, and the impasto evokes not just the physical presence but also the emotional unrest of a changing social structure. The cigarette could signal both status and…perhaps…nervousness? Curator: Precisely! Dufy's subversion exists at an interesting intersection of personal expression, modernist ideals, and social commentary. Considering the larger arc of his career and the climate in 1932 is critical. Editor: The enduring symbols certainly encourage deeper interpretation, allowing us to connect to this moment from so long ago in surprisingly visceral ways. Thank you! Curator: It allows us to rethink the old in conversation with the present. Always valuable!