Venus c. 1934

Rolf Armstrong made this work, Venus, using pastel on paper, sometime in the first half of the twentieth century. It’s like Armstrong mixed the cool tones of the water with this vision of womanly warmth. Look how he has daubed the pastel to give a fuzzy, out-of-focus feel. I can imagine the artist working en plein air, quickly sketching the landscape and the model before the sun went down. And then he would be back in his studio, trying to capture the memory of the experience through the layering of marks and colors. The reflection in the water is not quite right. Did he do it on purpose? Is he interested in distorting reality and making things up? It feels like he might be. I love the little lines that peek out from the background. They remind me of Cy Twombly, who also worked a lot with pastel! It’s a great way to give the work an unfinished, ephemeral feel. Like a conversation or a memory.