by Zack Madden
Perhaps one of the most noticeable pieces at the U of M Museum of Art is the pointillist piece "Under the Lamp." I am writing about its purpose and history.
"Under the Lamp" was painted by Albert Dubois-Pillet, a French painter. Albert Dubois-Pillet was born in 1845 and died in the year of 1890. He painted "Under the Lamp" in 1888. The technique of pointillism was developed by Georges Seurat, another French painter.
The U of M Musuem of Art acquired "Under the Lamp" from an art dealer in New York City. The money they used to buy it was donated by a patron of the Museum, Helmut Stern.
Another unique thing about this piece is its frame. The picture is actually continued in the frame. The frame is lighter in some parts and darker in others, relating to the areas of the painting it touches. Color is also modified as part of this objective. The difference is very hard to tell, however. The frame is circular, and somehow seems to blend the painting with the wall instead of separating the piece from the wall surface.
The original frame, colored with purple pointillist brushwork, was lost before the painting came into the possession of the U of M. They hired an artist to duplicate the frame based on a description of the frame in a Paris newspaper review they found that was written when the painting was first on view in a gallery show there.
To see pointillist materials, click here.