Dante At The Circus
This charming artwork came home with me from a local estate sale. The owner of the estate had collected a great deal of “modern” art, none of which even slightly appealed to me. This piece, however, was tucked in the basement, and I gravitated to it immediately. It cost me $35 and is signed “Dante H.” and dated 1948. A friend suggested it would need to be reframed, however I didn’t feel the same. Many times, vintage art work is framed in a definable era, and this framing feels very 1970s, not the 1940s era of its creation. As I wanted to hang it in my 1970s Calder Circus room, the frame’s vibe worked just fine.
The art work is an original, made with paint, pen and ink. At first glance the design seems childlike, but is in fact somewhat complex. The “tent” background likely was done first, in the style of Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) – as a splatter painting around three circle items laid on top. This created the sense of the holes at the top of a circus tent. (Pollock’s most famous “drip” paintings began in 1947). Then Dante H. sketched in the edges of the tent, making you recognize you are looking skyward to see the performers. The optics are masterfully done – you see the art straight on, but you realize it is oriented above your head.
Mr. H. then inked and painted in the performers. What fun representations! The two bicyclists have fabulous pink and red shirts with tight brown leggings – why do I sense they are Italian?! Of course, with the name Dante, it may be actually true. Mr. H. even differentiated the skin tones, so each performer is unique. The third performer sits upon a chair, suspended on a bar slung across the bicyclists’ shoulders. Our anxiety ratchets up a tad, and his elongated body creates the sense of distance in the sky above us. And then, balanced on his head, is the wonderful figure of the female performer – wearing a skimpy top and tutu skirt, arms and hair out flying. The artist has created a sense of movement, the bicycles whizzing along the trapeze, the chair sitter stretching upward and the dancing woman spinning overhead.
I do wish I could find out more about Mr. Dante H. from 1948. Google has no idea, and he remains a mystery. His artwork keeps company with my Calder and I suspect the two artists are chuckling in the sky above us at their cohabitation in a quirky farm house in Libertyville!