Untitled (Meditations on Georges de La Tour)
- Artist: Olav Christopher Jenssen
- Creation date: 1991–1992
About
Untitled (Meditations on Georges de la Tour) was inspired by Paal-Helge Haugen’s acclaimed book of poetry of the same name that appraised the sacred universe of the Baroque artist Georges de la Tour (1593–1652).
Haugen’s poetry does not describe de la Tour’s paintings, neither does Jenssen’s 107 small paintings on wood illustrate Haugen’s thirty -six poems. Concerned with paint’s malleable qualities, how the painterly marks agitate emotions and elicit potential meanings similar to words in a poem, Jenssen depicts nothing. Recognisable imagery or a defined subject, are absent from this array of small, inlaid paintings spread across the three walls of the installation. Jenssen seeks to evoke something of Haugen’s texts through the nature, colour and quality of paint. He creates a sense of place that is unrestricted, yielding and endless.
The viewer’s proximity to so many paintings creates a floating world, an emotional space whose sense of gravity is bound by a sensitivity of spatial order and depth. Fore, middle and background of each painting is built by layering and over-painting to construct an abstract picture poem. Key to this array of paintings is the artists’ love of drawing. It allows him to work like a poet with the freedom to scribble and notate at the same time. Jenssen fuses the characteristics of drawn pencil, chalk and crayon lines into the realm of paint. Inlaid into the wooden wall his picture poems form a gallery within the gallery, one that holds a special, treasured collection.
- Creation date:
- 1991–1992
- Other titles:
- Meditationen über Georges de La Tour (GER)
Uten tittel (Meditasjoner over Georges de La Tour) (NOR) - Object type:
- Installation
- Materials and techniques:
- 107 malerier innfelt i tre vegger
- Dimensions:
- Depth: 368 cm
- Width: 307 cm
- Height: 300 cm
- Keywords:
- Visual art
- Classification:
- 532 - Bildende kunst
- Inventory no.:
- MS-02499-1992
- Cataloguing level:
- Complex object/artwork
- Acquisition:
- Kjøpt 1992
- Owner and collection:
- Nasjonalmuseet for kunst, arkitektur og design, The Fine Art Collections
- Photo:
- Harvik, Andreas
- Copyright:
- © Jenssen, Olav Christopher/<a href="https://www.bono.no/" target="_blank">BONO</a>
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Other works by Olav Christopher Jenssen
(Uten tittel)Olav Christopher Jenssen(1985)
From NowhereOlav Christopher Jenssen1984–1985
Recognize (Friendliness)Olav Christopher Jenssen1992
Lack of MemoryOlav Christopher Jenssen1991–1992
IssueOlav Christopher Jenssen1990– 1992- Bretagne No. 12Olav Christopher Jenssen2010
JigOlav Christopher Jenssen1990
Geisha in MexicoOlav Christopher Jenssen1982
Florentinsk tundra IIIOlav Christopher Jenssen1982–1983
SchlawinerOlav Christopher Jenssen1984
Palindrome no. 6Olav Christopher Jenssen2000
Portrait of the Artist Kjell Erik Killi OlsenOlav Christopher Jenssen1981



















