SOURCE OF INSPIRATION
By Marjorie Pratt-Rosenberg
"These 10 paintings were a part of a
series of 17 gigantic canvases inspired by Mayas and Incas
art, and the modern Italian Architectural School
of Design and Modern Art. Some of those paintings dimensions are 20 feet by 18
feet. Absolutely enormous and remarkably impressive. The whole collection was
sold as soon as they were exhibited and
marketed by the folks at Salon de L’Art Moderne. By looking at some of these paintings,
one senses the majestic presence of a “superior divine absence-presence of the
One” as perfectly explained Dr. Etienne Leroux in his essay on the progressive
neo cubism school of de La Croix.
In
his book “ Maximillien de La Croix: An Introduction to the Omorphism Movement of
Neo-Cubism” Dr. John Chen wrote: “ You look at two different paintings exhibited
side by side. One painting is a very simple and non complicated art work. The
other is very complex, multi-dimensional and puzzling, yet both of them came
from the same source, both of them were done by the same artist. Is there a
logic to this controversial, contradictory and insane artistic delight? How can
we interpret this unparallel matching of lines of thoughts and forms that cruise
the mind of the artist and leave us wondering and confused on his canvas? The
answer might seems as complicated as the artist’s mind or the artist himself.
But the truth is divine because the truth has and had always one answer. And
the answer came in one single word “INTELLECT” or “INTELLIGENCE” or “SUPERIOR”.
In other words, the paintings of Maximillien de La Croix make you think. This is
an “intelligent art”. De La Croix art makes you reflect, this is an
“intellectual art”. It is within this concept of intelligent intellectualism
that de La Croix’s complex and minimalistic paintings blend and unite.
The
three paintings on the left, are a part of a series of 8 paintings inspired by
Sahara folklore and desert history of Morocco. They were featured as a part of the
early work of de La Croix. Quite often referred to as the departing point of his
neo cubism school of abstract art. The truth is different. De La Croix first
began exploring the traditional cubism movement by studying the work of Georges Braques, Pablo Picasso, Kassimir Malevich,
Gino Severini (His teacher and tutor) and Wassily Kandinsky. De La Croix’s
early work was extensively influenced by the Braques’ composition, Picasso’s
forms and colors and Malevich’s conceptual forms. Consequently, those quasi-
free geometrical compositions do not fall in the early category of de La Croix’s
progressive neo cubism.
The two paintings on the left, are a part of the famous “Audrey Hepburn Collection”. De La Croix completed a set of 5 paintings solely composed and dedicated to his departed friend, Audrey Hepburn, the noted English actress and humanitarian. Some of those very large canvases are in private collections and rarely shown or displayed in public.
________________________________________________________________________