Janiria, Francis Picabia Transparencies Series

$7.00

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Eclectic and enigmatic, Janiria belongs to the celebrated series of Transparencies which Francis Picabia executed towards the end of the 1920s. Exploring a new, highly personal style, the series superimposed 'transparent' images onto non-transparent ones, creating an ambiguous merging of meanings and forms. In Janiria, two classical figures enigmatically stretch their arms towards the sky, while a third in the background seems to be playing a non-existent instrument. Each figure inhabits the same Arcadian space and yet they all seem to have been estranged from their original contexts.
Indeed, the pose of the figure standing on the left is reminiscent of Mercury, in Botticelli's Primavera, while the two superimposed outlined heads are citations from his Madonna della Melagrana (Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence).
The superimposed outlines of two female profiles and a pair of hands enhance this impression, deliberately muddying any sense of pictorial cohesion, complicating any simple notion of meaning.

Picabia himself connected the genesis of the Transparencies with a revelatory moment in a café in Marseille, where on the glass of a window, the reflection of the interior appeared superimposed upon the outside view (Francis Picabia dans les collections du Centre Pompidou Musée d'art moderne, exh. cat., Paris, 2003, p. 71). The origin of this new style, however, also relates to Picabia's interest in cinema. In 1924, Picabia had in fact co-written with René Char the scenario of Entr'acte, an experimental film in which images are juxtaposed and superimposed without serving the unfolding of a logical narrative. Applying this cinematic strategy to his paintings, Picabia found a way of expanding the temporal and spatial settings of his images, creating an effect of simultaneity and speed. Writing twenty years after the Transparencies were created, Marcel Duchamp explained that works such as Janiria were pioneering pictures in which Picabia succeeded in suggesting the third dimension without recurring to mathematical perspective, pushing figuration on to new terrains (M. Duchamp, 'Francis Picabia: Painter, Writer', pp. 4-5, in Collection of the Société Anonyme: Museum of Modern Art 1920, New Haven, 1950, p. 5).

Picabia's use of Antique and Classical sources in the Transparencies has led some scholars to relate works such as Janiria to the broader European context of the retour à l'ordre. Instead of presenting obliging homages to the past, however, Picabia's Transparencies seem to work more as provocative pastiches: 'Our back is enough to contemplate the respectful past', Picabia once said (F. Picabia in 1930, quoted in Francis Picabia: Singulier idéal, exh. cat., Paris, 2003, p. 314). Appearing as a sort of visual enigma, Janiria baffles the viewer's effort to decipher its meaning. Despite their misleadingly mythological-sounding names, moreover, the titles of the Transparencies were often invented by Picabia or extracted randomly from the small Atlas de poche des papillons de France, Suisse et Belgique which was found in his studio: under a slightly different spelling, 'Janira' is in fact the name of a brown species of butterfly.

When Picabia painted Janiria around 1928-1930, he was living on the Côte d'Azur, experiencing a period of great creativity. In 1928 an exhibition of his Transparencies at the Théophile Briant Gallery in Paris gained him a prestigious commission when the legendary dealer Léonce Rosenberg asked the artist to conceive a decorative cycle of eight panels for his wife's apartment. At the same time, Picabia enjoyed a mondain lifestyle, speeding on cars and boats and designing a series of themed gala nights at Cannes's nightclub Le Château de Madrid. Viewed in this context, works such as Janiria have also been interpreted as witty and disguised critiques of the lifestyle on the Côte d'Azur, contrasting the frivolous, modern reality of the holiday resorts of the Mediterranean with its elegant Classical past, and also allowing Picabia to add another layer of playful provocation.

Francis Picabia (22 January 1879 – 30 November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, poet and typographist. After experimenting with Impressionism and Pointillism, Picabia became associated with Cubism. His highly abstract planar compositions were colourful and rich in contrasts. He was one of the early major figures of the Dada movement in the United States and in France. He was later briefly associated with Surrealism, but would soon turn his back on the art establishment.

Available as a fine art print and as a stretched canvas panel (heavy fine art canvas stretched over 1.5 inch deep edge solid wood frame).

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deep edge canvas prints

  

All prints are made using archival art stocks and UV pigment inks to give up to 200 years life. Prints are sold unframed and unmounted.

 

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All orders for unframed fine art prints and original paintings are dispatched within 2 working days of receipt of payment.

Orders for custom framed prints are dispatched within 4 working days.

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Size and Printed Materials

Fine art papers are printed without any additional white border Please let us know at the time of ordering if you would like a small additional white border.

Rolled canvas options have an additional white border of approximately 2.5 inches (7cm) on all 4 sides to aid stretching.

Ready to hang canvas panels are stretched on 1.5 inch deep solid pine frames from sustainable forestry sources. The image is mirrored on all 4 sides to give an aesthetically pleasing finish.

Gift Wrap Option

Why not have us gift wrap your order and attach a personalised message to the recipient. Available for all orders. Each order is hand wrapped in high quality gift wrap with meatllic ribbon and bow. Your personalised message is printed on a card which is included with your order.

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Why Choose GalleryThane?

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What makes our Prints and Canvas Panels so special

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We have invested in the latest wide format print technology to produce museum quality giclee prints utilising the highest quality pigment inks to give outstanding colour reproduction.

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We print on the finest quality fine art papers with textured, smooth and lustre finishes for prints which last a lifetime.

From aceo miniatures to 40x80 inch large format, every print has our lifetime quality guaranteee.

cotton canvas stretched over solid wood frame

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All of the wood for our canvas panels and frames is responsibly sourced from manages forests. Our cotton canvas is completely seedless for the highest quality reproduction possible.

Have Your Gift Wrapped

Giftwrapping available for all orders.

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Frames and Mounts

Custom Frames and mounts in lots of colours. Have your print delivered mounted and framed - ready to hang on your wall.

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WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS SAY

This was a present for my wife and she loves it. The quality is very good. Thanks for your excellent service.

Fantastic packaging and a stunning print. Thank you!

Great quality and a good idea to include a 'free gift' mini-pic to show what the other finishes are like.

Really excellent print quality! I have just had my print framed and it looks great thank you

This arrived quickly and is great quality, thank you! :)

My art print arrived quickly and in excellent condition! Very high quality print! Thank you!!

love my print! Very fast professional service Thank you very much

I ordered the canvas panel as a gift for my sister and she was delighted the canvas is really good quality and perfectly stretched. The finish on the back was really profesionally done too

Amazing print well printed and a reasonable price

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