Tag Archives: The Death of Marat

The Lebowski Cycle – The Baptism of Christ (After Carracci)

Baptism of Christ (After Carracci) • Joe Forkan 2011, oil on linen 24” x 38"”

Here is another painting from the exhibition. I haven’t written much about the process of the last few paintings that I’ve posted, but I will update the posts with more information after the opening. This painting is based on the tradition of Baptism paintings, of which there are many variations.

Baptism of Christ • Annibale Carracci 1584 Oil on canvas San Gregorio, Bologna

This is the smallest painting in the Cycle, and the composition is much simpler than the other work. Initially it was much more complex, with plans for two additional panels, but ultimately I decided the middle panel did everything I wanted the painting to do.

I was particularly drawn to Annibale Carracci’s painting on the theme from 1584.

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The Lebowski Cycle at The Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA • Sept 10 – Oct 28, 2011

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 10th 6-10pm

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I will be giving a Gallery Talk about the Lebowski Cycle at the Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion on Thursday, September 29th, from 7-10.

More info on the lecture and the exhibition is available here:

The Lebowski Cycle – Jester (After Velazquez’s Portrait of Pablo de Valladolid)

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Jester (After Velazquez's Portrait of Pablo de Valladolid) • Joe Forkan oil on linen, 48" x 76" (121.92 cm x 193.04 cm)

THE LEBOWSKI CYCLE – (Wall text from the exhibition) The Lebowski Cycle is a series of paintings and drawings exploring layered narratives, using masterpieces of European art and the 1998 Coen Brothers’ film The Big Lebowski as a starting point. The series is the result of a longstanding interest in narrative painting, particularly paintings from the Baroque and Neoclassical eras; complex figurative works that depict grand story arcs, compressing a multitude of thoughts, ideas and emotions into a singular image. However, it is the human interactions and conflicts, formal qualities, and modes of depiction that were as interesting to me as the specific stories. I wanted to explore these ideas, but looked for a way to mitigate the grand seriousness that historical and religious paintings often contain. I started thinking about The Big Lebowski, (a favorite film, obviously) trying to imagine how the characters, humor and preposterous story arc of the film might be enlisted to explore multiple points of view, moods, and intentions if combined with themes and titles from well-known works of European art. The combination led to hybrid images that reference art history, film, and contemporary art, from sources that inform, overlap and may even contradict each other, all run back through the imprecise language of painting. – Joe Forkan

Portrait of Pablo de Valladolid • Diego Velázquez 1636-1637 Oil on canvas 212.4 cm × 125 cm (49.2" x 84") Museo del Prado, Madrid

The Fifer • Edouard Manet 18 Oil on canvas 161 cm x 97 cm (63" x 38 1/2") Musee d'Orsay, Paris

Detail - Jester (After Velazquez's Portrait of Pablo de Valladolid) • Joe Forkan oil on linen, 48" x 76" (121.92 cm x 193.04 cm)

The Lebowski Cycle at The Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA • Sept 10 – Oct 28, 2011 Opening Reception: Saturday, September 10th 6-10pm

The Lebowski Cycle – Venus (After Titian)

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Venus • Joe Forkan 2011, oil on linen, 72" x 50"

Here is another painting from The Lebowski Cycle. I was looking at Titian’s Venus of Urbino and Manet’s Olympia. I’ll be posting more on this soon.

Venus of Urbino • Titian 1538 Oil on canvas 119 cm × 165 cm (47" × 65") Uffizi, Florence

Olympia • Édouard Manet 1863 Oil on canvas 130.5 cm × 190 cm (51.4" × 74.8") Musée d'Orsay, Paris

The Lebowski Cycle at The Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA • Sept 10 – Oct 28, 2011

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 10th 6-10pm

The Lebowski Cycle – Sacred and Profane Love

The Lebowski Cycle – Process: The Death of Marat

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The Death of Marat (After David) • Joe Forkan 2008, oil on linen, 96" x 58"

I tried to come at this painting from many different directions. I had been thinking about the tension between figuration and abstraction in painting method and painting movements, particularly the many different directions in painting since the Neoclassical period, when David was working.

Sketch for Death of Marat • Joe Forkan 2008 oil on paper

Death of Marat Jacques-Louis David 1793 Oil on canvas 162 cm × 128 cm (64 in × 50 in) Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels

David used his paintings to extol the virtue’s of the state. The Death of Marat was essentially a political document from the French revolution. “David was active in numerous agencies of the reign of terror, and historians have identified more than 300 victims for whom David signed execution orders” (source). The idea of a contemporary artist signing execution orders for the state fortunately seems quite odd and extremely unlikely.

Abstract and minimalist works are a departure from the depiction of reality by way of representational imagery and are often considered apolitical.

I was thinking very much about the collision of those styles and ideologies as I painted this, and was drawn to de Kooning’s Excavation and the work of Brice Marden.

A recurring joke in The Big Lebowski is that Uli (the man floating in the pool) is a nihilist. -”He doesn’t care about anything”.

“That must be exhausting,” Lebowski replies.

Excavation • Willem De Kooning 1950 Oil on canvas 80 in x 100 in Art Institute of Chicago

Vine • Brice Marden 1991-93 Oil on linen, 96 x 102 1/2" Museum of Modern Art, New York

Detail - The Death of Marat (After David) • Joe Forkan 2008

Joe Forkan's blog • Notes about Painting

Joe Forkan's blog Notes about paintings and process