Wayne Thiebaud was a very influential painter in my early life, and I’m saddened how readily his work is treated by indifference by so many. Indeed, why should we care about a painter of bland pastries? Well, it is very unfortunate that most articles on Mr Thiebaud invariably feature images of layer cakes and cartoon characters. Looking beyond this reductive approach, we quickly discover Thiebaud's perspective-challenging cityscapes or flowing rural landscapes, which instantly position him as one of the quintessential American painters of the last 70 years.
For years based in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill, Thiebaud’s art interpreted the city’s magnificent grid layout. With its oscillating hills and valleys, the city in his paintings performs a wonderful balancing act. Thiebaud doesn’t focus on architectural beauty, instead finding compositional challenges in vertigo-inducing streets that skew at impossible angles. Some drop and rise at 90-degrees, pushing the art into levels of near abstraction. In his city views, the artist applies mostly muted colours, but their thick tonal range is magnificent. Each canvas breathes with extreme dynamic tension. The only other artist who understood San Francisco’s unique magic with similar intimacy was Richard Diebenkorn.
Of course, Thiebaud was equally adventurous with rural landscapes, especially those of the Sacramento river delta and the Sierra Nevada mountains. His Delta views are typically given an aerial perspective, exploring natural ground patterns caused by the river and agricultural divisions of land. Thiebaud was a master of perspective, but he could also displace a vanishing point or two to great compositional effect. Again, his palette generally veers toward pastel, but there are also tremendous juxtapositions of complementary hues – Thiebaud was a spectacular, if sometimes subtle, colourist.
Figurative work and portraiture should also be mentioned. Unlike his ingenious landscapes, Thiebaud humans are never distorted – he treats them with due anatomical accuracy (except for the Clown series). The poses are deliberately stiff, frequently symmetrical, yet vibrant and joyful in their colours. In that, Thiebaud is the exact opposite of, say, Lucien Freud. There is nothing radical or primal in his figurative work. This artist is a methodical, relentless pursuer of a life-affirming vibe, not ugliness.
Lastly, if possible, I would urge you to find a Thiebaud painting near you and look at it in person. Obviously, with every work of art a new layer of appreciation emerges when one is faced with the actual item, not a digital or print reproduction. With Thiebaud, such pleasure magnifies tenfold. Even with the maligned cakes which made him famous, if you see them up close and personal, you can dismiss the subject and savour the intricacy of Thiebaud’s strokes. He is one of the most tactile painters I’ve ever encountered. The textures themselves are worth your investigation.
If you are new to Wayne Thiebaud, disregard the Mickey Mouse and pastries promoted by the art world machine (even though they are good works). Go straight for the jugular of his city views and landscapes and let them take you on a fantastic adventure.
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