Paris
Bearden spent eight months in Paris in 1950. He was so taken with
the city that he did not visit museums but instead, absorbed Parisian
life. He studied philosophy at the Sorbonne. Began friendships with
African-American writers James Baldwin and Richard Wright. Met several
French artists, including cubist painter Georges Braque and sculptor
Constantin Brancusi. At the end of his visit Bearden did not want
to leave. His friend, the cultural critic, essayist, and novelist
Albert Murray, said, "Romie spent the whole day buying paper...all
kinds of drawing papers—rice papers, special sizes and
surfaces, different colors. His eyes got more and more moist the
later it got."
One reason Bearden turned to songwriting in the 1950s was in hopes
of raising funds for a return to Paris.
Americans in Paris at the Café de Flore (Bearden wearing hat). Romare Bearden Foundation, New York, photo: Morgan and Marvin Smith |
The Caribbean
In 1973 Bearden and his wife Nanette built a house on the Caribbean
island of St. Martin, Antilles, Nanette's ancestral home. The house
sat near a mountain. Bearden described it as "a 2,500 foot green
fountain of splashing, cascading elephant ears, wild orchids, avocados,
and
bamboo canes…rising out of the sea…"
Romare Bearden, In a Green Shade (Hommage
[sic] to Marvell), 1984, Yvonne and Richard McCracken
In this intimate view of an island pool, intense hues of water, sky,
and foliage are lit by the sun, a russet globe in the right sky. A
broad shimmer on the water illuminates a figure in silhouette bending
down to bathe. |
The island's lush landscape—with woodlands,
rocky precipices, pools of water, and panoramic ocean views—joined
Bearden's repertoire of subjects. He was particularly sensitive to
the brilliant effects of island sunlight on nature.
Bearden was skilled at identifying continuity among cultures. Echoing
his images of the African-American conjur women, are those he made
of the island Obeah woman, who "thought she made the sun rise…"
The spirit figure's blend of intuition, magic, and ancient rites manifest
what Bearden called the "prevalence of ritual."
Romare Bearden, Obeah
in a Trance, 1984, Estate of Romare Bearden, courtesy of the Romare
Bearden Foundation, New York
Bearden made many images of the Caribbean
Obeah woman, including this one. When sixteen were exhibited in
New York
City in 1984, the title of each was given in English, French, and
Creole.
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