Oil Paintings Reproductions

About The Artist - Robert Delaunay (1885-1941)

Robert Delaunay, a French artist, was known for his use of "orphism", which is similar to abstraction and cubism, in his paintings.

About The Painting - Eiffel Tower

A childhood scarred by divorce of his parents, Robert Delaunay began painting in a mature and confident style by the time he was 18. In 1909, Delaunay started to paint a series of academic paintings on Paris and the Eiffel Tower. He also became a member of The Blue Rider when invited by Wassily Kandinsky in 1911 forcing his art to gain expression in abstraction.

As Delaunay began painting on Paris and the Eiffel Tower, his personal style began to become apparent and the Eiffel Tower is one of his best works. This oil on canvas is currently exhibited in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

The Eiffel Tower is a view into the walkway of the Parisian Gothic church Saint-Severin. The light streaming through the stained glass windows add modulations and depth to the painting while resulting in distortion of the viewer's sense of perspective and architecture. The color palette is subdued, while patches of color break up the otherwise smooth surface.

The Eiffel Tower series of paintings were Delaunay's attempt to explore the fragments of Cubism. The paintings depict the Eiffel Tower and the buildings surrounding it from many different perspectives. The subject matter helped Delaunay indulge in his predilection for wide open spaces, light and atmosphere. The theme also allowed him to evoke a sign of modernity, growth, and progress that France was making. After all, the Eiffel Tower is a typical French symbol of aspiration and ability to invent. The Eiffel Tower painted in 1911 is a painting that illustrates the many surrounding buildings bracketing this steel masterpiece's curves like drapery.