Construction

Max Weber’s Construction is an abstract composition of intersecting planes and lines in browns, greens, blues, and grays. Roughly applied strokes of mottled color suggest three-dimensional forms that resolve and dissolve incongruously, simultaneously evoking such disparate objects as sails, angular industrial structures, and a human face, shoulder, and hand. The soothing natural tones relieve the sense of unsettling movement in the jagged, swirling forms, partly the effect of raw, evident brushwork that leaves areas of the canvas unpainted for a deliberately unfinished appearance.

Construction is one of a group of works in which Weber explored a variety of non-representational approaches to painting drawn from contemporary European modernist movements as well as the traditional arts of non-Western cultures. Between the artist’s return from Paris in 1910 and 1920, he sought ways to incorporate emerging ideas in science and metaphysics into visual expressions of spiritual universality as well as such modern themes as urban experience. During this highly experimental decade in Weber’s career, he was an important link between his compatriots and such avant-garde Europeans as Henri Matisse (1869–1954) and Pablo Picasso (1881–1973). Like many of his contemporaries, Weber was particularly interested in the idea of a fourth dimension, which he described as the extension of “space-magnitude in all directions.” He believed that the fourth dimension could be perceived relative to the physical presence of objects, and as the “ideal measurement” it demanded the imaginative consideration of artists.

Weber’s concept of the fourth dimension was closely related to the universal dynamism articulated by influential French philosopher Henri Bergson in his notion of a vitalistic universe of ceaseless motion and change. For many, the city was the quintessential manifestation of the relentless flux that characterized modernity. In 1915, the year he painted Construction, Weber was particularly immersed in urban themes. With its fragmented composition, Construction suggests the frantic pace of New York. Weber’s vigorous brushstrokes not only form the pulsating swirling arcs and angular wedges of his composition but also convey the turbulence of urban life—the rapidity of transportation, the dynamism of the thronging streets, and the monumentality of construction projects. While not a depiction of a specific setting, Construction evokes the forceful motion of machinery as it transforms the organic forms of nature into the solid geometry of urban structures. Created at the height of World War I, Construction might be read as an optimistic painting from the title alone. It reflects simultaneously the chaos, dynamism, and order that define the American urban landscape.

Max Weber, The Years 1906–1916, Bernard Danenberg Galleries, New York, New York (organizer). Venues: The Paine Art Center and Arboretum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, March 11–April 25, 1970; Bernard Danenberg Galleries, New York, New York, May 12–30, 1970; Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, New Mexico, January 24–February 24, 1971; Davenport Municipal Art Gallery, Davenport, Iowa, May 21–June 5, 1971; De Cordova Museum, Lincoln, Massachusetts, September 26–November 7, 1971; Fort Lauderdale Museum of the Arts, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; The University of Texas, Austin, Texas, February 5–March 12, 1972; The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth, Texas, March 30–May 14, 1972; The University of Connecticut Museum of Art, Storrs, Connecticut. [exh. cat.]

A Proud Heritage, Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–June 21, 1987. [exh. cat.]

Multiple Perspectives: Cubism in Chicago Collections, The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, Illinois, October 6–December 2, 1991.

Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 1992.

Max Weber: The Cubist Decade, 1910–1920, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia (organizer). Venues: Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, September 12–October 26, 1992; The Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, New York, November 13, 1992–January 10, 1993. [exh. cat.]

Selected Works from the Collections: Two Hundred Years of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 12–August 27, 1997.

Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 1999.

L'Amérique et les modernes, 1900–1950 (American Moderns, 1900–1950), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, July 25–October 31, 2000. [exh. cat.]

Selections from the Permanent Collection: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 10–July 1, 2001.

Selections from the Permanent Collection: American Moderns, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, July 14–October 7, 2001.

American Classics: Selections from the Terra Foundation for the Arts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 26–September 1, 2002.

A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003 (on exhibit extended run: November 2, 2002–March 2, 2003).

Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 2004.

Expanded Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, November 2005–October 2012.

Art Across America, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; National Museum of Korea, Seoul, South Korea; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizers). Venues: National Museum of Korea, Seoul, February 4– May 12, 2013; Daejeon Museum of Art, Daejeon, South Korea,  June 7–September 1, 2013. [exh. cat.]

America: Painting a Nation,  Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (organizers). Venue: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, November 9, 2013–February 8, 2014. [exh. cat]

Galleries of American Art with loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, January 2015–August 2018.

Pathways to Modernism: American Art, 1865–1945, Art Institute of Chicago and Terra Foundation for American Art (organizers). Venue:  Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, China, September 28, 2018–January 6, 2019.   [exh. cat.]

Galleries of American Art with loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, March 2019–present.

 

North, Percy and Susan Krane. Max Weber: The Cubist Decade, 1910–1920. (exh. cat., High Museum of Art). Atlanta, Georgia: High Museum of Art, 1991. Text p. 102 (checklist); ill. no. 52, p. 75 (black & white).

Multiple Perspectives: Cubism in Chicago Collections. (exh. cat., The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago). Chicago: The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, 1991. Text (checklist).

Gerdts, William H. et al. Lasting Impressions: American Painters in France, 1865–1915. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1992. Text p. 107; fig. 106, p. 107 (black & white).

Gerdts, William H. et al. Impressions de toujours: les peintres américains en France, 1865–1915. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1992. Text p. 107; fig. 106, p. 107 (black & white).

Construction, Max Weber. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 1992. Ill. (black & white).

Construction, Max Weber. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 1999. Ill. (black & white).

Cartwright, Derrick R. and Paul J. Karlstrom. American Moderns, 1900–1950. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Pl. 31, p. 59 (color).

Cartwright, Derrick R. and Paul J. Karlstrom. L'Amérique et les modernes, 1900–1950. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Pl. 31, p. 59 (color).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 158, 164, 205–206; ill. pp. 14 (color), 165 (color), 205 (black & white).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 158, 164, 205–206; ill. pp. 14 (color), 165 (color), 205 (black & white).

Cassidy, Stephanie R. and Pamela N. Koob. A History in Art – A Timeline of The Arts Students League of New York. New York: The Arts Students League of New York, 2012. Ill. p. 20 (color).

Art Across America. (exh. cat., National Museum of Korea, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Terra Foundation for American Art). Seoul, South Korea: National Museum of Korea, 2013. (English and Korean versions). Text pp. 39, 275; ill. fig. 44, p. 40 (color), p. 274 (color).

America: Painting a Nation. (exh. cat., Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the National Museum of Korea, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Terra Foundation for American Art). Sydney, Australia: Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2013. Text p. 170; ill. cat. no. 56, p. 171 (color).

Pathways to Modernism: American Art, 1865-1945. (exh. cat. Shanghai Museum with Art Institute of Chicago and Terra Foundation for American Art). Shanghai: Shanghai Museum, 2018. Text p. 116; ill. p. 117 (color).

Bourguignon, Katherine M., and Peter John Brownlee, eds. Conversations with the Collection: A Terra Foundation Collection Handbook. Chicago: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2018. Text pp. 241-242, 249; fig. 2, p. 240; ill. p. 249 (color).