Cleenewerck's Painting Of The Chinese Fishing Village Of 1880

Many have grappled with the compelling question of what it means to be modern in art; Charles Baudelaire coined the term modernity associated with art. Baudelaire did not simply address the obvious and state that modernity is the “ephemeral, the fugitive, the contingent,” that is to say, that modernity is simply the contemporary.1 He also stated that for art to be modern one had to capture what is contemporary and in such a way that it would be framed as history. One has to move away from past art and make history of what is current by portraying it as it is and not distorting it with past guidelines, so that the transitory can live. Henry Cleenewerck’s painting of the Chinese Fishing Village of 1880 has these qualities and Baudelaire would
Only when the viewer retreats a few steps from the image can one appreciate what Cleenwerck has painted. This is essential to the concept of modernity because Cleenwerck is departing from the inscribed painting techniques in which art is very structured and detailed. Cleenwerck utilizes an open brush strokes in his painting and these allow him to create images which seem coherent, but lack detail and the viewer is not able to distinguish faces and in some case bodies. These open brush stokes allow for depictions of art that imply a figure/object; however, when one focuses on these images they are not what they imply, such as the fishermen in the background and the shrubs in the foreground — they are mere brush strokes that imply something else. Through this technique Cleenwerck is able to begin framing this contemporary painting as historical because of its new innovative
The viewer in this painting is positioned slightly above the other fishermen as if one where looking out on to the shore. The architecture of the houses and the landscape of the mountains (these too create depth) draw the viewer’s gaze out to sea there is some ambiguity because one begins to wonder if the viewer is also a Chinese fisherman about to go fishing. While being in this state of mind and considering if oneself is a fisherman, there is some hope of being successful because of the lighting with encompasses the entire canvas but there is also a sensation of despair because the light seems to be cold. There are also some gray clouds in the sky that seem menacing and overall there is a hint of gloom because of all of the dull colors used in this painting. Most of the colors, except the fishermen’s clothing, appear dull and this helps set a tone of faint despair which serves to capture an actual sentiment that might have been felt among these people who seem to live in poverty. By capturing this sensation/sentiment Cleenwerck is aiding this transitory period last because it is still being appreciated today and because most of the artwork was derived from the exact period through which the Chinese in America were living and experiencing