Cy Twombly ( 1928 – 2011 )
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The American painter, draftsman, printmaker, and occasional sculptor Cy Twombly was a polarizing figure in the art world. His supporters noted the power of the artist’s lines, his emotional power, and the serious engagement with shared cultural and historical memory, among other qualities. His detractors, most notably Donald Judd in a scathing review in 1964, saw little more than scribbles and drips. Ultimately Twombly’s legacy has proven enduring, and he is considered a major figure of twentieth- and twenty first-century art.
Twombly was born in Lexington, Virginia, on 25 April 1928. From 1948 to 1951 he studied art at several institutions, including Washington and Lee University in Lexington, the Museum School in Boston, and the Art Students League in New York. It was at the Art Students League that Twombly met the artist Robert Rauschenberg, with whom he developed a lasting friendship. At Rauschenberg’s encouragement, Twombly went to study for a semester at Black Mountain College in North Carolina from 1951 to 1952.
After a period of traveling with Rauschenberg around Southern Europe and North Africa and then working in New York, Twombly relocated to Rome in 1957. The move was a curious one for an emerging artist, as the art scene was decidedly shifting toward New York rather than Europe.
But in many ways it was a characteristic decision for Twombly, who sought privacy and a path that was markedly his own. In Rome Twombly met Baroness Tatiana Franchetti, an Italian artist and the sister of one of his patrons. The pair were married in New York in 1959 and subsequently settled in Gaeta, south of Rome.
Although Twombly frequently traveled abroad and returned to the States, Italy proved to have a significant and lasting effect on his works. The artist found inspiration in Classical landscapes and literature, and his paintings took on notable graphic and textual elements. The history and geography of the Mediterranean, the mythology of Ancient Greece and Rome, and epic poetry all influenced Twombly’s artistic output.
By the 1980s, American collectors and critics began to look at Twombly with increasing appreciation, especially as his work inspired a younger generation of artists. Since then major museums in America and Europe have included Twombly as part of their collections, and his works have remained popular and influential in the art world.