Modernism Project (MOMA)

I had never been to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) before but as  I made my way up to the fifth floor I found a piece of art that caught my attention amidst the other amazing pieces. I was looking at “The Eternal City” by Peter Blume. 

Peter Blume was an American artist but was born in Russia in 1906. His family then moved to Brooklyn in which he later started his art career. His artwork is known for having aspects of modernism such as cubism and surrealism. 

The artwork that caught my attention was titled “The Eternal City”.  The focus point of the piece seemed to be the image of a man with a green face whose body was a jack-in-the-box. The face is staring at a woman begging for money who sits on pieces of broken statues. Behind the old lady is a depiction that appears to be Jesus sitting inside of a glass box. The green face has an angry look and it glares over a group of people who could be the people of the city. However, the frame seems to be split diagonally by the essence of lightness and darkness. The top right half of the frame is depicted with mountains, trees, and what seems like a lively city while the bottom half is in ruins centered on dark colors. The depiction of the face is a clear aspect of surrealism of which peter Blume is well known. The fact that the face is not on a body but instead a jack-in-the-box demonstrates an illogical juxtaposition which is a modernism characteristic of art. Furthermore, aspects of cubism are demonstrated on the left of the frame with the structures of the bricks and city being displayed with broken-up pieces to demonstrate a 3-dimensional aspect. This cubism is also noted when closely looking at the old woman’s face. 

After doing some further research on the context of the art, I was able to better understand the aspects and techniques implemented by Blume. For example, the first detail I picked up was that the green face in the painting was supposed to symbolize a depiction of Benito Mussolini. Mussolini was an Italian politician and funder of the fascist party. Immediately, the art gained some political meaning. This depiction of Mussolini almost makes him seem “monster-like” and his angry gaze is pointed directly at a begging woman. After reading MOMA’s website, I discovered that Blume’s inspiration came from a trip he took to Rome in 1932. With Mussolini being a representation of fascism, it is clear to me that the cause of the ruins and poverty stems from the fascist takeover according to the artist. From this perspective, I believe that the artist seems to relay the message that the once lively and blooming city of Rome was merely destroyed to ruins by the monster figure of Mussolini and his fascist party.