Bach

 

Mervin Jules

 

c. 1960  

color woodcut 

24 5/8 x 9 7/8" image size 

pencil, lower right 

131 of 150  

pencil titled and editioned 

 

heavy Japanese wove 

published 

artist 

17977 

SOLD

Mervin Jules often portrayed music and dance images in his woodcuts, many in this long, thin format. Born in Baltimore, Maryland on March 21, 1912, Mervin Jules received artistic training at Baltimore City College and the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) graduating in 1934. Prior to his study, in Baltimore Jules designed silk prints, painted china, cared for children and helped in his father's clothing shop in order to make ends meet; he received a scholarship to attend MICA in 1932 at the age of 18. At MICA, Jules studied art and art education for two years. The first artwork he exhibited was in 1935 at The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in the All-Maryland show. Jules later studied in New York at the Art Students League (1937) under Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975). Mervin Jules held his first one-man show in New York City in November 1937. He was artist-in-residence at Smith College from 1945 to 1946 and a professor from 1946 to 1969. In 1969 he became chairman of the art department at the City College of New York. In addition to teaching and exhibiting his work, Jules published articles about art. He had a studio in Provincetown, Massachusetts Jules' focus on images of social commentary and caricature led him to an admiration for the works of Rembrandt, Francisco Goya, and particularly Honoré Daumier. Jules typically used dramatic and evocative lighting where sinewy figures emerge from darkened backgrounds, much like the paintings of Daumier. Like other social realist artists, his subjects are most often depictions of the plight of the poor and disadvantaged. Jules' works also encompassed satires against fascism and social ills. Jules died on July 29, 1994 in Provincetown, Massachusetts.