Jules de Balincourt (French, born 1972). <em>Not Yet Titled</em>, 2007. Oil on panel, 96 × 72 × 2 in. (243.8 × 182.9 × 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchase gift of Shelley Fox Aarons and Philip E. Aarons, Bruce and Bridgitt Evans, the Arthur and Constance Zeckendorf Foundation, John and Barbara Vogelstein, Arline and Norman Feinberg, Suzi and Andrew B. Cohen, and David and Joan Genser, 2007.34. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2007.34_PS6.jpg)

Jules de Balincourt (French, born 1972). Not Yet Titled, 2007. Oil on panel, 96 × 72 × 2 in. (243.8 × 182.9 × 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchase gift of Shelley Fox Aarons and Philip E. Aarons, Bruce and Bridgitt Evans, the Arthur and Constance Zeckendorf Foundation, John and Barbara Vogelstein, Arline and Norman Feinberg, Suzi and Andrew B. Cohen, and David and Joan Genser, 2007.34. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2007.34_PS6.jpg)

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Tell me more.

That is a new addition to our collection! This contemporary work by Jules de Balincourt builds on the 19th century Hudson River School tradition of portraying dramatic landscapes.

Unlike his predecessors, Balincourt doesn't draw on specific details of actual sites, but rather favors a generic touristic landscape.

I love his style of painting. The flat, painterly, almost intentionally naive technique was part of a general revival that occurred in the early 21st century.

Hello tell me more about this painting.

The artist has painted this generic tourist landscape with a steep waterfall and a river lined with palm trees! You'll notice tiny people in boats and along the shore in a relaxed atmosphere. His bright colors and sharp shapes make this piece stand out.

Is this from the artist's imagination?

It is! It's an invented scene. The artist, de Balincourt, was inspired by the Hudson River School, a loosely organized 19th century group of painters that depicted the American landscape. However, he veers away from the Hudson River School model by painting a non specific landscape, rather than specific locations with clear references. He has said of his work, "It's funny, no matter how much I try to experiment or or into other directions, these little populations, or communities of people congregating always seem to reappear. After so many years of painting, I've given up the fight of the desire to change this about by work and am interested in these spaces and places that teeter between utopian Eden and the post-apocalyptic."

What can you tell me about this lovely work?

Jules de Balincourt is a Brooklyn based artist and many of his works are drawn out of the fabric of American culture. Here, he is building on the work of the Hudson River School. They helped put American art on the map in the 19th century and inspired patriotism by painting dramatic landscapes of the new nation. Interestingly, de Balincourt portrays an unknown location rather than a specific place as was typical of their work.

Not Yet Titled

Jules de Balincourt

Contemporary Art

On View:

Jules de Balincourt’s monumental painting Not Yet Titled continues a tradition of portraying dramatic landscapes that characterized the Hudson River School of painters. Unlike his predecessors, whose elaborate studio canvases drew on specific details of actual sites, here de Balincourt favors a generic touristic landscape with a steep waterfall that empties into a body of water ringed by palm trees. Tiny figures in boats enhance the atmosphere of leisure-time pleasure, which is set against the forces of nature. Utilizing a flat, painterly, almost intentionally naïve technique of painting, de Balincourt can be regarded as part of a general revival of painting that began to occur in the early twenty-first century. The acquisition of Not Yet Titled will initiate an intriguing dialogue between contemporary practice and the distinguished nineteenth-century American landscape paintings in the collection. Born in France and educated in the United States, de Balincourt is based in Brooklyn.

ARTIST Jules de Balincourt, French, born 1972

MEDIUM Oil on panel

DATES 2007

DIMENSIONS 96 × 72 × 2 in. (243.8 × 182.9 × 5.1 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Contemporary Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 2007.34

CREDIT LINE Purchase gift of Shelley Fox Aarons and Philip E. Aarons, Bruce and Bridgitt Evans, the Arthur and Constance Zeckendorf Foundation, John and Barbara Vogelstein, Arline and Norman Feinberg, Suzi and Andrew B. Cohen, and David and Joan Genser

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Jules de Balincourt (French, born 1972). Not Yet Titled, 2007. Oil on panel, 96 × 72 × 2 in. (243.8 × 182.9 × 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchase gift of Shelley Fox Aarons and Philip E. Aarons, Bruce and Bridgitt Evans, the Arthur and Constance Zeckendorf Foundation, John and Barbara Vogelstein, Arline and Norman Feinberg, Suzi and Andrew B. Cohen, and David and Joan Genser, 2007.34. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2007.34_PS6.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 2007.34_PS6.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2011

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