Angele

Angele is the name of Carles’s model, and the subject of his nearby painting Woman with Red Hair. Angele’s bright red tresses are likewise the focus of this portrait, in which they contrast sharply with her pale skin and the cool blues of the background. Carles renders the figure more abstractly than in Woman with Red Hair, prioritizing the drama of color. Here, he engages the French Fauvism movement through his use of powerful colors and strong brushstrokes. Further, Carles’s work departed increasingly from naturalism throughout his life, and Angele witnesses a middle ground between the realistic landscapes and portraits of his early career and his later, fully abstract compositions. 

Born in Philadelphia, Carles had a staggering impact on the development of American modernism and abstract painting both through his own work and his role as a teacher. He was a powerful and controversial instructor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts who embraced the modern age and introduced his students to the work and ideas of the European avant-garde. Paintings by several of his students are in Woodmere’s collection, including Quita Brodhead, Jane Piper, Faye Swengel Badura, Bernard Badura, Jessie Drew-Bear, Elizabeth Godshalk Burger, Morris Blackburn, and Leon Kelly.

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Please note that work by this particular artist might not be on view when you visit.
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