Gari Melchers: Murals

Study for "The Arts of Peace" by Gari Melchers

"Gari Melchers executed two sets of mural paintings during the 1890s: The Columbian Exposition murals of 1893 and the Library of Congress murals done two years later. Closely related in style and subject matter, these works represent a departure from his typical realistic subjects. Although his murals were wall decorations intended for a specific site, they were not painted directly on the wall. Executed in oil on canvas, they were only later affixed to the wall surface. Melchers' murals of this period anticipate those he would later paint for the Missouri State Capitol and Cass Gilbert's Detroit Public Library building.

In 1890 Congress designated the city of Chicago as the site for a large international exposition; three years later the World's Columbian Exposition was opened to the public. Within this short time span an army of architects, decorators, landscape architects, painters, and sculptors transformed the marshy grounds of Chicago's Jackson Park on Lake Michigan into the splendid and ostentatious 'White City'. 

Melchers contributed to the exposition in three capacities - as a judge, an exhibiting artist, and muralist. He served on the International Board of Judges, along with William Merritt Chase, Francis D. Millet, Worthington Whittredge, John LaFarge, Robert Swain Gifford, and others. This group was charged with selecting  the American paintings to be shown at the exposition. To prevent a conflict of interests, judges were not eligible for any awards. Melchers did, however, exhibit seven paintings.

His murals were, however, his most important contribution to the exposition. He painted two large-scale lunettes for the gigantic Manufacturers and Liberal Arts Building. They were allegorical paintings depicting the 'Arts of Peace' and the 'Arts of War,' and their style was directly influenced by the work of Puvis de Chavannes. They now grace the walls of the Library of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and two small-scale preparatory sketches are in the Belmont collection.

His work on these murals brought him into contact with other American artists and with the patron class that sponsored the American Renaissance. He became better known to an American clientele because of the public exposure and thus was able to win portrait commissions in Chicago and Detroit. Besides  several portraits he had painted for the Potter Palmers, he also did portraits of Chicago socialites, Mrs. George Pullman, Mrs. Ogden Armour and Mrs. Arthur Caton, among others."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Gari Melchers: His Life and Art" by Joseph G. Dreiss.)