Frederick Carl Frieseke: "Peace"

"Peace" by Frederick Carl Frieseke

"The war progressed, and Fred and Sadie Frieseke continued the routines of life and work in Paris and Giverny, wintering in the south of France between October 1917 and the spring of 1918. Among the paintings sent to Macbeth in the fall of 1917 was one whose title, 'Peace,' given the context of the World War during which it was composed, suggests more than a passing consideration for the metaphorical significance of its subject. It represents what we read as a mother seated in the nursery, sewing, next to her child's cradle. It is as domestic a subject as may be imagined. The model is Louise, a native of Giverny who posed frequently for Frieseke at this time, and the cradle was that of Frieseke's daughter, who had long outgrown it. The message of the painting's title was not lost on its American audience when it was shown in 1918. One reporter observed:

 'Woman as the hope and consolation of the race is the basic thought of Frieseke's 'Peace'... Altogether, the picture is full of hope for a new generation that shall not be obsessed by frightfulness... Frieseke's picture evokes a vision of the time forecast in the words of the prophet Micah, 'And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift a sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more.'

Very likely the painting's title was Sadie's contribution since she assisted when a shipment of paintings must be given titles. An earlier or preparatory version of the subject was called simply 'In the Nursery.' Whatever the painter's intention, and however the title came about, we can only applaud the happy coincidence of the painter's craft and the journalist's reading." 

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Frederick Carl Frieseke: A Biography by Nicholas Kilmer" in Frederick Carl Frieseke: The Evolution of an American Impressionist"published on the occasion of an exhibition of Frieseke's work.)