Garden Scene

Arnold Schönberg’s painting is characterized by its spontaneity and diversity, making use of almost all the materials available at the time in both the supports and the media employed. The paintings at the Arnold Schönberg Center (permanent loan from Belmont Music Publishers), representing about three quarters of his œuvre, show the use of more than 50 different combinations of materials. A striking feature is Schönberg’s frequent neglect of priming, which with two exceptions is never used on plywood or board – possibly on account of his preference for a rapid and fluid approach. He is unworried by the showing through and visual impact of the support, and may even have welcomed such effects. In this, as in his rejection of varnish to procure an even gloss – in his desire, then, for the immediacy of pure color – he is truly at one with the Modernism of his day.