Hyman Bloom's Spiritual Investigations of Life and Death at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts
From July 13, 2019, to February 23, 2020, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston hosted the exhibition 'Hyman Bloom: Matters of Life and Death,' curated by Erica E. Hirshler. This showcase highlighted Bloom's provocative pieces from the 1940s and 1950s, featuring studies of medical cadavers and human remains. Bloom rose to prominence through the Museum of Modern Art's 1942 exhibition 'Americans 1942' and represented the United States at the Venice Biennale in 1950. Notable artworks included 'Self-Portrait' (1948), 'Christmas Tree' (1944), and corpse paintings such as 'Corpse of Man' (1944). His Jewish heritage and diverse philosophical influences infused his work with spiritual themes, underscoring his importance in American art history.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'Hyman Bloom: Matters of Life and Death' ran from July 13, 2019 to February 23, 2020
- Held at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston at 465 Huntington Avenue
- Curated by Erica E. Hirshler
- Focus on Bloom's 1940s-1950s corpse and cadaver paintings
- Bloom represented US at 1950 Venice Biennale with Marin, Gorky, Pollock, de Kooning
- Included in MoMA's 1942 'Americans 1942' exhibition
- Had Whitney Museum retrospectives in 1954 and 1968
- Spiritual influences included Jewish mysticism, Ouspensky, Blavatsky, and eastern religions
Entities
Artists
- Hyman Bloom
- John Marin
- Arshile Gorky
- Jackson Pollock
- Willem de Kooning
- Wassily Kandinsky
- Piet Mondrian
- Mark Rothko
- Jean Dubuffet
- Wols
- Jean Fautrier
- Francis Bacon
- Odilon Redon
- Marc Chagall
- Chaim Soutine
- Giuseppe Arcimboldo
Institutions
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- Museum of Modern Art
- Whitney Museum
- Venice Biennale
Locations
- Boston
- Massachusetts
- United States
- New York
- Venice
- Italy
- Dimini
- Greece