Nolan Nadasdy

Mr. Price
AP Language
5 April 2016
Vir Heroicus Sublimis by Barnett Newman
Barnett Newman is known as one of the major figures in the field of abstract
expressionism, a style of art characterized by its emphasis on spontaneous, automatic, or
subconscious creation, similar to surrealism. His painting Vir Heroicus Sublimis, completed in
1951, is an exceptional piece of art that utilizes Newmans signature combination of abstract
expressionism and color. In the flesh the painting is composed of a wide red slate with five
different colored lines, each traveling straight down the painting vertically. Despite this
simplistic composition, the painting holds vastly deeper meaning.
Many critics have labeled Vir Heroicus Sublimis as an attempt by Newman to capture
both the tangible and intangible, as is the style of abstract expressionism which he is known for.
This description is adequate but not detailed, as it is an accurate summarization of the work,
however it cannot capture the way the painting connects with a viewer. While its appearance may
be simplistic, the deeper purpose of the work is to invoke its viewers into a transcendent
experience brought to life by the warm colors and subtle hues of the painting.
Barnett Newman has stated that the intended form of viewing to achieve the ideal
experience is in person, as only then can one truly feel the overwhelming sensualization that the
painting invokes. Despite being able to experience this in person, staring at the digital recreation
of the painting is still enough to allow someone to be engrossed in it. Newman was able to

achieve this feeling and connection with the viewer with only a few discernable colors, and
barely any shape.
The deeper meaning of the painting is up to the viewer to decide as the painting brings
them to experience connections between reality and their surreal imagination. Countless viewers
from critics to ordinary people have experienced a variety of radically different visions invoked
by the painting, each as personalized as the last. The seemingly perfect red background and the
way it is almost unceremoniously broken by the five lines create a perfect portal for people to be
taken to another realm of imagination completely directed by their own interpretation.
This is the beauty of a such a seemingly devoid of meaning and simplistic work of art.
Through the conservative use of different elements Barnett Newman was able to create a work
that without words can make people enter their own world of creativity and imagination with
only a glance. It may not be as pleasing to look at as a more complex painting, but it evokes a
much wider range of emotions in an incredibly simplistic method that other forms of painting
cannot achieve. The painting Vir Heroicus Sublimis is without a doubt a true masterpiece of
abstract expressionism, and is a definitive example of the objective that the field of art seeks to
accomplish. The thing that makes the work admirable is not its complexity, detail, or the drawing
ability of its artist, but instead it is ability to evoke self directed emotion and creativity in its
viewers.

Nolan Nadasdy
Mr. Price

AP Language
5 April 2016
Summary of Analysis by Michael Brtje
In his incredibly thorough and detailed analysis of Vir Heroicus Sublimis, critic Michael
Brtje attempts to describe his personal interpretation of the transcendent experience that he had
during his observation of the painting. The author of the analysis says that the color and
composition of the painting and its five lines create in combination with the subtle hinting of the
title a detailed image of Jesus Christ and the crucifixion. He is sure to compliment the way that
the simple painting is able to create an incredibly vivid picture of the event in his head with such
seemingly little detail. The rest of the analysis is the author connecting different aspects such as
spacing and slight shading to his experience, but in summary the he essentially says that the
painting does an outstanding job of creating an experience of transcendence that connects his
tangible experience to surrealistic characteristics.