Vir Heroicus

Sublimis
Nolan Nadasdy

Vir Heroicus Sublimis

Author
Barnett Newman was an American artist
born in 1905 and died in 1970.
Born and raised in New York City.
Both a painter and an art critic.
Credited as one of the most important
figures in the fields of abstract
expressionism and color field painting.

Works by Barnett Newman

Style
Abstract Expressionism - A style of painting that began in post-WW2 America.
Similar to surrealism, paintings in this form have an emphasis on spontaneous,
automatic, or subconscious creation from the viewer.
Color Field Painting - A style of painting that emerged in New York City in the
1940s, it is characterized by large solid fields of color stained into the canvas. Places
less emphasis on detail and more on consistency of color.
Vir Heroicus Sublimis is a combination of these two styles.

Vir Heroicus Sublimis

The painting is a solid slate of red decorated by five different colored thin vertical
lines.
The meaning of the painting is not objective, but rather the purpose of the work is to
invoke emotion and creativity in its audience. So despite being simplistic the painting
actually holds deeper meaning.
Meant to overwhelm the senses into creating their own visuals.

Critical Reception
The painting as well as many of Newmans works received mixed views from the art
community.
Some critics think it is nothing but pointless colors thrown at a canvas, others have
interpreted it as a complex visualisation of events such as the crucifixion of Jesus
Christ.
There is no general consensus on what it is supposed to be as some people do no
recognize it as evoking emotion while others find themselves deeply perplexed by its
meaning.

Vir Heroicus Sublimis