Spanish Church Series No. 15: "Spanish Profile, " Palencia America, 20th century

Spanish Church Series No. 15: "Spanish Profile, " Palencia

1948–1950

John Taylor Arms

(American, 1887–1953)

America, 20th century

etching

Support: Blue paper; green antique laid paper

Sheet: 38.9 x 34.8 cm (15 5/16 x 13 11/16 in.); Platemark: 34.9 x 23.9 cm (13 3/4 x 9 7/16 in.)

Gift of Jenny Horning in honor of Caedon Suzanne Summers 2009.248

Courtesy of John Taylor Arms/© Suzanne Arms Hawkins

Catalogue raisonné: Fletcher 418

State: II/III

Location: not on view

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Description

The stone skin of the Gothic structures Arms admired was not inanimate but rather vibrant and alive to the artist. He sought not only to depict the physical appearance of his subjects but also to express their character. “A building possesses truly as does a human being, a skeleton, a covering of flesh, and clothing with which both are in turn covered, so also, and most poignantly, does it possess a spirit,” he wrote. “In the work of the great interpreters of architecture . . . men like Meryon, Piranesi, Canaletto, and Bone, it is this expression of the spirit of the subject . . . which makes them such enduring works of art.”