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Interlude (add media citation) is an oil-on-canvas work by mid-20th-century painter John Koch, completed in 1963. It is one of Koch’s many known works featuring himself and a nude model in-studio. Interlude along with other pieces such as The Sculptor (1964) (add media citation), and Painter and Models (1972) (add media citation) present the theme of a scene in which artist and model are in the midst of taking a break (MAG citation). Nakedness of the model is still portrayed, but in an unprompted and naturalistic state different from whatever artificial pose they might have been in. The model is alongside Koch before his unfinished canvas, in his high end domestic space - a fourteen bedroom apartment on Central Park West (Silver citation). An interaction between Koch and the model, or the model and another subject, is customarily caught in frame. Interlude depicts Koch’s wife, Dora Zaslavsky, handing the model a cup of tea for example (mag citation). This unique take on the nude portrait is a stand out feature of Koch’s body of work. In addition to subject matter, Koch's painting style reflects traditional European Realism, somewhat of a rare sight in post-war American Expressionism (Silver citation).

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Description

In John Koch’s Interlude, a large oil on canvas work, there are three figures, a white man and woman and a black woman - John Koch, his wife Dora Zaslavsky, and model Rosetta Howard (MAG citation). Koch occupies space in the furthest layer of the composition, sitting back on a couch with a drink in one hand and the other propped up, his eyes focused on a tall canvas turned away from the viewer and lit by a single lamp. Dora wears a plain floor length red dress, occupying the middle ground, a gentle polite smile on her face with downturned eyes that are probably focused on the white teacup and saucer she is handing to the model. Koch's inclusion of this bright crimson creates a visual focus, and perhaps even a point of contrast to separate Howard's figure from the mostly brown tones she is composed within. Howard is completely nude and occupying the foreground, facing away from the viewer so that only her back, the top of her buttocks, and her outstretched arm reaching for the teacup is visible. Her hair is either short or pinned up, making the expanse of her back a prominent and outstanding part of the overall composition - a second central focal point.

Interlude has a careful resemblance to reality in its soft brushstrokes and use of lighting. Koch took the gentle texture of oil paint and spun it to create a world not dissimilar to our own. There is no outright abstraction or experimentation with color, viewers are simply transported to the warmly lit room in which the scene in question takes place. From the small patch of yellow light on the wooden floor in the middle ground, to the carefully painted creasing of the white sheets where the nude woman sits, the artist created a highly detailed rendering of something just shy of reality.

In addition to brushstrokes and lighting, Interlude has a sharp foreground to background compositional layout that acts almost like a window into the painting, elevating the viewer’s visual experience. From foreground to background, the viewer is closest to Howard looking into a room that ends with a large mirror on the furthest wall – a mirror that reflects windows on the invisible fourth wall, or the area from which we view the scene. The windows contain architecture-like shapes that suggest a world beyond the confines of the room, and the cool blue light they let in clearly indicates the primary light source of the painting. Use of the fourth wall adds to the composition’s sharp foreground to background compositional layout, thus confirming its definitive use of realism.

In its entirety, this painting is a scene caught in motion, the moment a teacup is handed to a body leaning forward, possibly from a position previously held for the working artist in the background. It is the moment the artist takes a break and leans back to observe what he had been working on – a pregnant pause disturbed by sheets ruffling, the shuffling of feet on the wooden floor, and the clink of a teacup in its saucer.

Art Movements and Contemporaneous Influences Behind Interlude

As a whole, Interlude depicts a scene of what could be reality. Viewers might not find it hard to believe that there was a moment in a Manhattan apartment wherein an artist paints a model, and the artist's wife hands the model a cup of tea (mag citation).

Abstraction, as it pertains to post-war American Expressionism, is not prevalent in Interlude's composition. In the aftermath of Word War II, Abstract Expressionism gained traction - particularly in the New York art world (Abs Exp wiki citation). Stylistically, Abstract Expressionism is emotion-based and an exploration of the artist's subconscious (Abs Exp wiki citation). There is an element of spontaneity in the nature of Abstract Expressionist work, often portrayed intentionally by the artist despite the real behind-the-scenes planning that goes into the production of these pieces especially due to their large size (Abs Exp wiki citation). Although Koch's work is not Abstract Expressionist, there is a similarity with this element of falsity seen in paintings like Interlude that will be discussed further in the following section.

Post-war New York emphasized Abstract Expressionism, yet Koch and his wife Dora were adamantly existing in opposition. In fact, Koch was quoted as being "hostile" toward Abstract Expressionists and art critics (Silver citation). The Manhattan artist was strongly in favor of continuing to paint the way he wanted to regardless of what was fashionable in the New York art scene (Silver citation). Koch's desired art form was that of the old masters, in the form of traditional European Realism (Silver citation). Not to be confused with 19th century French Realism, itself a complete shift away from the romanticization of scenes and portraiture seen in European painting for centuries (French Realism cite). Koch was self-taught and honed his abilities by completing master studies, or copying the works of Spanish, French, Dutch, Italian, and Flemish old masters (Silver cite). His interests persisted in the eras of Baroque, Rococo, Impressionist, and other pre-Expressionist Western, or European and American, art styles. Although European traditionalism provided the basis for Koch's stylistic choices, he continued to go against the grain just as he did with his denial of post-war Expressionism. Koch centered his body of work on a localized experience within his Upper West Side apartment, with himself, his wife Dora, their guests, or hired models as the primary subject matter (Silver cite).

Interlude and much of Koch's other apartment-set scenes are reminiscent of older European painting styles in their depiction of reality. There is a subtle quality to the transitioning of tones, proportionality in the depiction of human figures as they are drawn in their architectural surroundings, and the soft, immersive use of lighting to create a scene as real as peering through a window.

While Koch had his art career submerged in European traditionalism, his wife Dora was a Classical musician herself who gave private lessons when she was not helping her husband with his work (NY Hist Society cite). Within the Abstract Expressionist New York art world, Dora and John Koch created an enclave for themselves as appreciators and professionals of classical and traditional European art forms.

Thematic Analysis of Interlude

References

1. “Abstract expressionism.” Misplaced Pages. Accessed November 4, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/Abstract_expressionism.
2. “Baroque.” Misplaced Pages. Accessed November 4, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/Baroque.
3. “Classical music.” Misplaced Pages. Accessed November 4, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/Classical_music.
4. Daiss, Susan Dodge-Peters. "John Koch Interlude (1963)." In Seeing America: Painting and Sculpture from the Collection of the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, Rochester: Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, 2002-2006. https://mag.rochester.edu/seeingAmerica/essays/69.pdf
5. “Dora Zaslavsky.” Misplaced Pages. Accessed November 4, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/Dora_Zaslavsky.
6. “Impressionism.” Misplaced Pages. Accessed November 4, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/Impressionism.
7. “John Koch.” Misplaced Pages. Accessed November 4, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/John_Koch.
8. NYU Langone Health. "Interlude Koch, John," Literature Arts Medicine Database. Last modified February 28, 2008. https://medhum.med.nyu.edu/view/12835
9. “Old Master.” Misplaced Pages. Accessed November 4, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/Old_Master.
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12. “Rococo.” Misplaced Pages. Accessed November 4, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/Rococo.
13. Silver, Kenneth E."Metropolitan Master: John Koch." Art in America, July-September 2002.
14. Treaster, Joseph B. "John Koch, Realist Painter Of Life In Fashionable Manhattan, Is Dead." New York Times, April 20, 1978. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1978/04/20/issue.html
15. Turner, Grady. "Enigmatic Intimacy: The Interior World of John Koch." John Koch: Painting a New York Life (New-York Historical Society, 2001-2002). https://www.tfaoi.org/aa/3aa/3aa95.htm
16. “World War II.” Misplaced Pages. Accessed November 4, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/World_War_II.

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