Past Perfect: Sailing with Odysseus

The saturated colors and jagged planes in the paintings of Romare Bearden (1911–1988) often seem to pulse with the syncopated rhythms of 20th-century jazz. Many of his works are based on memories of childhood visits to his grandparents’ homes in North Carolina and Pittsburgh, while others are set in Harlem, where his parents moved in 1914. After attending New York University, Bearden took night classes at the Art Students League with George Grosz, a major figure in the Dada art movement. Bearden incorporated social and political commentary in his art, producing political cartoons for the Baltimore African-American newspaper. Following a stint in the army during World War II and then six months in Paris, where he studied philosophy at the Sorbonne, Bearden’s art career stalled, and he worked as a song writer and social worker for 14 years. When the March on Washington was organized in 1963, Bearden met with other African-American artists to produce a group collage for the event, creating vibrant images made of cut paper, textured fabric, foils and paint. Such mixed-media painting set his imagination free, enabling him to explore the world at large—including the world of the ancient Greeks. In 1977 he produced a group of more than 20 stunning watercolors and collages inspired by Homer’s Odyssey, some of which appear on the following pages.