Joseph Raphael
Joseph Raphael was born in Jackson, California. He studied at the California School of Design in San Francisco and the École des Beaux-Arts and Académie Julian in Paris. He stayed in Europe for nearly four decades, maintaining ties to the San Francisco art community. He and his wife settled in the countryside in Uccle, Belgium, where they raised five children. With the approach of World War II, Raphael moved back to San Francisco, where he maintained a studio on Sutter Street for the rest of his life.
Which emotions do colors inspire?
When Raphael began painting in a more impressionistic style, he used a heavy impasto, thickly applying layers of paint so that it stands out from the surface of the canvas. In Child Sewing, Raphael’s impasto brings to life the bright colors, sparkling light, and countless blossoms of a spring garden. The child sewing at the table was likely one of Raphael’s children, who regularly served as models for their father.
Gift of Albert M. Bender