Fletcher show recalls the paintings and the life of Julio De Diego

Of course, a marriage to world-famous stripper Gypsy Rose Lee did much to fan the flames of legend, abetted by her ecstatic response when asked on live TV to name her greatest lover…”Julio! Julio! Julio!” she cried. Over the years, De Diego completed hundreds of small nudes, usually single, sometimes paired; many seated on a chair the artist designed and built specifically to further sensual exploration. Six such paintings are included in the Fletcher Gallery show. During his lifetime this aegis of “lover extraordinaire” propelled his reputation but also pigeon-holed his achievement, and today, without his personal charisma as a lure, De Diego can be overlooked, in my estimation, unfairly. Many, if not most Woodstock painters developed a style, sometimes two, found a niche, and stuck with it. Not Julio. How many times, viewing his vast and sprawling estate, I found myself muttering, “I’d never have guessed that was a De Diego.” Indeed, the restless energy of his quest — veering through phases as varied as “the greats” — instantly places him far above of our “cottage industry” painters whose work is immediately recognizable, but whose reputation — perhaps for exactly this reason! — exceeds his…at least, at present. Several surprises in the show are in fact breathtaking, including an incredibly rare sampling of Julio’s jewelry, and the dadist influence of his “wearable paintings.” (Collectors take note.) There are a few darkly lit magical landscapes involving as many as 40 levels of oil. My favorite canvas, however, harkens back to the arena of Julio’s unredoubtable expertise. Two golden nudes are set back to back against two explosively vibrant designs — backdrops which would completely overpower a less dynamic foreground. And yes, there is a trick through which the, long, muscular hand of the painter magically “inserts” itself into the composition.

Though De Diego was best known locally for a near reverential eroticism, the Fletcher Gallery retrospective — very likely the most thorough ever mounted — reacquaints us with a more thoughtful artist, steeped in myth and allegory, anti-war sentiment, a painter as influenced by ancient masks as by Goya or Valasquez, Miro or Picasso. While never knowing great fame, Julio De Diego — like any serious artist — was unapologetically “in dialogue” with philosophers and poets, as well. Obsessed with history, he returned throughout his career to Spain’s most fateful moment, eulogizing the 16th century sinking of the Spanish Armada repeatedly on canvas and paper, in livid color and sombre black and white, with anger, grief and elegiac dignity.

Interviewed by his lachrymose friend Karl Fortess, Julio once made the deceptively perceptive observation that, “style is the result of a combination of strategies…attempting to solve problems we encounter along the way.” Today — viewing one of the most dramatic of the Armada paintings, I am astounded by the “trick of the eye” De Diego pulls off. From a distance, it seems he’s used day-glo oranges and reds, “cheating” as it were, with such futuristic technologies to create the impression of fires breaking out on bleakly rendered sinking ships of yore. Upon closer examination, however, I find that, for one thing, the painting is from 1940’s (pre day-glo) and it instead utilizes almost childlike fuzzy brush-strokes of traditional color against solid black to create an effect I can’t remember ever witnessing before. Herein his remark to Fortess is proven, case and point.

When Dean Schambach was introduced to Julio in the sixties, an immediate rapport between two highly dramatic men was instantly established. Late one wine-soaked night, Julio interrupted their passionate exchange to demonstrate a point. “Wait!” he yelled, pulling from under his bed a small chest, then throwing it open to reveal a sizeable store of gold in lumps, coins, and bars. “This…” Julio observed, “is wealth.” Dumbstruck (how rare!) Schambach nodded in amazement. “However…this,” Julio concluded, “is treasure!” To what did Julio De Diego point to prove his grand argument? Fittingly enough, Dean can’t quite remember, and so you must come to the Fletcher Gallery on Mill Hill Road between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on the evening of December 7…to find the treasure yourself.

An exhibition of the works of painter Julio De Diego will be on display at the Fletcher Gallery, 40 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock, with a reception during the Woodstock Open House, 5 p.m.-8 p.m. Friday, December 7. For more information, call 679-4411.