Julian Schnabel
Julian Schnabel is an American Neo-Expressionist painter known for monumental works incorporating broken ceramic plates and unusual supports.
Painter
Francesco Clemente
Francesco Clemente is an Italian Transavanguardia painter whose dreamlike figures and symbols reflect experience across Italy, India, and New York.
Francesco Clemente quick facts
Clemente’s quick facts link his international career and figurative imagery to documented paints, surfaces, supports, and works in varied formats.
| Full name | Francesco Clemente |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952 · Naples, Italy |
| Died | — |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Movements | Neo-Expressionism · Italian Transavanguardia |
| Paint types | Oil paint · Tempera · Gouache · Watercolor |
| Other media | Printmaking |
| Other materials | — |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas · linen (including former theater curtain fabric) · paper |
| Painting methods | Applies watercolor over graphite drawing, sometimes with pastel, and also paints large oils and tempera works on canvas and linen |
| Common subjects | Human bodies, portraits, mythology, sexuality, dreams, astrology, spirituality, and encounters between cultures |
| Notable works | Moon (1980) · Mother's Room (La stanza della madre) (1995–97) · Toni Morrison (1998) |
Sources: Guggenheim Bilbao: Mother's Room, The Met: Toni Morrison, MoMA: Moon, MoMA: 1981 gouache and synthetic polymer painting, The Met: watercolor over graphite, and MoMA: Tondo from The Telemone Group.
Paint types used by Francesco Clemente
Clemente’s practice spans oil on canvas, tempera and oil on linen, and gouache on paper, with collection records documenting each medium in distinct works.
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Oil paint
MoMA records oil on canvas in Clemente’s Perseverance (1981), documenting the medium in an early painted work. Other collection records identify oil in later canvases and mixed-media installations. These works distinguish oil from the tempera, gouache, and watercolor he used on linen and paper.
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Tempera
Guggenheim Bilbao records tempera with oil on linen in Mother’s Room, while the Städel Museum documents tempera and oil on linen in Tandoori Satori Nr. 15. Both records confirm tempera as a recurring material in his painted installations and canvases. The works document the combination rather than treating tempera as a standalone paint.
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Gouache
The multi-sheet work Moon is cataloged as gouache on paper with fabric. The fabric is a separate support material, while gouache provides the opaque paint passages. This work documents gouache in Clemente’s works on paper, distinct from his tempera and oil paintings on linen.
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Watercolor
The Met catalogs Untitled VI as watercolor on paper and Untitled LXXXVI as watercolor over graphite with pastel. These works document Clemente’s watercolor practice on sheets, distinct from the linen paintings made with oil and tempera. The record names drawing materials separately from the paint.
Sources: MoMA: Perseverance, MoMA: Moon, The Met: Untitled VI, The Met: Untitled LXXXVI, Guggenheim Bilbao: Mother’s Room, Städel Museum: Tandoori Satori Nr. 15.
Painting surfaces used by Francesco Clemente
The documented supports include canvas and linen, and the rows below connect each surface to works by Francesco Clemente through collection records.
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Canvas
Clemente’s paintings include works on canvas, including large-scale series and installations. The material carries his oil paintings and sits alongside linen and paper in his broader practice. Museum records identify canvas for selected works, distinguishing it from the reused theater-curtain fabric documented for some paintings.
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Linen
Clemente has painted on linen and reused textile supports, including former theater-curtain fabric. Museum records for Mother’s Room and Tandoori Satori Nr. 15 document oil and tempera on linen. The woven support becomes part of the work’s texture, distinct from canvas and paper.
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Paper
Clemente’s works on paper include gouaches and watercolors, distinct from his canvas and textile paintings. The Met documents watercolor over graphite, while other records identify gouache on paper with fabric. These examples show the sheet supporting both opaque and transparent paint.
Sources: Guggenheim Bilbao: Mother's Room, The Met: Toni Morrison, MoMA: Moon, MoMA: 1981 gouache and synthetic polymer painting, The Met: watercolor over graphite.
Painters similar to Francesco Clemente
Schnabel shares Clemente's 1980s revival of expressive painting, while Basquiat connects through New York's downtown scene and collaborations.
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist whose paintings combine handwritten text, anatomy, crowns, cultural references, music, and history.