In 1938, Joseph Stella traveled to Barbados for the first time with his wife, Mary. Mary was born on the island and, with her health declining, desired to return to her birthplace. Stella also welcomed the opportunity to escape the dreary climate of New York. Barbados proved to be a revitalizing destination for Stella, who expressed his sentiment in his writing, “The fresh, balmy air and the clarity of the dawn full of young joy, open up the portal of our soul, lighting it up within, chasing away the shadows thickened during the horrible time in ugly America. It comes as the Resurrection of all our Being. There resounds once more the song of Hope and Joy.” [1] Three years later, Stella wrote of Barbados, “For the daring, adventurous painter Barbados is a magic island.” [2]

Although Stella had returned to the United States by the time he created Torso in 1940, the island continued to inspire him. Torso features a kaleidoscopic sky and deep blue and emerald water, evoking the Caribbean landscape. The figure in the painting is surrounded by trunks and foliage that were likely influenced by Stella’s memories, supplemented with trips to the New York Botanical Gardens near his home in the Bronx. The sensuous central figure evidences Stella’s appreciation of the Italian Renaissance tradition of the nude. Indeed, the specificity of the woman's muscular back harkens back to Leonard De Vinci's anatomical studies. As Stella’s health began to decline in 1940, he shifted his focus to small-scale flower subjects, executed in his studio. Torso is likely one of the last works that Stella created on such a large scale, making it a significant piece in his oeuvre.

[1] Joseph Stella, cited in Barbara Haskell, Joseph Stella, 1994, p. 175.

[2] Haskell, p. 210.