In preparation for Part 3 – Portrait and Figure I visited Tate Britain (along with the National Portrait Gallery – but more on that later). Having previously watched a BBC documentary about the life and artwork of Gwen John, I sought out her artwork with which I had now became vaguely familiar with. Having reflected and admired her artwork for a period of time, I was subsequently drawn to how paintings were displayed alongside one another. At first I thought it odd but with further consideration found it though provoking. They share similarities an polar-opposites in equal measures and allow the viewer to make contrast and draw their own conclusions.
Gwen John Self-Portrait (1902) (photograph_2019) JD Fergusson Blue Beads, Paris (1910) (photograph-2019)
Gwen John (1876-1939) Self-Portrait, 1902 (oil on canvas): John was Welsh but spent most of her time in France. Although she exhibited her work, the majority was purchased by John Quinn, an American art collector, until his death in 1924. Ironically, John’s struggled for recognition during her life, perhaps overshadowed by her popular brother Augustus. This may reflect in the self-scrutiny of this image, her isolation and her experiences as an artist. John’s subtle colour relationships are in stark contrast to her brother’s far more vivid and assertive work, as they are when displayed alongside JD Fergusson Blue Beads as they were at Tate Britain.
JD Fergusson (1874-1961) Blue Beads, Paris 1910 (oil on board): JD Fergusson was one of the most significant Scottish artists of the early twentieth-century. Spending most of his life split between Paris and London, he was highly influenced by the French modern movements of the early twentieth century and was a leading figure amongst the ‘Scottish Colourists’ who adopted the bright colours and simplified outlines of modern French painting, particularly the Fauves group.
Gwen John Nude Girl,1909-10 (photograph_2019) Walter Richard Sickert (1860-1942) La Hollandaise, c. 1906 (photograph_2019)
Gwen John Nude Girl,1909-10 (oil on canvas): John’s limited colour palette and minimal setting draw attention to the naked body of the sitter (there are no distractions). The rigid pose and slight distortion in the painting of the figure suggests an uncomfortable interaction between the artist and sitter. This may also reflect that John’s disliked the model, Fenetta Lovell, who appears to challenge the expectations of the passive female nude.
Walter Richard Sickert (1860-1942) La Hollandaise, c. 1906 (oil on canvas): In 1905 Sickert began a series of female nudes, pictured in bedrooms lit only by a strong light from a window. Sickert had criticised the idealisation of the nude and instaed was only interested in placing his figures in a real environment. He explored the the effect of light and shade on the nude body set against a contrasting background. Items on display in his painting suggest poverty and sex work. Sircert’s brush marks form a surface so rough that when viewed closely, the image appears fragmented.
OCA BA(Hons) Painting Degree - Level 1 