Study for ‘Ennui’ 1913 - 1914

Editor: This is Walter Sickert’s ‘Study for Ennui’, currently housed at the Tate. It's a somber pencil drawing, and the title suggests it's meant to evoke boredom or weariness. What do you make of this scene? Curator: Weariness indeed! It whispers of domestic staleness, doesn't it? Look at the man, slumped, lost in smoke. The woman, detached, almost ghostly. It feels like a stage set for a play about unspoken resentments. Do you see any light in this room? Editor: No, it’s all pretty muted. The lack of strong contrast definitely adds to that feeling. Curator: Exactly. It’s not just a study; it’s a mood, a feeling caught in a web of lines. Perhaps Sickert was exploring the shadows of relationships, the quiet despair that settles in when life becomes a little too… predictable. Editor: It definitely makes you think about what's not being said. I'm seeing this work, and Sickert, in a new light.