Dimensions: support: 737 x 578 mm frame: 800 x 642 x 55 mm
Copyright: © Estate of Vanessa Bell, courtesy Henrietta Garnett | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: Here we have Vanessa Bell’s oil on canvas, Mrs St John Hutchinson. The palette is so interesting, a mix of pastels and earthy greens. What do you make of her composition choices in this portrait? Curator: It feels deeply personal, doesn't it? I see Bell playing with colour as a means of expressing not just the sitter's likeness but perhaps her essence, almost like a musical key. Look at that green – a vibrant, almost discordant note against the pink. Editor: Discordant, yet somehow it works? Curator: Exactly! Perhaps it speaks to the complex inner life of Mrs Hutchinson, hinting at the tensions and harmonies within her. What do you think? A bit fanciful, maybe? Editor: No, I love that reading. It makes me see it in a completely different light.
Comments
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/bell-mrs-st-john-hutchinson-t01768
Join the conversation
Join millions of artists and users on Artera today and experience the ultimate creative platform.
This portrait shows the short-story writer Mary Hutchinson. She was the mistress of Bell’s husband Clive, a fact of which Bell was aware. This may account for the unflattering nature of the portrait. When it was exhibited, to the sitter’s consternation, Vanessa Bell wrote ‘It’s perfectly hideous...and yet quite recognisable’. The dazzling colours are reminiscent of work by Matisse – an artist Bell revered – and the French ‘Fauve’ painters. Gallery label, February 2010
CollectMore like this
