![[title not known] by Edward Burra](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fd2w8kbdekdi1gv.cloudfront.net%2FeyJidWNrZXQiOiAiYXJ0ZXJhLWltYWdlcy1idWNrZXQiLCAia2V5IjogImFydHdvcmtzLzMzY2NiYzZkLWIzNmQtNDgxMi1iOGNlLTVjODQ3NTIzZTVlNi8zM2NjYmM2ZC1iMzZkLTQ4MTItYjhjZS01Yzg0NzUyM2U1ZTZfZnVsbC5qcGciLCAiZWRpdHMiOiB7InJlc2l6ZSI6IHsid2lkdGgiOiAxOTIwLCAiaGVpZ2h0IjogMTkyMCwgImZpdCI6ICJpbnNpZGUifX19&w=2048&q=75)
Dimensions: support: 1022 x 698 mm frame: 1120 x 792 x 36 mm
Copyright: © Tate | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: Here we have an untitled watercolor work by Edward Burra, currently residing at the Tate. I am struck by the curious figures inhabiting this stark, almost theatrical space. What's your take on this? Curator: The watercolor medium itself is crucial here. Burra's choice speaks to a certain accessibility, yet the subject matter hints at deeper socio-political anxieties. Consider the material conditions informing Burra's production: were these figures born from a critique of labor, class, or perhaps even the spectacle of consumption? Editor: So, are you saying the figures' peculiar forms are not just aesthetic choices, but reflections of societal pressures? Curator: Precisely. The bodies seem burdened, molded perhaps by the weight of unseen forces. What kind of labor produced these forms, and for what end? Ultimately, the artwork makes me question the very act of artistic production itself. Editor: I see what you mean. I didn't consider how the materiality connects to the social commentary. Curator: Indeed. Every brushstroke, every pigment choice, contributes to a broader narrative of production and consumption.
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With the increasingly belligerent political situation of the 1930s, Burra's work took on a darker tone. This enigmatic diptych seems to speak of morbidity and decay. The shrouded figures look down on a skeleton in an open grave. In the background broken columns indicate the degradation of the building. The architecture recalls the destroyed churches that Burra photographed in Spain in 1935 and 1936. The Spanish Civil War had been especially cruel, but by the time this picture was made war had spread across Europe. Goya's 'Dark Paintings' may have been a source for such works. Gallery label, September 2004
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