Dimensions: support: 635 x 762 mm frame: 781 x 925 x 90 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: Augustus Leopold Egg's "Past and Present, No. 3" has such a forlorn quality. The contrast between the dark archway and the moonlit water is striking. What compositional elements stand out to you? Curator: The archway and the river create a compelling contrast of dark and light, effectively dividing the pictorial space. Note how the artist manipulates value to direct our gaze. Where does your eye travel first, and why? Editor: I’m drawn to the figure first, then to the moon. It’s like following her gaze. Curator: Precisely. The figure acts as a visual anchor, but the geometry of the arch, balanced with the luminescent sky, sets up a visual push and pull that structures the emotional narrative. A somber and intriguing work. Editor: I hadn’t considered how the architecture frames the narrative like that. Thank you!
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/egg-past-and-present-no-3-n03280
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This painting forms part of a series of three which considers the consequences of love outside marriage In Victorian Britain. Past and Present No.1 and Past and Present No. 3 show ‘Present’ five years later, two weeks after the husband has died of despair. Identical moons indicate that they take place at the same moment. The two girls comfort each other. The homeless mother shelters under the Adelphi arches, by the River Thames in London, holding the baby that resulted from her affair. The posters for two plays, ‘Victims’ and ‘A Cure for Love’, and ‘Pleasure Excursions to Paris’, are ironic comments on her situation. Gallery label, May 2023
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