Roofscape 1954

John Bratby painted this ‘Roofscape’ with oil paint at an unknown date. The scene presents a network of rooftops, perhaps in London, under a sky streaked with industrial smoke. Bratby emerged as a young artist in post-war Britain, during a period of national austerity, when a new welfare state was being established. His early paintings presented the intimacies of domestic life, food, and family in a realist style with thick paint and strong colour. He, and other artists like him, were labelled the ‘Kitchen Sink School’ by critics. This was because they often painted the everyday contents of their kitchen. Later in his career, Bratby’s style became looser, and he would often paint views from his window. We can read this image as a commentary on the artist’s life. He had a progressive outlook, his paintings challenged the established art world which was dominated by abstract art, and high society. The work of art historians is to uncover these layers of meaning. They use resources such as artists' letters, exhibition reviews, and social histories. This helps them understand artworks, and how social and institutional contexts shape artistic creation.