The Venus That was Never Finished 1920

John Duncan made this unfinished painting of Venus sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century, using gentle strokes and a muted palette. What strikes me is the dreamlike quality, like a memory half-formed. The colors are soft, almost faded, blues and greens meeting the pale skin of Venus, with wisps of hair painted in strokes of brown and gold. Duncan's marks are delicate. The paint is thin, allowing the texture of the canvas to peek through, adding to the feeling of transience. Look closely at the way he renders the sea in the background, loose and gestural. This seems particularly modern, almost abstract, in contrast to the classical subject matter. It's as if Duncan is exploring the boundaries between tradition and modernity, representation and abstraction. The work reminds me of Odilon Redon, but with a Scottish twist. Like Redon, Duncan embraces ambiguity, inviting us to project our own fantasies and desires onto the canvas.