Saddle 1935 - 1942

Rose Campbell-Gerke made this painting of a saddle, though we don't know exactly when, in tones of tan, brown, and blue. It's a really interesting thing to paint, right? I can imagine her fascination with the saddle's form and texture, how it might have been both familiar and strange to her. There's something almost dreamlike about the way the scene of a figure riding a horse-drawn chariot has been integrated into the surface design. Campbell-Gerke has outlined this central image with decorative motifs. What was she thinking when she painted this? Maybe she was exploring themes of travel, craft, or the relationship between humans and animals. The artist is using a very thin paint here to try and evoke the smooth surface of the leather. The flatness of the painted surface is broken only by the illusion of the image depicted. This brings to mind other painters such as Christina Ramberg, who were preoccupied with the image of clothing and its relationship to the body, or the work of artists working today, like Tala Madani, who create surrealist compositions from everyday subject matter. All of these artists are in conversation with each other, across time, inspiring one another to create new works of art, new ways of seeing.