A Royal Procession 1902

Edwin Lord Weeks conjured this Royal Procession with oils, at some point in the past. What I like here is how the colours are both soft and decadent, like faded spices, almost edible. Weeks is great at capturing texture. Just look at the elephant’s blanket – you can almost feel the weight of the fabric, heavy with embellishment. And the palace behind, rendered with a hazy, dreamlike quality. These are all suggestions, really, fleeting moments of light and shadow that build into an atmospheric whole. If you look closely at the lower left, you can see some figures, and you can just about make out some horses - the rest is left to the imagination! This feels like it sits in the same space as work by John Singer Sargent – the way he captured light, the loose brushwork. With Weeks, like Sargent, it’s all about suggestion, an openness to the possibilities of paint. There's a conversation happening between the artist and the medium, which then invites the viewer to join in too!