"Where We Belong" at the National Gallery
- Charlotte Gregory
- Apr 13, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 6
I was invited to this event by a dear friend of mine, with whom I share a love of culture and history and the stories that we can tell through art. The event was hosted by The National Gallery, with 5 speakers who each had a great deal of excellent talking points over the course of the evening.
They all brought an inspiring amount of enthusiasm to the discussion. I have compiled a few highlights from the event here of the artists who stood out the most to me.
"People are like shadow, and I am shadow" - Gwen John (1876 - 1939)
Obsessed with order, women, Parisiennes, and cats - Gwen John often painted the same subjects over and over again. She spent much of her life in and around Paris, meeting many of the leading artists of the era, although her style was quite different to the bold and colourful styles championed by her contemporaries Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, who, while they did rub shoulders with her in the art world, did not influence Gwen John's artistic style. Instead, Gwen John preferred using subdued, muted tones, with her models often captured deep in thought and gazing pensively into the middle distance. Her works have the air of a photograph - a carefully constructed moment in time, paused to offer a hint of gentle introspection.
Her most notable model was Dorelia McNeill, who she also travelled around Europe with. The two women had aimed to travel all the way to Rome together on foot, but changed their minds somewhere along the way, winding up in Paris instead. Dorelia was loved by and painted by both Gwen and her younger brother Augustus, who she would later marry. Gwen on the other hand, would have romantic encounters with both men and women, sometimes developing into obsessions, such as her relationship with Auguste Rodin, 35 years her senior.
Below are two paintings of Dorelia McNeill. To the left, 'Dorelia in a Black Dress', painted by Gwen John. Dorelia stares directly at Gwen as she paints her - the muse and the artist regarding each other as equals - and there is a gentle defiance to her stance. Dorelia almost looks as if she is about to speak.
To the right, Gwen's brother Augustus takes his turn in painting Dorelia, this time with her looking away from the artist as if lost in thought. Augustus takes in the whole figure, accentuating her pose and the sway of her skirt. It is clear from the paintings that both siblings took very different approaches to their artistic endeavours, both with the stylistic techniques used - Gwen would use thick paint applied in small brushstrokes, creating a mottled effect, whereas Augustus painted with smoother strokes.
Two Paintings, One Woman: Dorelia McNeill
In her lifetime, Gwen John was overshadowed by her brother, but he even predicted their reversal of reputations, saying that "in 50 years' time, I will be known as the brother of Gwen John."
The Welsh National Gallery now possesses over 900 of Gwen John's works, and there are also sizeable collections at the Tate and the National Gallery.
"As far as males go, I only like the bulls I paint" - Rosa Bonheur (1822 - 1899)
Rosa Bonheur was possibly the most famous woman artist of her time, famous not just in her home country of France but also internationally renowned.
Encouraged by her father, also an artist, Bonheur made her mark in the heavily male-dominated art world at a young age, already exhibiting aged 19 at the Paris Salon. She had a very strong interest in painting animals, keeping a varied menagerie as objects of study.
At the time, women in France had to obtain a permit to wear trousers for a certain period of time and only for medical reasons, but Bonheur bucked the trend in 1857 by acquiring her permission de travestissement to wear trousers in the fields and slaughterhouses where she studied her subjects. The trousers weren't the only thing unconventional about her - she rode astride, rather than side-saddle, she smoked, and she wore her hair short - partly protective, partly practical.
She did however, paint in a very traditional style - spending hours making preparatory sketches, and placing great emphasis on the naturalistic mannerisms of the animals which she studied rather than a more sentimental style. This naturalism made her exceptionally popular in the United Kingdom, especially after her most famous painting "The Horse Fair" catapulted her into international fame. "The Horse Fair" measures 244.5 cm × 506.7 cm, causing a sensation at the Paris Salon in 1853. The painting toured both Britain and the United States.
Bonheur had a long-lasting companion in fellow artist Nathalie Micas, who she referred to as her wife. After Micas' death, Bonheur became close to American artist Anna Klumpke, and they lived together until 1899. She left her entire estate to Klumpke, who after Bonheur's death opened the Rosa Bonheur Memorial Art School, in order to provide art education for women in her parther's memory. Bonheur chose to be buried with Micas, and Klumpke later chose to be buried with them as well, demonstrating the close ties Bonheur had with both women.
Art as Autobiography - Artemisia Gentileschi (1593 - 1656)
Artemisia Gentileschi is widely regarded as one of the most celebrated women artists of the 17th Century, famous for her portrayals of strong heroines and assertive female protagonists in her artworks. A student of Caravaggio, and the first female student at the Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence, Gentileschi was a highly sought-after artist during her career, especially with her subjects of Biblical scenes and female-led narratives.
One of Gentileschi's most famous pieces is her Self-Portrait as St Catherine of Alexandria - a princess and scholar who was martyred in the 4th Century, and known as a patroness to female students. Gentileschi as St Catherine holds a spiked wheel, an instrument of torture, with her left hand. Her right hand clutches a palm frond to her chest. The palm frond is a common emblem assigned to martyrs as an allegory to victory.
In this painting, Gentileschi is showing herself as overcoming torture and being stronger for it, a direct reference to the injustice she faced as the victim of rape aged 17.
Through Gentileschi's self-depiction as St Catherine, we also see links to Joan of Arc, who followed religious visions from St Catherine to earn victories for France in the Hundred Years' War. At the time, Joan of Arc's gender non-conformity was condemned as heretical, but she has since become a symbol for feminism, as well as of queer and trans identity.
"Judith Slaying Holofernes as Revenge" is seen by many as an autobiography on canvas, with Gentileschi perhaps inserting herself as Judith, and her rapist as Holofernes, the man who caused her so much anguish.
The story of Judith is reminiscent of David and Goliath - a story of the underdog rising up to overcome a much stronger enemy. In Gentileschi's portrayal of the story, Judith and her maidservant pin Holofernes down while slaying him, determination and revulsion clear on both of their faces. Gentileschi spares no detail with the bloodstained bedsheets and writhing form of the man being beheaded, giving as much attention to how his blood soaks the cloth as the light and shadow playing out over the subjects' faces.
"Where We Belong" was an online event hosted by the National Gallery as part of their series for LGBT+ History Month 2021. Our speakers were curator Claire Mead, illustrator Ashton Attzs, curator Dan Vo, and Sacha Coward and Sheldon Goodman from Cemetery Club.
References:
Gwen John, 1876-1939 | Tate (Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/gwen-john-1363)
Prichard, Alun (2004-09-10). "Arts: Centrepiece: Scandal and seclusion". Daily Post (Liverpool). p. 4.
Van Slyke, G. (1998). "The Sexual and Textual Politics of Dress: Rosa Bonheur and Her Cross-Dressing Permits." Nineteenth-Century French Studies, vol. 26, no. 3/4, 321-335. (Available at http://www.jstor.org/stable/23537594 )
Comments