#sickert

Walter Sickert, Brighton Pierrots, 1915

"With Sickert ... even when his pictures are not so good there is an underlying drawing there that keeps them at a certain level." --Lucian Freud (in "Man with a Blue Scarf")

"Sickert sees like a draughtsman, and then builds a painting round his drawing.... Seeing comes first, paint comes after.... Sickert, for all his French training, painted as Legros accused all English artists of painting, by making a drawing and filling it in." --David Sylvester

But then you try to reverse park and it's all:

And i totally could have parked without the old white guy waving me in. Probably.

Information

Gustave Caillebote 1877, Paris Street, Rainy Day

Walter Sickert 1895, The Old Bedford

The Caillebote painting is described as his masterpiece due to the genius composition and detail, but the term means something different to guilds (more so in the past). An apprentice must complete something amazing in their field to be allowed to call themselves a master - a beautiful painting, an elaborate piece of jewellery or even a song. The guild would keep that work as their 'masterpiece'. Other names I've heard for the same thing include diploma piece, reception piece or master work.

"This year, we have all had to come to terms with loneliness and with the interiors of our own rooms. And when it has been a struggle, I’ve tried to remember this painting, and Gwen John’s Rules for Life. They are a reminder that there are some joys to be found in solitude, and that staying at home can liberate your imagination."⁠

In this week's episode of Museum Secrets, we take a look at an understated little painting by Gwen John which hides complex depths, and learn about the artist's inspiring Rules for Life, found written in her notebooks.⁠

Listen here, or wherever you find your podcasts: https://www.ashmolean.org/museum-secrets

Walter Sickert 1860–1942 - Contextual

Ennui ,h60 x w44in. oil on canvas

The title Ennui means ‘boredom’ in french. Sickert specialised in painting portrayals of daily life. Use of somber colours and rough dark tones.

Sickert suggests the disconnected relationship between the figures by their lack of communication and their surroundings. despite being close in physicality the couple face opposite directions and stare into space. 

Sickert creates a suffocating atmosphere of boredom. There is no connection between this pair.