§ ◆ JOHN BELLANY C.B.E., R.A. (SCOTTISH 1942-2013) ALLEGORY - A CELTIC PHANTASMAGORIA (TRIPTYCH)
Signed to central section, oil on canvas in three parts
211cm x 160cm (83in x 63in); 211cm x 160cm (83in x 63in); 211cm x 160cm (83in x 63in), unframed
John Bellany writes about this work: ‘In this triptych I have attempted to make a statement . . . about the human condition . . . The iconography of the two side panels derive from a feeling of Calvinist repression . . . the central panel is a visual manifestation of hope.’
We can think of this as a ‘Port Seton’ painting, greatly inspired by, and anchored in, Bellany’s upbringing in this Scottish East Coast harbour town. The two previous generations of men in the family had worked as fishermen, undertaking the relentless task of bringing in fish from cold and often difficult Scottish seas. At the mercies of weather, the at-times bleak nature of this hard labour was exacerbated by the strict doctrine of the prevailing Presbyterian faith in the area. Bellany communicates some of this darkness and hardship in the two side panels, where solemn, darkly-clothed figures gather in apparent mourning as a dark underworld swirls below.
The painting utilises both religious and personal iconography. By using the triptych format, Bellany makes explicit visual reference to the church before setting forth his own personal perspective on the human condition, and the hope we so require. He moves into his own personal iconography, the figures and creatures that recur in many of his works: fishermen, the monkey, cat, dog and bird, fish and their skeletons, boats and coffins. These representations appear across the three panels but the move from darkness to hope is most clearly signified through his choice of colour. Across the composition, he uses his standard palette, with significant use of blue, red, green and yellow. But there is a distinction made between the calm blue that guides the centre piece and does not appear elsewhere – the colour of a calm sea becomes the colour of hope. The natural world that provides, the sea, and the men who are able to harness its resource, the fisherman, are the future and provide potential.
‘Allegory - A Celtic Phantasmagoria’ conveys a dichotomy of views across three panels: the acknowledgment of darkness and struggle and the celebration of hope and potential, all tied up and rooted in this one significant location, where land meets sea.
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Signed to central section, oil on canvas in three parts
211cm x 160cm (83in x 63in); 211cm x 160cm (83in x 63in); 211cm x 160cm (83in x 63in), unframed
John Bellany writes about this work: ‘In this triptych I have attempted to make a statement . . . about the human condition . . . The iconography of the two side panels derive from a feeling of Calvinist repression . . . the central panel is a visual manifestation of hope.’
We can think of this as a ‘Port Seton’ painting, greatly inspired by, and anchored in, Bellany’s upbringing in this Scottish East Coast harbour town. The two previous generations of men in the family had worked as fishermen, undertaking the relentless task of bringing in fish from cold and often difficult Scottish seas. At the mercies of weather, the at-times bleak nature of this hard labour was exacerbated by the strict doctrine of the prevailing Presbyterian faith in the area. Bellany communicates some of this darkness and hardship in the two side panels, where solemn, darkly-clothed figures gather in apparent mourning as a dark underworld swirls below.
The painting utilises both religious and personal iconography. By using the triptych format, Bellany makes explicit visual reference to the church before setting forth his own personal perspective on the human condition, and the hope we so require. He moves into his own personal iconography, the figures and creatures that recur in many of his works: fishermen, the monkey, cat, dog and bird, fish and their skeletons, boats and coffins. These representations appear across the three panels but the move from darkness to hope is most clearly signified through his choice of colour. Across the composition, he uses his standard palette, with significant use of blue, red, green and yellow. But there is a distinction made between the calm blue that guides the centre piece and does not appear elsewhere – the colour of a calm sea becomes the colour of hope. The natural world that provides, the sea, and the men who are able to harness its resource, the fisherman, are the future and provide potential.
‘Allegory - A Celtic Phantasmagoria’ conveys a dichotomy of views across three panels: the acknowledgment of darkness and struggle and the celebration of hope and potential, all tied up and rooted in this one significant location, where land meets sea.
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
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