ANNE REDPATH O.B.E., R.S.A., A.R.A., L.L.D., A.R.W.S., R.O.I., R.B.A. (SCOTTISH 1895-1965) ◆§
STILL LIFE ON A PATTERNED TABLECLOTH
£81,250
Scottish Paintings & Sculpture
Auction: Evening Sale: 09 December 2021 | From 18:00
Description
Signed, oil on board
Dimensions
56cm x 46cm (22in x 18in)
Footnote
Note: Still Life on a Patterned Tablecloth is a tour de force example of the still lifes set within a domestic setting for which Redpath is most celebrated. She made great efforts with the decoration of her home, which provided a rich source of subject matter. Terence Mullaly of the Daily Telegraph described her Edinburgh New Town apartment where 'colour and exuberance abounded; from the pottery cat to the putto supporting a table, it was gay and bright....Her studio ...was a veritable kaleidoscope of colour. But so, too, was the kitchen, a room at once joyous and utilitarian.' (quoted in Patrick Bourne, Anne Redpath 1895-1965, Edinburgh 2004, p.70).
The present work captures that pleasure of living in beautiful surroundings. It is presented in receding layers, from flower heads to tablecloth and suggested back wall. Multiple viewpoints are combined with the same skill that the still life elements are placed, in order to create an asymmetrical yet balanced composition. A firm three-dimensionality, such as in the jug and teacup, is seen beside the decorative flatness of the tablecloth and the patterned rug glimpsed at the lower edge.
Redpath's technique ranges from the richly-realised petals, to delicate dots and firm outlining. High definition gives way to expressive mark-making, whilst bright colour is contrasted with muted tones to provide structure, particularly in the yellow of the lemon at the lower centre. This is highly-sophisticated picture-making in the guise of an everyday scene. It shows how Redpath extended the belle peinture tradition within Scottish art, infused with her knowledge of the work of French modern masters including Henri Matisse and Edouard Vuillard. It is also highly personal, as Redpath explained in 1961: 'I feel that all the things that I have, that I live amongst, have both memories and experiences and are a part of my painting.'