THE HALLUCINATING BRETON WOMEN AND BLOOD RED PAINT DREW ME IN EVERY TIME
Priitie potential
Ruth Hedges looks forward to a show which places Gauguin’s seminal and controversial work of religious fervour VISION OF THE SERMON at its core.
hen but a litesh-l'aced kid away l'rom home
for the first time. a home which had no art
ol‘ its own to speak ol‘. | Used to drill into the National (iallery ol Scotland every now and then. just because I could. It was still a novelty that there were works by painters I had only seen in books before hanging on walls. and I wandered about and took comfort in developing a levy l‘avourites. Sad. tnaybe. but they tell a bit like It'ic‘ltds.
I had a lirst year tutorial which 11th at the National (iallery every week where we perched on little stools and discussed the image at hand. Alter being told to choose one painting on which to do a presentation. I
was in no doubt about selecting (iauguin's ‘Vision ol’
the Sermon: Jacob Wrestling with the Angel‘. ()ui. monsieur. tlte pious hallucinating Breton women and blood red paint drew me in every time.
Now the gallery is organising an exhibition around this pivotal work that took on mythology and created its own. not least encouraged by its painter. (iauguin put it about that this painting changed the whole development ol‘ art moving away from the
Impressionists‘ obsession with capturing el'l'ects ol~
weather and light. ‘the moment~ and the tree brushstrokes that went along with that. And it did. its just he wasn't the only one. (iauguin was tapping into a mythical culture. imagining the primitive superstitions ol the simple Breton l‘olk this noble savages). I’ainting nature for its own sake had had its
day. The simple life and decorative abstractions also consciously ignored the grim realities of industrialisation that ground on elsewhere in France’s towns and cities. The painting. though. earned him the title of being a symbolist. and the exhibition looks at work by him and contemporaries bel‘ore and after he painted the vision. The key comparable work by Emile Bernard ‘Breton Women in the Meadow“ — has been loaned by a private collection and (iauguin’s claims of originality can be challenged in this intriguing
juxtaposition. "I'he leap of the imagination -- it spiritual
vision - had almost become taboo.~ says the curator. Belinda Thomson. ‘It offered him a new way of approaching painting.’ (lauguin’s painting will be hung in a central position so it can be seen from as many angles. drawing as many comparisons as possible.
Whatever the truth of the picture. I have always loved the way the tree carves across the canvas. echoing the shape of the central woman‘s profile and how the patterns of her fellow worshippers‘ hoods. thickly outlined praying hands and features retreat into the background. the bull dancing on the red surl‘ace that glows with its intended primitive force. The rhythm in l‘orm and colour was meant to be like music. stirring what lies within. I knew those notes would come in handy at some point.
Gauguin’s Vision, Royal Scottish Academy Building, Edinburgh, Wed 6 Jul-Sun 2 Oct
Another Time Another Place Peter and Jane skip about the meadows; mother, father. son and daughter go on a shopping expedition and kids from the 70s, bake, play and generally run about. A nostalgia trip that takes you down the original primary—coloured gouache paths of Ladybird books. See review. page 90. Edinburgh Printmakers, until Sat 16 Jul. 91-1 Gauguin’s Vision The painting that turns a thousand heads every year when on permanent display at the National Gallery gets its own special exhibition that explores its pivotal role in the development of art history. See preview. page 89. Royal Scottish Academy Building, Edinburgh, until Sun 2 Ca. its Beck’s Futures 2005 Your last chance to see the top folk in beer-sponsored art. and it's a fine and creamy batch this year. CCA, Glasgow, until Sun 70 Jul. Francis Bacon Portraits and Heads Remarkably deft paintwork from the bad boy of British art who painted himself. friends and lovers from the 508 to the 80s. The early visceral visages make way for ghostly mugs. while post-nuclear fall- out is never far from the contorted faces. National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, until Sun 4 Sep. Richard Hughes Installations involving socks, long-johns and replicated bottles of wee — beading included. Playful. arresting works. The Modern Institute, Glasgow, until Fri 15 Jul. 3
7—21 Jul 2005 THE LIST 89