Sons Of Hogarth

[poliphilo]

Keith and I were looking at Manchester's collection of 20th century British art. We weren't  impressed. Here's Vanessa Bell trying to be Cezanne and here- on a later wall- is Vanessa Bell trying to be Matisse. Here's Ben Nicholson trying to be Braque and here's someone whose name I forget trying to be Dali. A theme emerges. Even Paul Nash- an artist capable of great work- spends a lot of his time giving us Cezanne's take on the English countryside. I don't hate these paintings- I'd be happy to hang most of them over my fireplace- but they're imitative and second-rate. The only artists who emerge as remarkable are the ones who don't give a damn about riding the European art history train: Spencer, for instance and Burra and Lowry-  sons of Hogarth all three- bloody-minded, obsessive and in love with the grotesque.

Later we sat in front of Ford Madox Brown's "Work". Keith doesn't like it but I think it's wonderful so I tried to convert him. Brown is another Son of Hogarth.  He's doing the great 19th century novel in paint. His people are goblins. The weird, flattened perspective of the foreground- as if viewed through a telephoto lens- threatens to tip Victorian Hampstead into your lap.

Comments

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

I've always loved Ford Madox's "Work", though I've only ever seen reproductions. It's a painting I'd really like to stand in front of one day...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's crammed with detail- and you have to get up close to realize just how much is going on. There are sandwich board men parading down the street carrying election propaganda, there's a policeman hassling an orange seller, there are several dogs, the digger in the centre of the working group has what looks like a carnation between his teeth. The more you look the stranger and more complex it becomes.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

I think Ford Madox Brown did that very creepy "Take Your Son, Sir," didn't he? (rummage rummage rummage, yes he did)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That's very strange. I wonder why he left it unfinished. Even in its uncompleted state it's a masterpiece, I think.

The woman looks like a corpse. And the baby is one of the best babies in art.