Visiting the main collection of the Tate was, like always, uplifting. After reading our assigned questions for this independent study visit, I had a hard time choosing which two paintings to talk about as so many of them evoke thoughts and feelings in me.
The first painting I chose was Stanely Spencers self portrait. The painting is an oil on canvas capturing only his head and shoulders. I thought the fact that Spencer chose to only include his face was a representation of his psyche while seriously ill and dying of cancer. The relationship between viewer and sitter in Spencers self portrait is interesting. Spencer painted his self portrait in the drawing room of a friends home in Yorkshire, looking into a bedroom mirror. Spencer looks unflinching into the viewers gaze. It is in this way the sitter holds the balance of power.
Spencer’s emotionless stare, in my opinion conforms to the binaries of male/active/mind. The reason that I think this is because the painting is not designed to flatter the sitter/artist, there is something deeper to him than his looks. It is designed instead to convince the viewer of his determination and strength and power of the intense hold of the stare – the point in this painting is not beauty.
From looking at the painting we can tell a bit about Spencers identity. In the background of the painting and the clothes that we can see I would guess he is a middle class English man. My reasons for guessing this is the 70’s looking patterned wallpaper in the background which was common in English middle class family homes. From the looks of it, Spencer is wearing a dressing gown and teeshirt, on a presumption, I would think more upper class men would put more money and effort into their appearance if being seen in such a way.
The second painting I chose was ‘The Siesta’ by John Frederick Lewis (1805-1876). The work of art was painted by a male, of a woman. The composition of the painting encourages you to spend time looking at the body of the sitter. The pose in which she lies is languid, open and inviting. In the circumstance of this painting, it is the artist, John Frederick Lewis, who holds the balance of power. The reason of this is that is almost seems as though, we, as the viewers are spying on the sitter. She reclines and bathes in sunlight, almost unknowing of the fact that she is being painted.
In my opinion, yes the woman depicted conforms to the binaries of female/passive/body. The woman is enjoying the comfort of the room and the warmth of the sun while we gaze upon her beauty and idleness. The theory of the ‘male gaze’ helps to explain what goes on in the painting. As the woman lies, with her dress falling to the side around her chest, covered in vibrant and beautifully coloured silks, she is immediately a focus of beauty and sensuality in the painting. Basing my opinion on the decadent and expensively decorated and the rich silks the woman is wearing she seems to be rich and upper class.
John Frederick Lewis lived in Cairo between 1842 and 1851, on his return to Britain he continued to portray representations of Arab-Islamic life, implying elegance and money, these symbolisms have been criticised as serving European viewers’ desire for superiority and control over the western world. (Tate, 2019)
(Image released under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND (3.0 Unported)
License this image https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/lewis-the-siesta-n03594 29/1/19)
Tate. (2019). ‘The Siesta’, John Frederick Lewis, 1876 | Tate. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/lewis-the-siesta-n03594 [Accessed 30 Jan. 2019].
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