Background and Style
Nicholson’s earliest paintings were still lifes influenced by those of his father, Sir William Nicholson. In the 1920s he began painting figurative and abstract works inspired by Post Impressionism and Cubism. By 1932 Ben Nicholson had started a relationship with Barbara Hepworth, sharing a studio together in Hampstead. Ben Nicholson and Hepworth spent 1933 travelling and meeting inspirational artists such as Braque, Brancusi and Picasso. In April of 1933 the couple traveled through France, Hepworth meets Brancusi at his studio in Paris, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Along with friends Mondrian and Lazlo Moholy-Nagy they were invited to join the Paris-based group Abstraction-Creation. Nicholson took inspiration from them and became celebrated for his ability to synthesize and abstract from nature its bare essentials, and re-form them in compositions of extreme elegance and clarity.
1933
St Rémy – self-portrait with Barbara Hepworth – Oil on canvas, 27.3 x 16.8 cm
The painting is composed of two over lapping busts, Ben Nicholson (left) and his second wife at the time, Barbara Hepworth (right) Between the figures is a repetition of the outlined shapes. The painting depicts stylised and simplified rounded forms, inspired by primitive art like Picasso’s. The piece overall has a tonal harmony, blue and grey tones, are calming and complimentary. But also add an element of coldness to the piece. There is a sense of pattern in the mirroring outlines of the figures, and the round forms of her hair and an abandonment of coherent perspective, adding focus to the couple. The strong outline is reminiscent of Gauguin, a technique Hepworth also uses. Varying brushstrokes are used adding an unfinished quality to work, making the energy seem spontaneous. Thin layers of paint are used with a dry brush, making you able to see the hatched texture of the canvas, creating a flatness to the painting.
The darker blue draws attention to a middle figure which could be representative of the intertwined lives of the couple, in a way of emphasising the connection between the two.(Or more literally it could simply be an exaggerated shadow) The mirroring forms create a sense of fluidity, this alongside the tonal qualities implicates a calm atmosphere. The couple are also reminiscent of portraits on coins, adding a sense of regality to the two. The colour blue is often associated with sadness, perhaps Nicholson is representing his emotional state. The representation of the eyes is interesting as they are not the same. Nicholson’s eye appears hollow, where as Hepworth’s seem more feminine and seem to be looking out to the viewer. Sadness and cold colours are things unexpected of a connected happy couple in love.
1933
St Rémy Provence 105 x 93 cm
This work by Nicholson is another, slightly different depiction of his second wife Barbara Hepworth. Here represented on the left hand side of the painting, being embraced by Nicholson. The work’s simplicity and its minimal lines that outline each figure was a trend that Nicholson used in many of his works. Following the trend of Cubism, Nicholson’s main objective in this piece was to present the pureness of the nude Hepworth – to which 5 years after this piece was done married her. The flatness of this piece is taken from his inspiration from Braque – a fellow sculptor and painter from France – to whom he and Hepworth visited a year earlier.
Compared to the previous piece the colours used are much darker. The dark, almost dirty, colours used in this painting are not a traditional type of palette, for a portrait of a couple in love. The black silhouetted figures dominate the picture space greatly contrasting the white portrait behind. The connection between Hepworth and Nicholson is shown in their intertwined bodies, represented in such a way that it is difficult to decipher which arm is Hepworth’s or Nicholson’s.The lighter face could be interpreted as Nicholson’s soul or the energy between the two, as there is more fluidity to the lines and colour, making it seem more ethereal. Echoing the blue in the previous portrait, between Hepworth and Nicholson. In this painting the influence of artists like Picasso can be seen in the reduction of representative form, drawing on the style of Picasso’s 1920s portraits of his lover Marie-Thérèse Walter
Another establisher of Cubism, Braque was an artist that influenced Nicholson in his earlier works, using techniques of perspective and rules of geometry to create a composition. For example, the lines that he uses in St Rémy Provence are reduced geometric forms of the human structure, essentially portraying only the most principal parts of the face and outline of the body. Like Braque, Nicholson also emphasizes the effect of light in his work to create the illusion of it being both three dimensional and flat.
However the main aspect that Nicholson derived from Braque was his employment of composition. Using a restricted number of concrete objects to form the main structure of the piece. Such as in St Rémy Provence he uses himself and Hepworth as the main focal points of the painting. The clarity of these profiles is a severe jump from the physical structure of them in reality.
1932
Auberge de la Sole Dieppoise, Oil on plywood 983 x 804cm
Another of Ben Nicholson’s work that can be compared to St Rémy Provence is his creation a year before in 1932 – Auberge de la Sole Dieppoise. Hepworth is again represented by Nicholson through a window in France, the flatness of the surface is emphasised by the words depicted.
This is another piece that Nicholson has incorporated Braque’s techniques into, of perspective, geometry and effects of light. Described as the ‘principal representative of Abstraction in English art between the wars’, Nicholson referred to it being ‘the forerunner of his rough [exposed and simplistic] reliefs’.
Past Times 