Henry VIII

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on May 4, 2014 at 8:01pm

Curator’s Comments:

 

Is he Henry the VIII? While I see the piece as a traditional figure study rather than a historical portrait, I’m attracted to the stunning broken color and soft modeling of fleshy form.  The cool green and violet shadows nicely play up the warmer pinks and oranges in the figure’s ruddy skin tone.  The more neutral mossy green background and darker shadows cast a studied focus on the model by enveloping the smaller internal section of directed and reflected light.  I was a bit surprised to read the smallish dimensions of the original painting; it has such a commanding presence I would have imagined it on a more formidable scale.  At first glance your other plein air landscape work shares little by way of composition or color with Henry VIII.  But I do glean bits of similarity with the alternating density and gestural brushwork in Outlet Creek.  The smooth violet shadows contribute visual weight to the rocks, while maintaining the cool cascading movement of the water.